Gbenro Adesina
Christopher Olakanmi Oyesiku, former Artiste-in-Residence, University of Ibadan and Choral Conductor has passed away on March 20, 2020 in England at the age of 94.
Oyesiku, who was former Head of Music and Music Research, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), was a professionally trained classical bass singer, choral conductor extraordinaire, music educator, erudite scholar, concert promoter, concert manager, concert connoisseur, and broadcaster.
From a period that spanned 1963 to 1997, Oyesiku single-handedly directed four magnificent choirs: the Lagos Musical Society Choir, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation Choir, the Oyo State College of Education Choir, and the University of Ibadan Choir.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 7, 1925, he began his secondary school education in Lagos, but completed it at the Ibadan Grammar School in 1947.
Oyesiku had his earliest musical training as a choir boy at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, Choir under the tutelage of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, who gave him his first lessons in the theory of music, musicianship, and voice.
Phillips also prepared Oyesiku for the external examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London. During his days as a chorister at the Cathedral Church, he rose to become one of the leading trebles and later became the best bass in the choir.
In the late 1940s, he was the leading bass soloist in some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas such as Trial by Jury, H. M. S. Pinafore, and The Mikado.
Oyesiku later went on to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, from 1955 to 1960.
He returned to Nigeria in 1960, and in 1962 was appointed to the position of Assistant Director of Programs at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Lagos (now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria). He served in this capacity until 1981.
Oyesiku taught music and directed choirs at the Oyo State College of Education, Ilesha, from 1981 to 1987, and the Department of Theater Arts, University of Ibadan, from 1987 to 1994.
He was the Artiste-in-Residence at the University of Ibadan from 1987 to 1997.
Pa Christopher Oyesiku performed the bass solo in several cantatas, oratorios, and variety concerts. One of the high points of his career was the opportunity given him to perform before several dignitaries in Nigeria and the Royal Family in England. He was also an outstanding choral conductor as well as music educator.
