insidetrack-abuja-Washington-Times: Operabuja 2011

Cecilia Toledo De Schmillen,
Founder and Artistic Director, AMEMUSO

The Abuja Metropolitan Music Society (AMEMUSO) held the 5th edition of the annual music festival, Operabuja, on Sunday, 27th November 2011 at 7.30pm, at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja.

What made this year's edition different from the previous editions was that the AMEMUSO Choir interpreted the 9 songs vying to win the UNITY SONG CONTEST (with a cash prize of N500,000.00) organised by AMEMUSO.

According to the founder of AMEMUSO, Mrs. Cecilia Toledo De Schmillen, wife of the former ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, “this year’s event is aimed at celebrating Abuja as a centre of unity in Nigeria and internationally. As such, the theme of this year’s festival is ‘Unity Song Contest.’”

Mrs. De Schmillen said she has travelled “all the way from Peru to Nigeria to keep this great Nigerian dream alive” and that the attendance at the event of her friends and supporters will certainly encourage her “to continue to work for the realization of the dream.”

The show featured Omo Bello (Nigerian soprano); Walter Michael Vollhardt (conductor); Sodi Breidi (Nigerian pianist); Lucia Luque (Argentinian violinist); Lucas Brunnert (German violinist); Marcelo Montes (Argentinian cellist); Ohimah Igbuan (Nigerian pianist) and Abednego Okafor (Nigerian pianist.)

Also present were Onyeka Onwe Onwenu, who was one of the judges, Prof. Viola Onwuliri (Hon. Ministor of State, Foreign Affairs) who represented President Goodluck Jonathan, and Hon. Bala Mohammed (Minister of the FCT).

These photos were taken at the event.