Role

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Composer  

Birth

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1999 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

 

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a British cellist who has gained international recognition for his exceptional talent and musicality. Born on April 4, 1999, in Nottingham, England, Sheku was the third of seven children in a family of musicians. His parents, Stuart Mason and Kadiatu Kanneh, are both from Sierra Leone and had immigrated to the UK in the 1990s. Sheku's musical journey began at the age of six when he started playing the cello. He was inspired by his older sister, Isata, who was already a talented pianist. Sheku's parents recognized his potential and encouraged him to pursue music seriously. He started taking lessons with Sarah Huson-Whyte, a local cello teacher, and quickly progressed. By the age of nine, Sheku had won a place in the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Ben Davies. In 2015, Sheku won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, which catapulted him to national fame. He was only 16 at the time and the first black musician to win the prestigious award in its 38-year history. Sheku's performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the final was widely praised for its technical brilliance and emotional depth. The judges described him as a "phenomenal talent" and a "complete musician." After winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year, Sheku's career took off. He was invited to perform at major venues and festivals around the world, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican Centre, the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Verbier Festival. He also made his debut at the BBC Proms in 2016, playing Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Chineke! Orchestra, a pioneering ensemble of black and minority ethnic musicians. In 2018, Sheku was invited to perform at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. His rendition of Maria Theresia von Paradis's Sicilienne and Franz Schubert's Ave Maria was widely praised and watched by millions of people around the world. Sheku later said that it was an "incredible honor" to be part of such a historic event. Sheku has also released several albums, including Inspiration (2018), which debuted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart, and Elgar (2020), which won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Instrumental Album. His repertoire includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, and Tchaikovsky, as well as contemporary composers such as Philip Glass and Caroline Shaw. In addition to his solo career, Sheku is also a member of the Kanneh-Mason family ensemble, which includes his siblings Isata (piano), Braimah (violin), Konya (piano and violin), Jeneba (piano), Aminata (violin), and Mariatu (cello). The ensemble has performed at various venues and events, including the Royal Variety Performance in 2017. Sheku's achievements have been recognized with numerous awards and honors. In 2017, he was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award and the Classical BRIT Awards Critics' Choice Award. In 2018, he was named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Europe in the Entertainment category. He was also appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music. Despite his success, Sheku remains humble and dedicated to his craft.

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