Onye Onyemaechi, MBA is the founding director of Village Rhythms. Onye brings the soul of African Culture to celebrations and teaching. He blends the best of traditional culture and modern life styles in his work with individuals, organizations, and the world.
A virtuoso of African music, Onye’s drumming and dance artistry has electrified audiences in the United States and abroad for over thirty years. His training and consulting have improved hundreds of lives and organizations.

Through Onye’s ministry of music, prayer and healing, he trusts that people can draw nearer to Divinity and experience the miracles of life. He is the founder and spiritual director of Ancient Ministries. He is a spiritual advisor to business executives, professionals and organizations. Onye performs and teaches at academic institutions, conferences, churches, hospitals, and various organizations in the United States and Europe. He has been featured on national television documentaries, Search for Spirituality, and other programs on the Wisdom Channel.

Onye Onyemaechi is a presenter at school assemblies as speaker/ performer to promote the joy of learning, self-empowerment and encourage students' success. Also, his message of village wisdom that fosters respect, tolerance and kindness profoundly resonates among teachers, administrators and parents. 
He is currently on the roster of the league of Volunteers of Newark Arts Council, El Dorado Arts Council and the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz. He has also received recognition and appreciation from Sonoma County Cultural Arts Council. Ronald McDonald’s Children’s Charities honored Onye with the Award of Gratitude for "special recognition for outstanding participation in Family Fest 1988".

Onye is a celebrated world percussionist, composer, producer and has recorded music for interactive video games and numerous CDs. He has been featured on NBC TV affiliate program Coming Together and the video and film documentaries: Of Sound & Healing, Search for Spirituality, and as well as the Wisdom Channel. Performing in the U.S. since the early 1980’s, Onye has been featured in Billboard Magazine as musical director of the ‘O Band’, Artistic Director and Business Manager of his own performance company, The Igbote Ethnic Ensemble, and performed on numerous radio shows nationwide. His major performances include First Night Boston, Cambridge Arts Fest, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Statue of Liberty Bicentennial Celebration (with his Igbote Dance Ensemble), and Harvard University Cultural Rhythms concert, Uetliberg Museum Arts Festival in Switzerland and Stadttheater Neuburg A.D. Donau, Germany. His sold out concert at Humboldt State University Performance Festival electrified the John Van Duzer Theater with a celebration of human spirit. He has been a featured performer and choreographer of the Oakland Festival of the Arts, Bay Area Dance Series and Forest Meadows World Music and Dance Series

He earned a BA in Fine Arts from College of the Holy Cross. After receiving his MBA with an emphasis in international business from Boston College School of Management, Onye felt his real calling was to create and teach a blend of the best of traditional culture and modern life styles.

While living in Cambridge in the early 1980s, he presented a monthly night of ethnic music and dance. All nationalities were invited and the evening would end with Onye drumming while hundreds of people, young and old, danced and drummed along. Some of those who experienced these events studied with Onye and went on to establish "drum circles" around the country. Onye is recognized as a pioneer in using drum and ethnic dance to bring communities together.

In the April/May 1988 issue of Whole Life New England Magazine, Onye was featured as their cover story and he was profiled in the Harvard Independent in February 25, 1988.

He has taught at prestigious institutions, businesses and conferences including Harvard University, Holy Names College/ICCS, Esalen Institute, Omega Institute, International Conference on Business and Consciousness, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Boston College, Sonoma State University, California Academy of Sciences, College of Marin, International Conference on Shamanism and Consciousness, International Conference on Sound Healing, Kaiser Medical Center, Sutter Health Center, California Institute of Integral Studies, Elaborate Technologies, over 1,000 schools and the Stadt Theater in Germany. As adjunct faculty member he founded the Drum and Dance Society at Sonoma State University.

© 2000 Onye Onyemaechi. All Rights Reserved.