BIO
Olaolu Lawal is an arranger and composer of African choral music. His works such as Gunugun and Kabiyesi have been performed at several choral events across Nigeria, Africa and in the World Choir Games. Among several choirs at home and abroad that he has directed and conducted, Olaolu has worked with the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Boys´ Choir of St. Andrews Episcopal School, Jackson Mississippi, teaching them Yoruba songs via audio visual resources. He has also worked with the Kor I All Verden? as part of preparation for their Autumn 2019 choral concert in Trondheim, Norway. Olaolu believes in the ideology that typifies the African musician as an ´integrated´ performer; therefore, he regards himself as a percussionist, dancer and singer all at once! He plays the djembe, gangan (Yoruba talking drum), bata, omele bata, cajon, conga and xylophone, among other percussion instruments. He is co-convener of ÀRÀBÀ, a band that performs Afrocentric music and has featured in such events as the Trondheim Jazz festival. Olaolu is also a record producer and recording artist, and among other projects, has recorded Yoruba folksongs performed with an amalgamation of live and digitally sampled percussion instruments.
In 2022, he participated as composer and music co-producer on a short film project, as part of the Kazi Moto series for Triggerfish and Disney.
Olaolu is also an ethnomusicologist whose research focuses on the documentation, retention, propagation and perpetuity of indigenous musical traditions as they evolve and are reimagined through time and space. He recently (in January 2026) completed his doctoral studies in ethnomusicology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Thomas Hilder, Abimbola Adelakun and Gediminas Karoblis.
Olaolu navigates through multiple layers of identity and is proud to call himself Yoruba, Nigerian, African and a distinguished member of the universe.