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Over the years, the Anglican church choir has come to appeal to worshippers of different denominations for their discipline, regality, and hymnals. One of the reasons why Oluwarotimi Samuel fell in love with music, and went on to excel at the MUSON School Of Music while juggling his position as the Student President for his set.
“I was almost done with my senior secondary school education when I decided to finally join the choir and I joined because I had an interest in their attire. I think that was one of the major things that fascinated me. I liked the order, and everything because there was this sense of royalty,” he told Netng during an exclusive interview.
Born in an Anglican family, with a background and love for dance and art, Rotimi had always known he would be in the art sphere, although he went on to study Urban and Regional Planning at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State. “it was not a conversation that I had the wits to have in my house. So I just had to go to school, get a degree like the normal practice, and then I could do whatever I wanted.”
While getting his degree, he formed a team of creatives that aided him to explore his creative side while writing, directing musical productions, and coaching talents but his love for classical songs was not fully fuelled until he was surrounded by classical music lovers at his university, one of which eventually advised him to study music at MUSON.
“He saw me and told me if you want to do anything serious with your life as regards music you have to go to MUSON.” Rotimi particularly agreed with this thought as he feels that “if you are going to do anything serious as a singer, you need to be trained. Classical music takes a lot more than talent from you, it requires some serious training.” A training he believes the MUSON School of Music was more than capable of offering.
In between completing his degree in 2020 and the instability that came with his decision in 2021, Rotimi went on to write the entrance exams for MUSON. “I had to fight. That was the period when the conversation started in the house. I mean now you’re done with school – this is the normal Nigerian parent ideology – Get a job and start giving back to the house, you know what it took me to raise you without your dad.”
That was the conversation that led to a serious argument that lasted during the course of his two years diploma which was sponsored by the MTN Foundation. Although his mum later came to understand his decision in his last semester, she still had reservations. “The last two years of my life have been devoted to something, I mean that should speak volumes. So how do you not expect me to now finish two years of hard work and then now go back,” for Rotimi, it was going all out or not doing anything at all in the first place, he was determined to finish what he started.
“When she came for the final recital, it felt different, the energy was different. I had tears in my eyes while I was hugging my mom because of the words she was saying. So I mean it felt very emotional for me because she was like every place you want to get to in life with this music God will pave the way.”
Regardless of the eventual acceptance and the awards he received as a result of his academic excellence, he feels the real validation he needed was at his final year recital, “It was emotional, because of the number of people that came out for me and how they felt after the entire performance, the acceptability, I saw the pride in them.” For him, the real validation was that the people who had watched him grow as an artiste, got to experience his growth, they got to see how he bodied his 30-minute song cycle while giving an outstanding rendition of a 15-minute piece in pure German while challenging himself to portray different emotions with pieces from Mozart, Andel and ending it with a crowd-pleasing medley of Brymo’s ‘Orun Mooru and Meji Meji.’
MUSON was not only a place for him to unlearn parts of classical music, he thought he knew too well, but it was also a place for connections for him. “The reality is there are different categories of people that come into MUSON, there’s a category of people who never knew about classical music and didn’t do classical music coming in at all. There’s a category of people who know classical music and have been doing it, have been taking classes, and there’s a category of people who learnt one or two things. The majority of them might be wrong, but they work, that’s where I fall.”
Understanding his problems and not letting pride get in the way was probably one of the reasons he was chosen as the student president. Although, he had been declining any leadership position since his first year of gaining admission into the school. According to him, “All I said was everybody is going to have a voice, every student is part of the government, and everybody should feel responsible not just entitled, I mean to govern.”
Bordering on the problems he faced in his first year as regards student welfare, he wanted to make sure that it was sorted during his tenure, but it was also a hassle considering the fact that studying in the School of Music alone was already tasking enough for a regular student, and there was even more pressure considering there was a trend in place.
“Someone literally told me that once you’re the President your recital cannot be good because you don’t have time to prepare. For me, I said I’m not sure I want to settle for this narrative. Why do I have to? I’m first, a student. If I’m not doing well academically, it makes no sense to all of you because what kind of representation am I giving out, he said.
Instead of deciding to do all the work himself, he made sure all the executives were responsible for their jobs and only stepped in when necessary. “I guide my practice time jealously. I do it in a way that you can hardly disturb me because by the time you are coming to disturb me after school hours, it’s already close of business, and you have to come the next day.”
Thirteen years of curating musical experiences with influences from indigenous artistes like Ojo Ade, Yinka Ayefele, C&S Ayo Ni O choir group, Styl-Plus, 2Face, Plantashun Boiz, and many more, Rotimi has found his path, and for him, the next stage of his life is all about academics and further using his expertise in the musical theatre, a venture he has already started as he has directed two major musical theatres titled Ajakubo: The Whirlwind and Mpenzi (Zulu word for Lover).
And it’s all thanks to the MTN Foundation. “MTN are the realest MVPs. I’m saying this because in a society where a lot of people feel like classical music is obsolete or unnecessary in its prime. Finding a brand that will stand by such music is more than just humanitarian service,” he said. He particularly appreciates the fact that they’ve chosen to identify with people in the classical sphere.
“I think thank you will not be enough because the worth of the scholarship alone, the privilege, the books, even the subsidy that we’re getting, transportation, there’s no institution in this country where you are being given transportation to study, there’s none. It’s like living the European dream in Nigeria. That’s what MTN has done to MUSON, and that’s what MTN has done for me.”
MTN Foundation, in partnership with the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), has commenced applications for the 2023 edition of the Diploma in Music scholarship program. It is an opportunity for music enthusiasts to hone their skills, learn from the best and acquire quality music education. You stand a chance like Rotimi did.
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