TCNJ

25 FALL/WINTER 2026 Meadows quickly offered Odonkor some work running his social media account. "I said yes, but I'd never done anything like that," Odonkor says. "I immediately started learning how to edit videos." Soon Meadows tasked him with transcribing and proofreading scores. "The questions he was asking, about jazz and harmony, made me know I was in good shape," Meadows says. "He's detail-oriented and wants everything to be right and cares so much." When Meadows heard that ArtsCentric, a small theater in Baltimore, needed an orchestrator, he recommended Odonkor. The opportunity to help with Technicolor, an original production about the history of black artists in television and film, was life-changing. "I'd never orchestrated a show, but I knew I wanted to do that kind of work," Odonkor says. "So, I just threw myself into it." There was little sleep and lots of stress, but through it all, Odonkor remained an enthusiast always ready to take on new challenges. "If I say I'm going to do something, I will do whatever it takes to get it done," he says. By his senior year, Odonkor's career was taking shape. Accepted into a prestigious mentorship program with Musicians United for Social Equity, he was matched with Tony Award- winner Stephen Oremus. The experience helped him land his first Broadway gig as music assistant on the national tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical. Each morning, he rode the train from Princeton Junction into the city and was (mostly) back for afternoon classes. In his final TCNJ semester that spring, Odonkor served as the music assistant for Broadway's A Strange Loop. Within a few weeks of his graduation, the show won a Tony Award, presented at a ceremony where Odonkor helped composer Alex Lacamoire of Hamilton fame orchestrate the opening number. "And then it just kind of spiraled from there," he says. THESE DAYS, Odonkor is the busiest he's ever been. "I'm definitely not sleeping as much as I should," he says. He's especially excited about his work as co-vocal arranger on Harveyland. The new musical, currently in development, comes from composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa, whose shows include The Addams Family, The Wild Party, and Big Fish. "He's fearless," Lippa says of Odonkor. "That heart of his, along with his deep talent and growing skillset, is really what has endeared him to me." Lippa met Odonkor through the mentorship program in 2022, hiring him to orchestrate his musical Love Somebody Now. Though it was one of Odonkor's earliest efforts, Lippa was impressed. "The challenge with most young people is holding them to the same standard I would hold any other colleague of experience," he says. But Odonkor not only put forth fresh ideas, he also understood how to accept criticism. Says Lippa: "It's the sign of a truly terrific mind that he works to better himself." Even as Odonkor's schedule grows ever more packed, he still maintains a "to listen to" list that lately features new indie artists and old musical theater cast albums. While his early successes have been a thrill, Odonkor says the ripple-out effects of his work matter more. "I want to be successful at a high level," says Odonkor, "But that is a byproduct of the goal. And the goal is chasing joy." ■ Liz Leyden and Peter Murphy are frequent contributors to TCNJ Magazine, and their talents bring a magic to telling the stories of our alumni.

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