ICYMI: Evening of Classics’ magic turns Femi Pedro to singer

Pedro

There’s something magical about the Evening of Classics that’ll spellbind you once you attend one.

Just in case you don’t know, the Evening of Classics, or EoC for short, is a live classical music experience that holds at The Rotunda of the prestigious Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos.

Its first edition held June 6, 2021 and the second July 4, 2021.

The first one was so magical that its promoters, Lanre Delano of Church Organ Projects in Nigeria (ChOPiN) and the Ikoyi Club, promised that the second would be much more magical, and indeed it was.

It began with pre-event cocktails to really set people in the right mood which Abiodun Falode also encouraged with classical recitals on the organ.

Then Dr Deola Ayorinde, representing the Ikoyi Club chairman, Ademola Mumuney, welcomed everyone delightedly to the “relaxation with classical music” and the show began in earnest with the Royal Opus Musical Ensemble performing Sing Unto God and I Will Give Thanks, excerpts from Handel’s Oratorio Judas Maccabaeus.

Delano, better known as LD, then called on stage the beautiful talented soprano singer, Ifunanya, to perform Alleluia by the legendary composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Apata by S K Ore.

Not ready to miss out on the fun, Mumuney had arrived by this time. He apologized for his lateness due to being held up somewhere and continued that “we’re trying to bring back some of the things we used to enjoy at the Ikoyi Club. And the Evening of Classics is a beautiful thing. We’re enjoying it, and we’ll continue to. There’re still many things to do, though, and the EoC is one of them.”

LD then introduced Olumide Baritone who delivered a captivating rendition of Edelwise, one of the songs from the evergreen movie, The Sound Of Music.

Guess The Composer, an audience participation game, was the next item on the agenda, as revealed by LD, and just like in the first edition, the magic of EoC cast its spell on Femi Pedro, the ex-Deputy Governor, Lagos State, again.

While in the first edition, he guessed a country’s national anthem, this time around, he guessed the music piece played by Falode on the piano as Oni Dodo Oni Moin-Moin and then went a step further by performing it to the joy of everyone and even danced along to it with Mrs Mumuney, the chairman’s wife who’s also the Ikoyi Club’s First Lady.

For his inspiring efforts, and those of other GTC winners, he was presented with a gift by Dr Sade Akiode of Choice Dental and he magnanimously gifted it to Mrs Mumuney.

Ikoyi Club member, Ike Obike, who performed Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong at the maiden EoC, was called on again by LD for a repeat performance of it, then international jazz singer, Ayinke Martins, performed Summer Time and both she and Obike brought down the roof.

ROME came on again, then Olumide Baritone with I Cannot Tell, then John Eclou and the beautiful Ifunanya did a duet at the special request of the General Committee, Ikoyi Club before Ikoyi Club staff, Femi Ojo, did a recital on the organ, then another member, Oluwaseun Oluwole, performed Nigbati Aye Wa.

Just like the first edition, the guests didn’t want EoC 2 to come to an end, but it had to, and ROME rendered To God Be The Glory as the closing performance before Bolaji Martins, the Entertainment Chairman, Ikoyi Club wrapped up the show with a reminder to talented members to be a part of the proposed Ikoyi Club Choral Ensemble that would nurture them for recording and promotion to stardom.