Sheku Kanneh-Mason (born 4 April 1999) is a British
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
who won the 2016
BBC Young Musician
BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast wikt:biennially, biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010.
The competition, a former member of t ...
award. He was the first Black musician to win the competition since its launch in 1978.
He played at the
wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018 under the direction of
Christopher Warren-Green
Christopher Warren-Green (born 30 July 1955) is a British violinist and conductor. He was born in Gloucestershire and attended Westminster City School, where he was a chorister, and later the Royal Academy of Music.
Warren-Green has served a ...
. As of 2021, Kanneh-Mason plays a
Matteo Goffriller
Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the "Venetian School (music), Venetian School" of luthiers, durin ...
cello which was made in 1700.
Early life and education
Kanneh-Mason grew up in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England. He was born to Stuart Mason, from London, a luxury hotel business manager of Antiguan descent, and Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh, from
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, a former lecturer at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
and author of the 2020 book ''House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons''.
He is the third of seven children
and began learning the cello at the age of six with Sarah Huson-Whyte, having briefly played the violin.
His love for the cello started when he saw his sister perform in 'Stringwise', an annual weekend course for young Nottingham string players, run by the local music charity Music for Everyone. He then switched from violin to cello and went on to take part in Music for Everyone's Stringwise courses, impressing their conductors with his ability to play everything from memory. At the age of nine, he passed the Grade 8 cello examination with the highest marks in the UK, and won the Marguerite Swan Memorial Prize.
Also aged nine he won an
ABRSM
The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...
junior scholarship to join the Junior Academy of the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
, where he was tutored by Ben Davies.
Kanneh-Mason received his non-specialist education as a pupil at the
Trinity School, Nottingham,
where he studied for
A levels
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
in Music, Maths and Physics.
He later became a student of
Hannah Roberts Hannah Roberts may refer to:
* Hannah Roberts (Miss Mississippi)
* Hannah Roberts (BMX cyclist)
* Hannah Roberts (cellist) See also
*Anna Roberts
Anna Roberts (born November 11, 1957) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the ri ...
at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
in London. He has cited cellists
Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time.
Her care ...
and
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...
as his "musical heroes", alongside
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
.
Career
In 2015, he and his siblings were competitors on ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...
'' as The Kanneh-Masons. He won the BBC's Young Musician of the Year contest in May 2016, later telling ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' that appearing on ''Britain's Got Talent'' had been "a good experience for getting used to performing in front of lots of people, with cameras and interviews. When it came to BBC Young Musician there were fewer cameras so I wasn't fazed at all."
Kanneh-Mason was a member of the
Chineke! Orchestra
Chineke! Orchestra () is a British orchestra, the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians. The word Chineke derives from the Igbo language meaning "God". The orchestra was founded by m ...
, which was founded by
Chi-chi Nwanoku
Chinyere Adah "Chi-chi" Nwanoku (; born June 1956) is a British double bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enl ...
for black and minority ethnic classical musicians; his sister
Isata Kanneh-Mason
Isata Kanneh-Mason (born May 1996) is a British pianist. She is the sister of and frequent collaborator with cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Early life and education
Kanneh-Mason grew up in Nottingham, England. She is the first child of Stuart ...
and brother Braimah are also members.
In 2016, Kanneh-Mason told ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s
Tom Service
Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a British writer, music journalist and television and radio presenter, who has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of The Proms f ...
that:
In November 2016, Kanneh-Mason was the subject of a
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 documentary entitled ''Young, Gifted and Classical: The Making of a Maestro''. The following month, he was interviewed for BBC Radio 4's ''
Front Row'' round-up of the year's major arts and entertainment award winners.
In January 2018, it was reported that Kanneh-Mason had donated £3,000 to his former secondary school, enabling ten other pupils to continue their cello lessons.
Kanneh-Mason signed a deal for worldwide general management with London-based boutique agency, Enticott Music Management in June 2016, and went on to sign a major recording contract with classical music label
Decca Classics
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. In ...
in November 2016. The record deal was signed on board a Nottingham City Transport bus which the local authority had named in his honour after Kanneh-Mason won the BBC Young Musician contest.
The label announced that his first recording would feature the piece with which he won the BBC's Young Musician of the Year contest, Shostakovich's
Cello Concerto No.1.
Kanneh-Mason performed at the 2017
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
(BAFTA) held in London's
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
. In the same year, he was the soloist for the Chineke! orchestra's performance at the
BBC Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
, playing
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
's
Rondo in G minor. In February 2018, Kanneh-Mason became the first artist ever to be re-invited to perform a second time at the British Academy Film Awards, playing "
Evening of Roses" by in an arrangement by Tom Hodge. For his second BAFTA performance, Kanneh-Mason was joined on stage at the Royal Albert Hall by his siblings Isata, Braimah, Konya, and Jeneba.
In early February 2018, the BBC reported that Kanneh-Mason's album ''Inspiration'' was "the biggest-selling British debut of the year to date", entering the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
at number 18, had become number one on the
UK classical albums chart, and had achieved 2.5 million streams on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
On 19 May 2018, Kanneh-Mason performed as part of the musical selections for the
wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...
. On 11 November 2018, he performed in the presence of the same couple at the
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...
which was broadcast on ITV.
On 26 May 2022 the Royal Academy of Music announced that Kanneh-Mason had been appointed as its first
Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring.
After having to postpone a tour to Australia in 2020 and 2021, the whole family toured six Australian cities over 16 days in July/August 2022, including a performance with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
of Shostakovich's
Cello Concerto No. 2 and a wide variety of compositions by
Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor.
Life
Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845-1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a m ...
,
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
,
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
,
Maria Theresia von Paradis
Maria Theresia von Paradis (May 15, 1759 – February 1, 1824) was an Austrian musician and composer who lost her sight at an early age, and for whom her close friend Mozart may have written his Piano Concerto No. 18 in B-flat major. She was a ...
,
Eric Whitacre
Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. ...
,
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
,
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor.
Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...
,
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
Jerry Bock
Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony A ...
(''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
''), and
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
("
Redemption Song
"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, ''Uprising'', produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's gre ...
").
Honours and awards
Kanneh-Mason was the winner of the 2016
BBC Young Musician
BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast wikt:biennially, biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010.
The competition, a former member of t ...
competition, following which his home town of Nottingham named a bus in his honour.
In that year he also won the
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
Young Instrumentalist Duet Prize.
In June 2017, he won the Classical category of the
South Bank Sky Arts Award
The South Bank Sky Arts Awards (originally The South Bank Show Awards) are an accolade recognizing British achievements in the arts. The awards have been given annually since 1997.
They originated with the long-running British arts programme ' ...
''The Times'' Breakthrough prize.
In June 2018, he won both the Male Artist of the Year and the Critics' Choice Award at the
Classic BRIT Awards
The Classic BRIT Awards (previously Classical BRIT Awards) are an annual awards ceremony held in the United Kingdom covering aspects of classical and crossover music, and are the equivalent of popular music's Brit Awards. The awards are organi ...
.
Kanneh-Mason was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours for services to music.
In March 2020, Kanneh-Mason won the public vote for Best Classical Artist at the
Global Awards.
Discography
Kanneh-Mason released his debut
EP in February 2017 to coincide with his performance at the BAFTAs. The three tracks on the EP were recorded at the
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
.
*
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals, , "
Song of the Birds", acc. Isata Kanneh-Mason
*
Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...
, "Abodah", arr. Sheku Kanneh-Mason
*
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...
, "
Après un rêve"
These tracks followed the viral success of his video of
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
's "
Hallelujah
''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...
", arranged by Tom Hodge. Kanneh-Mason performed this arrangement at the BAFTAs in February 2017. He has also recorded
Gaspar Cassadó
Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu (30 September or 5 October 1897 – 24 December 1966) was a Spanish cellist and composer of the early 20th century. He was born in Barcelona to a church musician father, Joaquim Cassadó, and began taking cello lesson ...
's "Requiebros".
Kanneh-Mason appears as a guest artist on the album ''Tecchler’s Cello: from Cambridge to Rome'' by cellist and fellow BBC Young Musician winner
Guy Johnston, released in September 2017.
On 26 January 2018 Kanneh-Mason's first full-length album, ''Inspiration'', was released by
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
. The recording includes the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 (accompanied by the
CBSO
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...
conducted by
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (born Mirga Gražinytė, 2 April 1986 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian conductor. She is currently musical director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).
Biography Early years and education
Gražinytė-Tyla was ...
) as well as shorter works by Shostakovich,
Saint-Saëns,
Offenbach, Casals and Kanneh-Mason's own arrangement of Bob Marley's "
No Woman, No Cry
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album '' Natty Dread''.
The live recording of this song from the 1975 album '' Live!'' was released as a single and is ...
". On 2 February 2018, the Official UK Charts Company announced that ''Inspiration''
's success had made Kanneh-Mason "the UK's youngest cellist to break into the Official Albums Chart Top 20 with his debut album" (the previous holder of the accolade being cellist
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.
Early years and education
Julian ...
, who was 39 when he released ''
Lloyd Webber Plays Lloyd Webber
''Lloyd Webber Plays Lloyd Webber'' is a 1989 album by British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber interpreting songs written by his older brother, the popular musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The album was recorded with the Royal Philhar ...
'' in 1990). As well as being the highest-charting BBC Young Musician on the UK's Official Albums Chart, Kanneh-Mason is also the first BBC Young Musician to break into the albums Top 40 with their debut record.
Kanneh-Mason's second album ''Elgar'' was released by Decca Classics on 10 January 2020. It features a recording of the
Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, with the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
conducted by
Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...
. The album also includes arrangements of traditional melodies, along with works by Bloch,
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, Elgar, Fauré, and
Julius Klengel
Julius Klengel (24 September 1859 – 27 October 1933) was a German cellist who is most famous for his études and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel. A member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig at f ...
.
Kanneh-Mason and his sister Isata together released the album ''Muse'' in November 2021. It features
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
's
Sonata for Cello and Piano, transcriptions of songs by Barber and
Rachmaninov
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
, and Rachmaninov's
Cello Sonata
A cello sonata is usually a sonata written for solo cello with piano accompaniment. The most famous Romantic-era cello sonatas are those written by Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were written in the 1 ...
.
Albums
Charitable work
Kanneh-Mason was diagnosed with
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...
at the age of 12. In September 2018, the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, provides a broad array of community and activist services to the T1D population and actively advocates for regulation favorable to medical research and approval o ...
(JDRF) announced that it had appointed him as a global ambassador. He is also an ambassador for the charities Music Masters and Future Talent.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanneh-Mason, Sheku
1999 births
Living people
Black British classical musicians
Child classical musicians
Britain's Got Talent contestants
Decca Records artists
English cellists
English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent
English people of Sierra Leonean descent
People educated at The Trinity School, Nottingham
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
People from Nottingham
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Musicians from Nottinghamshire
People with type 1 diabetes