BEVERLY HILLS, April 19, (THEWILL) – By now, most Nigerians know the most recognized female flutist around town. On Valentine’s Day when THEWILL published its very first print edition, Ebele Ezeamakam made the cover of the Arts pages. It was not for nothing.
Given her rising profile as the sole female professional flutist around (well, there are quite a number of them but none has taken to playing the wind instrument as passionately as she has) we couldn’t help but feature her in the maiden publication.
She seemed a perfect fit for a newspaper whose mission statement is to report, analyze and publish news differently, “expanding the national conversation,” as the newspaper’s motto states.
For sure, the spectacle of a woman playing the flute pales before the larger and more pressing issues of insecurity in Nigeria and criminal herdsmen roaming free today. Still, people have taken notice of her virtuoso performance not least the African Art Music TV (AAMTV.)
Just last week, news made the rounds that Ms. Ezeamakam aka Ebele the Flutist has been given an Award of Notability by a continental television station in recognition of her “numerous contribution to classical and choral music in Africa and globally.” The award was endorsed and signed by the president of AAMTV himself. It speaks volumes.
Perhaps because of the restrictions on account of COVID-19, there was no gathering of any sort anywhere, say, at a posh hotel on the island or mainland. But the television station duly sent a a carefully worded letter of recognition embossed with the company logo.
Of the award itself, Ebele is ecstatic, more so that it was totally unexpected. In other words, she neither canvassed for it nor entered into any competition with other competitors. It came straight out of the blues.
Clearly over the moon about the award, she said it has spurred her “to be Africa’s best female flutist and development coach by building a generation of people with sound understanding of music and overall wellness.”
Before then, she had been written about in nearly a dozen national newspapers, invited to concerts across the country where she wowed audiences with her skillful handling of the flute. Late last year by her own account, Ebele the Flutist dazzled a number of high profile guests at a swank event in Lagos. There was lockdown in Nigeria’s commercial capital and entertainment hub. Yet it didn’t stop a growing number of her admirers and fans from trooping to the venue to watch Ebele do her thing, all of them observing the social distancing on account of COVID-19.
When THEWILL spoke via email with the rising star two months and a week ago, she seemed truly passionate about an instrument she has fiddled with for more than ten years, starting from around age 14. Today, she is a pro and the country’s first. It is commendable, especially because she never ever imagined she would one day take up flute playing. It was pure serendipity.
In her own words, she was in a church choir and had to play one of the instruments in the orchestral pit. It could have been a drum, a guitar, an accordion, hi-hat or even cymbals. Ebele settled for the flute, a reedy instrument most times the forte of the male folk. After years of practice and an uncommon commitment for a woman, recognition came bit by bit until Ebele turned professional and, as any teenage entertainment freak around here would say, “she come blow.”
“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living,” the great Nelson Mandela once mused. Going by that, Ebele has lived a fulfilled professional life as a flutist. Nothing suggests she will stop anytime soon. As they say, the sky is her limit and the recent recognition conferred on her by AAMTV is proof of that, a shot in the arm, a tonic to drive her on.
Can anyone imagine if, by chance, she’d turned to the drum or guitar, striking repeatedly on a taut leather or some such synthetic rubber simultaneously stamping her feet on the pedals or strumming a guitar?
It is possible she would have achieved fame as a drummer or guitarist but certainly not as she has done as a flutist. For one, she was clever enough to focus on what didn’t catch on with the female folk early on. Besides, once she put the instrument to her lips, she stayed glued to it, perfecting every lift of her fingers in synch with blowing away. Is it any surprise Ms. Ezeamakam is the number one female flutist in Nigeria today with an ambition to become the pioneer professional flutist in the continent?
If her dream comes true to be the best in Africa, then Ebele the Flutist would have proved beyond doubt what the incomparable Oprah Winfrey famously said about passion. “Passion is the energy,” one of the most recognized and respected live television show host has said. “Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
There is no doubt the Anambra state-born artiste is excited about what she does. And nothing seems to stop Ebele the Flutist from whatever heights she is aiming for, witness the recent AAMTV award.
Commenting on the award itself, Ebele told THEWILL last week about her aspirations thusly: “I strive to be the best I can be……and I look at it globally. My vision propelled the drive to push higher. I can say now that this vision is accomplished, because this award is an African recognition. None of these achievements I could have gotten without the help of God. God’s grace was my strength.”
About the Author
Michael Jimoh is a Nigerian journalist with many years experience in print media. He is currently a Special Correspondent with THEWILL.
