Worthy tribute to the legendary organ grandmaster, Kayode Oni

Oni

It’s never easy to become accomplished in any profession.

When that profession is organ playing, it becomes harder still.

No wonder you can count on the fingers of your hand the truly great organists.

And luckily for Kayode Oni, by dint of his hard work, and maybe because the stars also aligned for him regarding it, he became not just an accomplished organist and not just a master but a grandmaster who was so distinguished that his name rang bells far and wide in the church music sector.

Alas for him, after seven decades of navigating the journey of life through his playing of the organ, he played his very final tune, the one inevitable to every human when he passed on to the great beyond on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at the ripe age of 78.

Oni’s music talent shone bright quite early in his life so much so that he started playing the organ when he was just seven years old.

With that lofty attainment at that delicate age, what his career path in life was became very apparent and he stayed true to it.

And like fine wine, he became better with age that he played worldwide at the most renowned churches and occasions and to the most distinguished people.

For him, playing was his passion and once he sat to play, he delivered magic that spellbound his listener. And so it came to be that on a particular day, his audience included the prominent men, Chief Richard Akinjide and Omololu Olunloyo.

He played just as was usual for him: excellently.

But for Akinjide, Olunloyo and others of their class who were at that fateful gathering, he so made their day they decided to send him on a scholarship to study abroad as if he was already so good at home, going abroad meant he would become matchless.

That’s how Oni got to study Organ Church Music and History at the Royal College of Music, Croydon and the Trinity College of Music, London which he became a Fellow of.

And he didn’t disappoint himself, his backers and his country. Rather, he excelled so greatly in his studies that he came to the notice of the then Archbishop of Canterbury who was so impressed by him that he sponsored his wife to join him in the UK.

Others were also taking note so it was no wonder he was requested by special invitation to play at Chichester Cathedral and his performance was so anticipated that the congregation was packed to the rafters and the press reported widely of his prowess on the organ.

While his first official playing experience was at the Holy Trinity Church, Lokoja in 1953, he has gone on to play at many eminent churches including St Peter’s Cathedral, Aremo, Ibadan; Holy Trinity Church, London; Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, Ogun State; Tinubu Methodist Cathedral, Lagos; St. Saviours' Church, Ekotedo, Ibadan; Ibadan Boys' High School Chapel, Ibadan; Methodist Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos; The Church of Resurrection, University of Ibadan.

Considering he has played so many venues and occasions and innumerably, when he granted a rare interview to Organ & Music Magazine published by Nigeria’s number one organ distributor, Church Organ Projects in Nigeria (CHOPiN), he was still able to choose his most memorable service in Nigeria as when as the choirmaster and organist of Our Saviours' Church, Ikenne, he organized, presided over and played the organ at the funeral service of the eminent Nigerian, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who built the church.

This was on June 6, 1987 and he remembers it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos was also very dear to him amongst all the great churches he played at because he regarded it as the most exemplary in terms of its having a standard of music that is very high.

But what actually made him very successful as a church organist that he was sought after far and wide?

It was definitely his vast knowledge in liturgy. This enabled him to choose not only appropriate hymns for the occasion and seasons but also appropriate tunes. His issues with church authorities in his early days was because of his self-opinionated attitude because of his wide knowledge in church music and liturgy. He was assertive in his ways. However, all these changed gradually as he grew older.

Illustrating how he approaches organ play when preparing for service in the church which he refers to as "ministering in music," he stated that before playing, he prepares himself by meditating on the mood and words of the selected hymns. He then chooses the appropriate organ stops that will assist the congregation to rise to the occasion and sing appropriately.

He also averts that to be a good church organist, one should first and foremost be a good Christian "by conviction" as playing the organ is like "ministering or pastoring’ and “the music of the organist is like a sermon on the pulpit which brings the worshipper closer to God."

He added that “the right mood should be established when playing the organ. Praise or celebratory hymns should be rendered in an upbeat manner as at a thanksgiving service while a somber approach can be adopted for funeral renditions when one feels the pain or nostalgia of a departed one.”

According to him, an effective church organist is one who in addition to his technical and artistic ability on the keyboard is able to communicate the moods and nuances of the moment.

Very passionate about the organ, he had a close relationship with the Guild of Organists in Nigeria and many of Nigeria's great musicians, especially the supremely gifted Ayo Bankole, the eminent organist T.K.E Philips, the late Pa Olaolu Omideyi and the renowned musicologist Professor Fela Sowande.

He was also a music educator, passing on his vast music knowledge to others as a music lecturer at the Ibadan Polytechnic; College of Education, llesha; and Okebadan High School, Ibadan.

So, talking about a life well spent, it was definitely Oni’s.

And talking about a life nobody wants to end because of its service and value to humanity, it still was Oni’s.

But the nature of life is whatever has a beginning must have an ending and this is now the case for Oni who has played his final tune, willingly or unwillingly: that of the inevitable death.

His burial service was conducted in both Ibadan and Lagos.

As the immediate past choirmaster and music director of Hoare’s Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Yaba, Lagos, the Guild of Organists held a memorial concert for him at the church sanctuary on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

His Christian wake-keep followed on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at the All Saints Church, Jericho Reservation, Ibadan.

And on Friday, July 2, 2021, his lying-in-state held at his residence at Gbekuba, Apata, Ibadan followed by the funeral service at All Saints Church and then interment.

Goodbye, and rest in the Lord, organ grandmaster.