[8] Nwanoku was born in Fulham, London, and before reaching school age she lived in Imo State, Nigeria, where her family went for two years.
Nwanoku subsequently studied at the Royal Academy of Music[6] while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.
[9] The orchestra, made up of 62 musicians representing 31 different nationalities, first performed in 2015 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall[10] and in addition to her work with the Chineke!
[1] Her academic appointments include Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and Visiting Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.
[12] She has also presented an episode of the Sky Arts TV series Passions, on the life and work of British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
[18] Nwanoku is based in London[19] and has two children (Jacob and Phoebe) and four grandchildren (Maya, Ralph, Sergi and Tallulah).