Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a critically-acclaimed cellist born in Bahrain in April 1999 and brought up in the British city of Nottingham. Known for his eclectic repertoire and passion for making the classical genre accessible to new audiences, Kanneh-Mason performs regularly as a soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras.

The third of seven children, Kanneh-Mason began to play cello at six years old and quickly excelled on the instrument. He first came to public attention when he appeared with his siblings on the ninth series of the ITV show Britain’s Got Talent in 2015, and the following year, having credited the exposure he received on BGT with helping prepare him for playing in front of a large audience, won the BBC Young Musician of the Year - the first black artist to do so in the competition’s history.

This success led to his signing a major recording contract with Decca Classics and the subsequent release of a debut EP to coincide with a performance at the British Academy Film and Television Awards. His first full length album titled Inspiration and including Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (the piece he performed to win Young Musician) was released in January 2018, and later that same year Kanneh-Mason rose to global prominence when performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle.

His career has since seen him collaborate with renowned orchestras from across the world including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra. He also performs regularly with his siblings under the name The Kanneh-Masons and with the Chineke! Orchestra - a British ensemble founded by Chi-chi Nwanoku and comprised of majority black and ethnically diverse musicians.

Additionally, Kanneh-Mason boasts an impressive discography and has been the recipient of various awards and accolades in recognition of both his services to music and charitable work; following his BBC Young Musician triumph in 2016, Nottingham City Council named a bus in his honour, and in the 2020 New Years Honours list he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire.