Rhodes Steve; Nigerian Classical musician. Rhodes’ original compositions, like Serenade for an Occasion, Walk Lightly, Ijapa-Pantomime, Why am I Free? and God’s Beauty, established his musical influence in Lagos. Rhodes produced and directed the first television drama, which he titled The Most Excellent Way, in 1963. As an artist he was praised as a consummate talent who left nothing to chance.
Born on April 8, 1926, Rhodes had his education at Queens College, Lagos, CMS Grammar School, Lagos, Enitonna High School, Port Harcourt, Hope Waddel Training Institute, Calabar, and Dennis Memorial School, Onitsha. Rhodes was trained at Modern Great, PPE, Kebble College, Oxford, England, from 1948 to 1951. He also studied music under the tutelage of Winfried Zillig, in Frankfurt, Germany, from 1951 to 1954. When Rhodes returned to Nigeria in 1955, to the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, he did with the intention of starting his own orchestra. Failing to get instrumentalists required, he began to write voices in the style for the kind of music he wanted with the NBC Dance Orchestra which he formed, the first Nigerian radio orchestra. Rhodes Steve who died in May 29, 2008 was the founder and director of the Steve Rhodes Voices from 1971 to 1997.
