Nkeiru Okoye: When the Caged Bird Sings
Naxos

Nkeiru Okoye's oratorio When the Caged Bird Sings (2023-24) unites a stellar cast of vocal soloists, jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, Eugene Rogers's Sphinx vocal ensemble EXIGENCE, and the Kenneth Kiesler-conducted University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and University of Michigan choirs for the world premiere recording of a work written in partial tribute to the inspirational Maya Angelou. Soprano Angela Brown (Mother), tenor Issachah Savage (Guidance Counselor), the late baritone Jubilant Sykes (Father), and mezzo-soprano Christie Dashiell (Cerise) distinguish Okoye's creation with their vocal artistry and personalities. In being a concert oratorio conceived as a communal worship service, it is unlike any oratorio heard before.

Commissioned by the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the eighty-minute work was recorded in February 2024 at the school's Hill Auditorium. So many details lend the work character—the gospel dimension Chestnut amplifies with every soulful gesture, the congregants' testifying replies to the Celebrant's words, the affecting songs Okoye's interspersed, and the deftness with which she weaves African American church music, gospel, jazz, folk, and classical minimalism into an all-encompassing tapestry. Needless to say, such a work offers a terrific stage for the vocalists.

While pain, adversity, and struggles are present, When the Caged Bird Sings is ultimately about triumph and its tone life-affirming. Woven throughout the piece is the story of Cerise (Cherish), who navigates the difficult journey of growing up as a Black woman in the United States. Making good on the familiar "It takes a village to raise a child” proverb, she's supported by devoted parents, a caring Guidance Counselor, the church community, and unwavering faith in God. Structured into five parts (each named after a book or poem by Angelou), the work is sonically rich on instrumental and especially vocal grounds when the four soloists are complemented by a narrator, congregants, pianist, orchestra, and choirs.

The participants are an esteemed group, starting with Okoye (b. 1972), a socially conscious Guggenheim Fellow and American Prize-winning composer whose music's renowned for its wedding of classical, gospel, and other genres. In addition to When the Caged Bird Sings, her works include the opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom and the 9/11-themed orchestral work Voices Shouting Out. Giving memorable voice to Celebrant is Rita Coburn, who produced Angelou's Oprah Radio program and co-directed the acclaimed Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2016). Brown and Savage are seasoned veterans of opera and symphonic stages, Dashiell's a rising star whose debut solo album Time All Mine met with critical praise, and the versatile Sykes, who passed away in late 2025, performed on opera and Broadway stages.

After a flute-played minimalism figure initiates it, the opening part “Gather Together in My Name” is immediately elevated by Dashiell's heartfelt rendering of the plaintive “Who am I supposed to be?” before Cerise's parents, the Guidance Counselor, and Celebrant announce their pivotal presences. The work's church character asserts itself when Coburn and the congregants engage in call-and-response (their to-and-fros recur throughout and act as a binding element) and her declamatory “Enough!” is echoed by the choir. Gospel flavour emerges in the choir's “Shine your light upon us,” Okoye's melodic gifts evident in the music's lyrical expression. After Coburn and the choir are supported in “The Beatitudes” by Chestnut's rousing soul-gospel playing, the material seamlessly transitions into a pulsing orchestral episode reminiscent of (early) John Adams-styled minimalism. The second part, “Now Sheba Sings the Song,” leaps back to Cerise's birth with Brown singing “Let her know that she is cherished” whilst also acknowledging the challenges she knows await her Black daughter as she grows. The choir's rendition of “I am Thine, O Lord” accentuates the work's church dimension (as does the next part's “O Pass me not, O Gentle Savior”), after which a foreboding quality permeates the raucous “Sometimes life gets ugly” to anticipate the troubles Cerise will encounter and emphasize the need to defiantly celebrate oneself (Celebrant: “But this caged bird is gonna sing!”).

May 2026