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TTC musician Achilla Orru, renowned lokembe player, dead at 53
Feb 13 2013
By Katie Daubs
Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201..._orru_renowned_lokembe_player_dead_at_53.html
For years, Achilla Orru stood inside the yellow dots on the weathered TTC floor and played the lokembe the way a teenager texts, his thumbs swiftly plucking the metal spokes, the gentle, warm sounds drifting across the subway platform into the ears of commuters.
- The celebrated musician was found dead in his apartment near Dawes Rd. on Feb. 4. Friends say the cause of death was heart disease, complicated by diabetes and high blood pressure. He was 53. When he was a boy, Orru was accepted at a school for blind children, where he studied many instruments, including the lokembe. The instrument has flat steel spokes of different lengths mounted on a wooden resonator; it is known in other parts of Africa as a kalimba, sanza, or akogo.
- “There was nobody in the world who played this instrument like Achilla Orru,†said Nadine McNulty, a longtime friend and artistic director of the Batuki music society. “He was a great lyricist, he was a poet. He was truly the real thing.†Orru came to Canada as a refugee in 1989. He studied international development at Dalhousie University and created Baana Afrique while there. When he moved to Toronto in the 1990s after graduation, he started the band anew with local musicians.
- On stage, he was known as King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo. He wore colourful clothing and a feathered hat. During performances, his bandmates gave visual feedback — letting Orru know whether the audience was dancing, or bored. Offstage, he talked politics and world events. He loved CNN. With Baana Afrique, he toured Canada and the world. Independently, he was a Juno nominee, a soloist with the Royal Dutch Wind Ensemble, and a Toronto fixture as a licensed TTC musician — one of the most popular and well-known, often playing at Bloor-Yonge. He played the lokembe at charity events and once played at a backyard barbecue hosted by George Smitherman. He was a very particular musician.
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Feb 13 2013
By Katie Daubs
Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201..._orru_renowned_lokembe_player_dead_at_53.html
For years, Achilla Orru stood inside the yellow dots on the weathered TTC floor and played the lokembe the way a teenager texts, his thumbs swiftly plucking the metal spokes, the gentle, warm sounds drifting across the subway platform into the ears of commuters.
- The celebrated musician was found dead in his apartment near Dawes Rd. on Feb. 4. Friends say the cause of death was heart disease, complicated by diabetes and high blood pressure. He was 53. When he was a boy, Orru was accepted at a school for blind children, where he studied many instruments, including the lokembe. The instrument has flat steel spokes of different lengths mounted on a wooden resonator; it is known in other parts of Africa as a kalimba, sanza, or akogo.
- “There was nobody in the world who played this instrument like Achilla Orru,†said Nadine McNulty, a longtime friend and artistic director of the Batuki music society. “He was a great lyricist, he was a poet. He was truly the real thing.†Orru came to Canada as a refugee in 1989. He studied international development at Dalhousie University and created Baana Afrique while there. When he moved to Toronto in the 1990s after graduation, he started the band anew with local musicians.
- On stage, he was known as King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo. He wore colourful clothing and a feathered hat. During performances, his bandmates gave visual feedback — letting Orru know whether the audience was dancing, or bored. Offstage, he talked politics and world events. He loved CNN. With Baana Afrique, he toured Canada and the world. Independently, he was a Juno nominee, a soloist with the Royal Dutch Wind Ensemble, and a Toronto fixture as a licensed TTC musician — one of the most popular and well-known, often playing at Bloor-Yonge. He played the lokembe at charity events and once played at a backyard barbecue hosted by George Smitherman. He was a very particular musician.
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