Harcourt Whyte: Difference between revisions

Ikoli was born in [[Abonnema]] in the old Niger Delta region in 1905. He was named Ikoli as a baby by his parents Munabo and Odibo. Between 1915 and 1918, he attended a number of schools including Bishop Crowther Memorial School. He was an active member of the school brass bands and took interest in playing the flute and side-drum.{{sfn|Achinivu|1979|p=78}} Later on in his life, he adopted the name Harcourt Whyte. His people, the [[Kalabari people|Kalabaris]] relied on [[fishing]] and [[trading]], and Ikoli as a child was trained in these skills.<ref>{{cite book|title=African Music|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u5kJAQAAMAAJ|year=1980|publisher=African Music Society}}</ref> In 1919, he was diagnosed with [[leprosy]] after symptoms were first noticed in 1918. In the early 1920s, he was sent to Port Harcourt General Hospital where he developed his talent in music and went on to form a vocalist band with forty other lepers. In 1932, he was transferred to Uzuakoli Leprosy Hospital, Bende Division, [[Eastern Nigeria]] where he met doctor-reverend-musician T.F. Davey from [[England]]. Whyte was encouraged by Davey, who took him on village survey tours to collect various traditional sounds. In 1949, after 34 years of ill health, Whyte was finally cured and discharged by Davey as “clean”.{{sfn|Achinivu|1979|p=85}} Whyte dedicated much of his life to the betterment and education of lepers who suffered the same illness as he once did. He performed sacred compositions inspired by Methodist Church hymns and Wesleyan doctrinal philosophy. His works attracted wide interest and were popular throughout the [[Igboland]], eventually earning him the title of "father of Igbo church music".<ref name="Agordoh2005">{{cite book|author=Alexander Akorlie Agordoh|title=African Music: Traditional and Contemporary|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FjpcUKa0KH4C&pg=PA131|year=2005|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59454-554-2|pages=131–}}</ref><ref name="Popkin1978">{{cite book|author=Michael Popkin|title=Modern Black writers|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NxvuAAAAMAAJ|year=1978|publisher=Ungar|isbn=978-0-8044-3258-0}}</ref><ref name="Omojola2013">{{cite book|author=Bode Omojola|title=Nigerian Art Music: With an Introduction Study of Ghanaian Art Music|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=iRsfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT51|date=4 April 2013|publisher=Institut français de recherche en Afrique|isbn=979-10-92312-13-3|pages=51–}}</ref> His career saw him compose over 600 hymns and compositions in [[Igbo language]].<ref>{{cite book|title=African Music|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u5kJAQAAMAAJ|year=1980|publisher=African Music Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=1911|title=Why we’re reviving Harcourt Whyte’s music —Foundation|work=[[News Express]]|date=4 June 2013|accessdate=13 August 2016}}</ref>