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Commonwealth Young Ambassadors
Commonwealth Music Ambassadors
The Young Music Ambassadors programme aims to build a network of pioneering young music leaders who are championing their musical culture and young musical voices in their country. Each Ambassador will be connected to Commonwealth Resounds events and projects, meet and discuss ideas with other countries’ Ambassadors, and inspire young people to get involved with music locally and internationally.
Leaders in Music
Experience the vibrant blend of musical styles and traditions from diverse cultures.
Bringing people together
Connect with musicians worldwide to create harmonious collaborations.
Inspiring others
Witness breathtaking performances that highlight the beauty of cultural diversity.
Meet the Ambassadors
United Kingdom
Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Wilkinson, based in South London, graduated from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in July 2023 with First Class Honours. She received the prestigious Irene Humber Prize for the highest Woodwind recital mark. Professionally, Ellen has performed with the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Dorset Opera Festival, showcasing her talent in several chamber ensembles.
Flabie Enar Lope
Flabie Loape is an African instrumentalist, born and raised in Lesotho. Her music draws on traditional genres with a jazzy, meditative feel, celebrating culture and Africanism through sound. She created the theme song for the multi-award-winning film Lieme ka Lekoa, in which six of her songs are also featured, and has also composed music for the film Kabelo.
She created an outro song, in spoken word, for Lesotho’s bicentennial documentary Moshoeshoe’s Strategic Leadership, and has co-composed the 2026 Commonwealth Games Dance Relay song, Africa Theme. Her work has also been published in a manuscript by the University of the Free State. As a figure in Lesotho’s music scene, Flabie uses her art to promote and preserve African indigenous instruments.
Lesotho
Solomon Islands
Philton Solomona
Born into a rich musical lineage of Samoan and Rotuman heritage, Philton Solomona is an arranger, composer, music educator and multi-instrumentalist whose work supports the development of classical and choral music in the Pacific. He is the son of pioneering composer Ueta Solomona OS and Susau F.K. Solomona, Music and Performing Arts Lecturer at the National University of Samoa.
Philton is Co-Founder and Music Director of SolFa Music Samoa, alongside Rosaiviti Solomona and Olivia Hogarth, an organisation dedicated to nurturing local talent through education, performance and musical opportunities. He is also Co-Founder of Liusheng UP, a music performance training group in Wuhan, China. A passionate advocate for youth development, Philton helps young people build confidence, discipline and essential skills through music, while creating bridges between Pacific oral traditions and the global classical stage.
Stephen Nwosu
Stephen Nwosu is a Nigerian singer, music educator and performer from Lagos. He began his musical journey at the age of 15 as a tenor in his church choir, and has since developed a wide-ranging career in performance, teaching and composition. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Estate Management from Yaba College of Technology and a Diploma in Music from the MUSON School of Music, alongside ABRSM Grade 8 Voice with Distinction and Grade 7 Music Theory.
Stephen has taught music in a range of schools, specialising in theory, saxophone and clarinet. He has also served as Assistant Music Director at St Stephen’s Anglican Church Choir, leading rehearsals and performances. Co-founder and lead vocalist of Mezzo Streams A Cappella, he was named Best Prolific Hymn Writer at Hymnodia Season 2 and continues to build a dynamic career blending classical and contemporary influences.
Nigeria
Brunei Darussalam
Deon Ong
Deon Ong is an experienced music educator with over 27 years of teaching across Brunei, Singapore, and Australia. She is the founder and principal of Yippy Tune Music School and has taught with Yamaha Singapore, Kindermusik, and Simply Music in Australia.
In 2023, she led 27 students to represent Brunei in a collaboration with The Commonwealth Resounds, featured at King Charles’ Coronation Concert and broadcast globally by the BBC. Deon has also performed at international events, including the MTV Asia Awards, and received the Most Outstanding Music Teacher Award from the University of Southern Queensland.
She is widely respected for coaching high-profile clients and conducting masterclasses and adjudications at music festivals. In 2024, she served as a jury member for local events in Brunei. In 2025, she collaborated with SM Entertainment Korea, expanding her presence in the international music industry while continuing to support youth development through music.
Elijah Kiwalabye
Elijah Kiwalabye is a Christian minister in his local church and the Founder/Executive Director of Thrive Music Academy Africa, based in Kampala, Uganda. A Professional Primary Teacher who graduated from Kyambogo University, he is also a multi talented musician inspired by his mother, Nanyonga Margret, who introduced him and his siblings to church hymns, poetry, and African folk songs using improvised instruments like jerrycans.
Elijah currently teaches both African native and Western musical instruments. Through his non-profit organization, he has discovered and nurtured young musical talents across various Ugandan communities, many of whom excel in international music examinations organized by ABRSM (UK). He has directed several children’s choirs, including Thrive Music Academy Africa, which participated in performances for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Coronation Concert of King Charles III, broadcast live on BBC News.
He also serves as Chairperson of the Pan African Choir Uganda and is an active choral singer.
Uganda
Cameroon
Teh Hope
Teh Hope Ning, known as T. Hope, is a Cameroonian songwriter, music director, and tutor recognized for his versatility across spiritual, traditional, and educational music. His journey began in secondary school through a cappella groups, but gained direction in 2006 when he joined the University of Yaounde I choir, The Glorious Voices, where he studied formal music theory.
By 2008, he became a music director, leading performances locally and internationally while developing his songwriting. A major highlight came in 2016 when he directed the choir during concerts in Italy, sharing Cameroonian culture abroad.
Between 2011 and 2014, he trained as an English teacher at the University of Bamenda, co-founding its choir and contributing to its anthem. Returning to Yaounde I, he helped the choir win multiple UNIFAC titles.
In 2023, he founded Hope Music Academy, promoting character development through comprehensive music education and training programs.
Day 10 was filled to bursting with composition, composition, and… composition. Throughout the previous 9 days, several members of the ABYSO had sent their compositions to Alison, Ka Youn, and myself, to be played in Monday’s composer’s concert. As a result, the proposed concert programme gradually expanded throughout the week, inflating from a 40-minute concert to an hour, then an hour twenty, and so on. By the time Monday rolled around, we had a program of 14 pieces, highlighting the fantastic diversity of musical creativity on the island.
In addition to the individual compositions, the composer’s concert also featured the collaborative compositions developed throughout the trip by the composition team and the various instrumental sections of the ABYSO. There was the violinist’s piece, a string quintet, which I was frantically sewing together as late as Monday morning (a timeline I’m sure every composer is familiar with). The quintet featured melodies and accompaniments from ABYSO violinists Asafa, Alfranique, Asha, and Calynia, all massively varied in character. Tying all these fragments together resulted in a wonderfully diverse musical collage, continually moving between driving grooves and floating lullabies. While I was wrestling with this, Ka Youn was doing something similar for the lower strings, tying together their beautiful melodies into a virtuosic duet for viola and double bass. What struck us both more than anything else was the incredible creativity of the ABYSO student’s musical fragments: They would often embrace quirkiness, would never shy away from subverting harmonic and melodic expectations, making each note on the page very much their own.
What followed was one of the best concerts of my life. Education officer Caryl Edwards-Lewis compered, cultivating a wonderfully Antiguan atmosphere of audience participation and engagement, sprinkling the perfect combination of humour, encouragement, and storytelling across the evening. Sitting front row was His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams and Her Excellency Karen-Mae Hill, two people who have provided invaluable help in facilitating the development of orchestral music on Antigua and Barbuda. Many of the members of the ABYSO presented their own pieces, preparing speeches that detailed the hard work and creativity of the previous week’s workshops, with each speech being met by a mandatory stretch of thundering applause and deafening whoops from parents and peers. Witnessing students, teachers, and parents lift each other up and recognise each other’s deep dedication to music-making was a truly special experience. The student’s pieces were awe-inspiring, testaments to their musical curiosity and willingness to collaborate creatively with one another. We heard film music, string music, wind music, quartets, quintets, duets, large ensembles, jazz ensembles and more, a musical kaleidoscope that represented the individual compositional talent of every single member of the ABYSO. Really special stuff.
Today was an exciting day for the 21 musicians travelling to Antigua with The Commonwealth Resounds, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of music and musicians across the Commonwealth, as we set off on a cultural exchange to the captivating island of Antigua.
On touching down in Antigua, we were greeted by Claudine and Karen Mae, The High Commissioner of Antigua. Their warmth and hospitality radiated through the welcome, we’re very grateful for their warm welcome and look forward to sharing our musical cultures.
The pace immediately picked up as our wind quintet was ushered to Pointe 99.1fm, where we had the opportunity to join the Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, on his well-known evening programme, Browne and Browne. Alison and Reuben spoke at length on the station about our plans and excitement whilst we are here. Discussing all things music with Colin O’Neil the conversation was positive and he really emphasised the power that music can bring to all our lives, be that academic, social or just for our own pleasure. It was amazing to hear about all the musical opportunities that the island offers and shares with the world. This platform offered us more than just an introduction to Antiguan society; it was a precious opportunity to share our musical passion with the nation.
The Dionysus Ensemble ran a “Go Compose Solomon Islands” day, which for the first time, introduced composition and trained the students not only how to create their own music, but to write it down. The day was focussed on music theory and notation practices as well as the importance of music being documented for posterity so that their music can be shared, performed by others and last into the future. Our students returned over the following few days with pages of newly created music, which they’d worked on at home after class, to ask advice, seek out new ideas and direction and to check their work with us. We performed and recorded all of their pieces for them so that each student now has a professionally performed record of their first piece.
The concert was attended by Their Excellencies the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda and the High Commissioner, plus everyone in the ABYSO. Each young composer introduced their own piece before it was played.