Tunde Jegede is an international composer and pioneer of African Classical Music with a deep knowledge and understanding of traditional music and culture. His work has been performed all around the world in halls such as Carnegie Hall (USA), Royal Albert Hall (UK), The Basilique Paris (France) and The Concertgebouw (The Netherlands). His remarkable background as composer and multi-instrumentalist (cello, kora, piano and percussion) uniquely positions him between the worlds of contemporary classical, African and popular music. As a composer, his distinctive sound has found its way onto the big screen, including films such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask.

Jegede has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, chamber music and opera. His productions have been staged in many theatres and opera houses, including The Royal Opera House (UK), Lyon Opera House (France), Harris Theatre (USA), Shakespeare’s Globe (UK), Jant Bi (Senegal) and Iziko Museum (South Africa). He has received commissions from, amongst others, the Prince Claus Foundation, St. Denis Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, London Symphony Orchestra, Brodsky Quartet, Orchestre National de France, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

Jegede studied classical music from the age of seven at two prestigious music conservatoires in London: Purcell School of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was also immersed in the Griot tradition and studied with the master of the Kora, Amadou Bansang Jobarteh, in The Gambia from the age of eight. He has gone on to perform and record with some of Africa’s finest artists, including Oumou Sangaré, Kasse Mady Diabaté, Angélique Kidjo, Seun Kuti and the Pan African Orchestra.

Jegede is the founder of the NOK Orchestra, an orchestra of Nigerian classical musicians exploring compositions by African composers. He is also the founder of the African Classical Music Ensemble, which is dedicated to preserving, performing and presenting the music and culture of the ancient West African Griot tradition. In 2013, Jegede set up and established the Living Legacies Archive, Gambia’s first online national music resource. In 2014, Jegede was appointed the Artistic Director of the MUSON Centre. During his three-year tenure, he created the New Horizons Festival, which brought together over 400 musicians from 4 continents, performing across 20 satellite venues in Lagos. Consequently, he became a catalyst for a new generation of young Nigerian artists, bringing local talent onto the global platform.

Tunde Jegede and the NOK orchestra gave their debut UK concert at the Wigmore Hall in London, where they received a standing ovation from a sold-out audience. They have since toured in the UK and Europe, bringing a new awareness of African culture whilst changing the face of classical music. The NOK orchestra have an annual residency programme in Portugal, which provides a sanctuary for composers to write, musicians to rehearse and a space for practitioners to explore creative inspiration in the landscape of nature. Tunde Jegede and the NOK orchestra have released their debut album, Invocation, and featured on BBC television and world service, as well as contributing to several feature film soundtracks, including 500 Years Later, African Apocalypse, and the award-winning feature film, Mami Wata.

Over the years, Jegede has contributed to numerous albums both as a recording artist and producer. He has released five albums as a solo artist: Lamentation (1995), Still Moment (2006), How Many Prophets (2009), Heritage (2014), Testimony (2014) and his latest release, Moon Waters (2025).

From his early beginnings, Jegede’s many travels and musical encounters across the globe is a story that parallels the myriad journeys of music itself - one of origins and diasporas, traditions and renewals, cycles that weave together to form a single legacy and voice. Tunde Jegede is truly a twenty-first-century renaissance man.