His father was assassinated in Lagos in 1951:
Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli(b. 1948) Flutist, Composer, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist.
He was born in Lagos to a Nigerian(Itsekiri)mother, Suzanne Gray Fregene and a Swiss father, Theo Manfred Iseli, who had come to Nigeria as a diplomat in 1946.
Sadly, his father was assassinated in Lagos in 1951 after which he relocated to Switzerland and was brought up by his Uncle Mr J.J. Direndirger.
The renowned business man/ Philanthropist Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony later became his Stepfather.
In Switzerland he studied economics at the University of St. Gallen.
He also gained a specialization in classical music concert performance and philharmonic composition from the University of Lausanne. He had learnt to play the flute at a very early age.
He returned to Nigeria in 1970 and worked briefly for Nigerian Hardware Industries Ltd, a division of UTC.
It was while he was working there that he formed his first African band- Tee Mac and Afro Collection with notable artists like Laolu Akins on drums, Tunde Kuboye on bass guitar, Berkley Jones on lead guitar, Joni Haastrup on keyboards, Friday Puzzo on congas, Steve Black on vocals and the Lijadu Sisters on vocals.
After a while, he returned to Europe, living and working in London, Zurich and Hamburg. During this period he formed new band, Tee Mac United.
In the mid 70s he worked with Michael Kunze producer of the German Euro Disco band ‘Silver Convention’ He later worked with celebrated Welsh-Nigerian singer Shirley Bassey as her musical arranger and conductor.
After his working stint in Europe, Tee Mac headed home to Nigeria where he formed a new band the Tee Mac Collection.
He also bought over and renovated Surulere Night Club and opened another club in Yaba – Black Pussycat.
He toured the whole of Nigeria with his Band and recorded his first TV Series with NTA, The Tee Mac Show.
In 2007 Tee Mac was elected president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN).
In 2011 he was elected chairman of FAMECorp, owned by top Nigerian Musicians and Nollywood stars, to build cinema houses and concert halls all over Nigeria.
Tee Mac is also well known as an Entrepreneur and philanthropist.
His business interests include Entertainment, Solid minerals and Oil & Gas.
He is the Chairman of the board of the Tee Mac-HEMLA Foundation, with the mission to build music schools for the underprivileged youths of Nigeria.
Tee Mac sits on the board of PetronorE&P (listed on the Norwegian stock exchange) a joint venture between Petromal Abu Dhabi and Hemla/Nor, Norway.
Tee Mac was awarded the Member of the Federal Republic(MFR) national honor by Nigeria’s President Yar’adua in 2009 for his vital role in brokering peace with the Niger Delta militants and fighting for their rehabilitation.
In 2011 he received an honorary doctorate degree in Arts from Bradley University in Illinois, where he serves as chairman of the board of trustees, and teaches philharmonic composition as visiting associate professor.
These days, Tee Mac spends most of his time working on philharmonic compositions and playing his flute. He still performs on invitations world wide.
He tends to split his time between Lagos, Zurich and Abu Dhabi.
Lifted from:The Nigerian Nostalgia 1960 -1980 Project
Source: Bimbola Babarinde