THROUGH MUSIC, POETRY

By Sundararaman Rengarajan, Darin Zullo, Quillan

Ogbonné Mary Orji fully realized her childhood dreams the night of Jan. 31 after several intense months of preparation and rehearsal for her passion project, “Conception: The Awakening of Ogbonné.” An eighth-semester student at Berklee College of Music, Orji performed her debut visual album for a live audience of over 100 people at Berklee Performance Center.

Orji has been captivated by music since childhood, practicing tenor saxophone and cello from a young age. Citing influences such as Grover Washington, Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, Orji’s passion for spiritual jazz and soul shone through effortlessly in “Conception.” The first single of the album was initially released on Spotify in August 2022, with the entire album released a month later.

Combining poetry, dance, artistry and music, Orji was backed by an ensemble she called the Mary Orji