9 January 2026
The African Concert Series is proud to announce the appointment of Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE as Patron
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE by Ivan Weiss
We are delighted to announce that Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE has joined the African Concert Series as a Patron. A distinguished leader in the arts, former Director of The Africa Centre, and currently Director of Culture & Communities for the London Borough of Haringey, and a Freelance Arts Consultant, Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE has supported the African Concert Series since its founding, and now formally takes up this role as Patron. His appointment as Patron reflects his long-standing commitment to championing African classical music, joining our patron Professor Emeritus, Julian Lloyd Webber in supporting the series.
On taking up the role, Kenneth said:
“The African Concert series continues to hold a very special place in the classical music scene and has gone from strength to strength in recent years, not least in its ongoing partnership with the Wigmore Hall. Every concert is both a delight, and an education, uncovering a rich panoply of music from African classical traditions, music that one is unlikely to hear anywhere else, and enriching our understanding of classical traditions in music. I couldn’t be happier or more proud, to continue supporting the work of this brilliant organisation and its founder Rebeca Omordia, as a Patron“.
We are honoured to welcome Kenneth and look forward to working with him as we continue to champion African classical music.
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE, FRSA – Biography – January 2026
Kenneth is a key figure in the UK arts and culture scene with over 44 years professional experience in the sector.
He began his career as a professional dancer; as one of the leading dance artists of his generation, he performed for 13 years with the internationally-acclaimed London Contemporary Dance Theatre, and then with other leading companies during a 25-year career as a performer, choreographer, teacher and director.
He has since gone on to lead major cultural institutions such as The Place (2007-2016), and The Africa Centre (2018-2020). He is currently Director of Culture & Communities for the London Borough of Haringey and a Freelance Arts Consultant.
He is a devoted champion of the arts, cultural learning, creativity and diversity, and frequently presents as a keynote speaker in a variety of contexts, from schools to leadership courses, industry related events, andthe corporate sector, and is an experienced facilitator and chair.
June 2025 marked Kenneth’s tenth consecutive year as a judge for the Black British Business Awards and he continues to be a proud Founding Patron of the Black British Theatre Awards.
He has served on various arts Boards, including The Royal Opera House (2002-2010), The Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund (2010-2018) and Sir Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures (2017-2024). He has served as a school Governor (2017-2024) acting as both Vice-Chair and Chair, and was a member of the British Council’s Arts & Creative Economy Advisory Group (2018-2024). He is currently a Patron of Akademi and The Place. He is also a Trustee of the Chineke! Foundation, (which runs Europe’s first majority-Back and ethnically diverse classical orchestra) and a member of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Board, as well as a co-director of the Robert Cohan Dance Legacy; and an Ambassador of Wellbeing in the Arts, a charity, providing mental health and well-being support for the arts industry.
He has appeared in eight successive editions of the annual Powerlist of Britain’s most influential people of African and African-Caribbean heritage, as well as in Who’s Who.
In 2003 Kenneth was made an OBE in recognition of his services to dance, and in June 2017 was made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, also in recognition of his services to dance.
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theafricanconcertseries.co.uk 
The 1803 concert sounds like a model of what this series does best: quiet ambition, thoughtful curation, no fanfare. Naming it after the year Haiti declared independence isn’t decorative; it’s a deliberate frame for music that carries history in its bones without ever needing to shout about it.
I’m drawn to how the programme seems to weave together pieces that refuse easy categorisation – African roots meeting European forms, but always on equal terms. That kind of dialogue rarely happens in concert halls without feeling forced or academic, yet when it’s done with the care this series brings, it feels inevitable: the music was always meant to meet like this.
The performers listed (assuming the usual high calibre) would have brought real weight to the occasion. There’s something powerful about hearing works by composers who are still too often footnotes in the standard repertoire played with the same seriousness and technical command as anything from the core canon. It shifts the listening experience from “discovery” to simply presence.
Concerts like this remind us that the evolution of classical music isn’t about replacing the old with the new; it’s about expanding the room so more voices can be heard clearly. The African Concert Series keeps doing that without apology or explanation. That consistency is rare.
Grateful for the write-up. It makes me wish I could have been in the room – the kind of evening that lingers long after the last note. Looking forward to whatever they programme next.
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