Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason is a critically-acclaimed British pianist born in Nottingham in 2004. The fifth of seven siblings and the third to establish herself as a soloist following her sister Isata (piano) and brother Sheku (cello), Kanneh-Mason is known for her expressive performances, technical acuity and commitment to championing the music of underrepresented composers; she is widely considered a rapidly-rising star on the classical music scene.

Unsurprisingly, given her family’s extraordinary musical prowess, Kanneh-Mason began playing piano at three years old. By nine, she had achieve Grade 8 with distinction on both her primary instrument and on cello, earning the Nellie Greenhill Memorial Prize from the Associated Board for the highest marks in the area on the latter. By 11 she had won the Murs du Son Prize at the Lagny-Sur-Marne International Piano Competition in France, and by 15 she had reached the keyboard category final in the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year competition.

Launched into the public eye when appearing with her siblings on the television show Britain’s Got Talent, Kanneh-Mason has since performed extensively with major chamber and symphony orchestras both in the United Kingdom and on the global stage. Notable amongst these are the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chineke! Orchestra with whom she made her BBC Proms debut in 2021. She also regularly performs and records music with her siblings under the group name The Kanneh-Masons.

A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Kanneh-Mason has performed at the British Academy Film and Television Awards, appeared with her family in a number of television documentaries including the fascinating 2020 lockdown film This House is Full of Music, and released two solo albums to widespread critical acclaim. In 2022 she was named on Classic FM’s annual list of rising stars.