Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE is a celebrated classical double bassist and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chineke! Foundation, which is dedicated to championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music. Chi-chi is a respected broadcaster, appearing on BBC and Classic FM, and has been featured on notable programmes such as Desert Island Discs and the 2020 BBC documentary "Being Beethoven".
Her contributions to music and diversity have been recognised extensively; she was awarded the CBE in the 2022 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours for Services to Music & Diversity, and has received accolades including the Commonwealth Cultural Enterprise Award, Creative Industries Award, and Top 10 BBC Women in Music. Chi-chi holds honorary doctorates from Chichester, Open and Cambridge Universities.
In 2016, she was named Black British Business Awards ‘Person of the Year’ and received the 2017 ABO Award for her significant contribution to UK orchestral life. Named in the 2020 book of 100 Great Black Britons, she has also been consistently listed in the Powerlist of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People over the past six years. In 2021 she became a Visiting Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge, and was appointed an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in 2023. Chi-chi is a fervent advocate for the importance of music in enriching lives globally.