“Okoye has crafted more than an oratorio; she has provided a blueprint for how a society might sing its way toward a collective, empowered future… Ultimately, this release transcends the boundaries of a musical product to become a cultural event.”

— Alice Lange, Martin Cid Magazine

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“A singular and special achievement by any measure.” 

— John Kelman, Textura

 

“It is rare to find a project so carefully considered as award-winning composer Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings.” 

— Kaitlyn Chan, La Scena Musicale

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“The musical idiom is accessible, varied, and consistently entertaining... One can imagine When the Caged Bird Sings finding a place in the repertoire of other colleges and universities who can muster forces strong enough to do it justice.” 

— Altman, American Record Guide

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"What an incredible musical experience this is. Okoye is a genuinepolystylist. Many people want to be polystylists, but most lack the talent and encyclopedic interest to pull it off. But Okoye genuinely goes through about four different genres per minute, and she keeps that rate up throughout the piece.”

— Aidan Gray, The Art of Musical Dialogue

 

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“With a cool command of the massive array of performers on stage, Okoye’s writing joyfully danced from gospel music and spirituals to operatic solos, from cinematic orchestral interludes to minimalist riffs, and from electrifying ostinatos to lilting spoken word.”

— Tristan McKay, I Care If You Listen

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“The large-scale choral work moves effortlessly between gospel music and spirituals, opera solos, cinematic orchestral interludes, minimalist passages, and spoken texts.”

— Rémy Franck, Pizzicato

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“The distinctive musical experience that emerges serves as an emblem of the theme of transformation and how art can play a role in it.”

— Jane Harrison, AllMusic

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