Sheku Kanneh-Mason: Get to know the extraordinary cellist
He became one of the youngest ever recipients of an MBE in 2020
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is one of the most exciting young musicians in the UK at the moment. He's achieved an incredible amount in a very short space of time; from his Britain's Got Talent semi-final performance with his siblings in 2015, Sheku's star has continued to rise - and he was even awarded an MBE in 2020.
There's a lot to know about the young man, so we've handily condensed his career highlights, facts and pivotal performances into a timeline for you.
Early life and family
Sheku is from Nottingham, the third of seven children born on 4th April 1999 (making his current age 21) to Antiguan hotel manager Stuart Mason and Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh from Sierra Leone.
His siblings are: Isata, Braimah, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata and Mariatu. He originally picked up the violin, but switched to the cello aged six based on a desire to be more impressive than his elder brother Braimah, who also played the violin, telling the Guardian in 2016 that he wanted to "outdo him and play a bigger instrument."
He added to the Guardian that although his parents had always encouraged him to practise, they never forced him to become a musician - that was a drive all of his own, "Although my parents have always encouraged me to practise, I’ve always wanted to be a musician.
"My parents were very keen on this from a young age. They made a lot of sacrifices, like holidays, to pay for music books and instruments and to ensure we could go to the Royal Academy of Music. Also we travel from Nottingham to London about twice a week, which is expensive – it’d be a lot easier if we lived in London! Hopefully seeing us become successful will make it worthwhile."
Rise to fame and career highlights so far
Early life
Sheku's talent was clear from a very young age, and he passed his Grade 8 cello at just nine-years-old - with the highest marks in the UK, and was awarded the Marguerite Swan Memorial Prize. Later that year, he won an ABRSM scholarship to study at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music, but continued his state school education, studying for A Levels in Music, Maths and Physics before going on to the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London, studying under Hannah Roberts.
Sheku isn't the only Kanneh-Mason sibling to study at the esteemed school - his elder brother Braimah and younger sisters Konya, Jeneba and Aminata are all currently fellow students, and their eldest sister Isata also studied there on the Sir Elton John Scholarship.
2015: Britain's Got Talent
Sheku and his siblings Isata, Braimah, Konya, Jeneba and Aminata entered Britain's Got Talent in 2015, aged between nine-years-old and 18 at the time, and sailed through to the semi-finals with their performance of 'Csárdás' by Vittorio Monti, receiving four yeses from the judges.
Their semi-finals performance saw them take on a medley of Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', Prokofiev's 'Montagues and Capulets', 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit and Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture'. They were hugely popular and received a standing ovation from the audience, but sadly did not make it to the final.
2015: Chineke! Orchestra
Sheku has also been a member of the Chineke! Orchestra, founded by bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE for black and minority ethnic classical musicians. Sheku spoke about his excitement of the project in 2016 to the Guardian, "Chineke! is a really inspiring project. I rarely go to a concert and see that kind of diversity in the orchestra. Or in the audience. Having the orchestra will definitely change the culture."
He also told the publication how he became involved in the project, "My family have been with it from its birth. The founder, Chi-chi Nwanoku, came to watch a trio concert of me, my elder sister, Isata, and elder brother, and invited us to be involved. It's inspiring, especially being one of the younger ones in the orchestra and having lots of role models to look up to."
2016: Young Musician of the Year
Sheku won the illustrious title of Young Musician of the Year in 2016, beating fellow finalists Ben Goldscheider and Jess Gillam with a performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No.1.
2016: Decca Records signing
Just six months after the win, Sheku signed to Decca Records in November and recorded the Shostakovich piece he'd played to secure the Young Musician win. That same month, Sheku appeared in BBC documentary Young, Gifted and Classical: The Making of a Maestro. The doc followed Sheku after his win, seeing how it changed his life and how he adapted to the changes, as well as featuring fellow musicians Nicola Benedetti CBE and Julian Lloyd Webber who were both able to bestow insight and advice.
2017: BBC Proms
Sheku performed with Chineke! at their BBC Proms debut in August 2017, with a stunning rendition of Dvořák's 'Rondo in G minor'. He played at the 2017 British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, performing an interpretation of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' for the In Memoriam segment of the show. Sheku became the first ever performer to be invited back to perform at the BAFTAs, taking to the stage yet again in 2018 along with his siblings Isata, Braimah, Konya, and Jeneba to play 'Evening of Roses' by Josef Hadar.
2018: Debut album 'Inspiration'
Sheku released his debut album 'Inspiration' in January 2018, which includes recordings of Shostakovich 'Cello Concerto No. 1' which he performed for the Young Musician of the Year final, accompanied by the CBSO and conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. It also included short works by other composers and an arrangement of Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry', written by Sheku himself. The record peaked at Number 11 in the UK, and earned Sheku two amazing titles: the UK's youngest cellist to get a Top 20 chart position with a debut album, and the first Young Musician winner to break into the Top 40 with a debut.
2018: Performing at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding
Sheku was asked by Meghan Markle to perform at her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, giving a stunning recital during the signing of the register. He performed 'Sicillienne' by Von Paradis, 'Après un rêve' from Trois mélodies by Fauré and 'Ave Maria' by Schubert.
The young performer later shared a video to his YouTube channel, opening up about how it had felt to be asked, the performance itself and the aftermath, describing it as an "honour". "I think the whole event was such a celebration of a range of different cultures," he explained. "For me to perform in front of an audience that would maybe attend a more popular music concert... It's really special to bring those two things together. I love the feeling when someone comes up to me and says they saw my performance and were inspired by seeing me playing. I think that's what makes it all worth it."
2018: Classic BRIT Awards
Sheku won double at the Classic BRIT Awards in 2018 - taking home the Male Artist of the Year and the Critics' Choice Award. He beat off competition from Alexander Armstrong, Jonas Kaufmann, Max Richter and Tokio Myers for Male Artist of the Year.
Later in 2018, Sheku performed Fauré's 'Après un rêve' from Trois mélodies at the Royal Variety Performance, reuniting him with Prince Harry and Meghan for the second time that year, as they were in the audience.
2019: Return to the Proms
The young star returned to the BBC Proms in 2019, performing Elgar's Cello Concerto with the CBSO conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, with whom he'd previously worked on his debut album 'Inspiration'. He also returned to the Royal Variety Performance later that year along with his siblings, performing 'Csárdás' by Monti that had seen them through to the Britain's Got Talent semi-final four years previously.
2020: MBE and second album
Not only did Sheku start his year off with a visit to Scala Radio HQ, but he also released his second album 'Elgar' in 2020, featuring Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, as well as other pieces. It peaked at Number 8 in the UK charts. Sheku also returned to the Proms, performing with his sister Isata on the piano. They played Beethoven's Cello Sonata in C major, Barber's Cello Sonata, Bridge's Mélodie and Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in G minor.
Sheku also received an MBE in the 2020 New Year's Honours List - becoming one of the youngest people to ever receive the title. He said in a statement, 'I am absolutely thrilled to be awarded the MBE for services to music. I was so lucky to have the dedicated support of my parents in giving me the opportunity to have specialist music lessons from a young child. I also had incredible support from the state schools I attended in Nottingham where music was promoted for its value in developing listening skills, teamwork, self-expression and hard work.
'The love and enjoyment for this great art is something that should be available to everyone, regardless of background. I am committed to continuing my work with organisations such as London Music Masters and Future Talent to reinforce the benefits of access to music for all young people.'
2021: Making history
In February 2021, Sheku received a Specialist Number 1 Award for becoming the highest-charting cellist of all time in the UK - Number 8 with his second album, 'Elgar' - as well as being the first cellist to break into the Top 10 of the UK chart.
Sheku said of his win, "I'm so honoured to receive this award for the top album in the Specialist Classical Chart of 2020. 2020 has been a very difficult year for many people but what it's shown is how much we need music, how much we need performers and recordings, and it's more important than ever to keep supporting the arts, classical music and music in general. I hope to be performing much more in 2021, thank you to everyone who supported this album."
Which cello does Sheku play?
Sheku plays a 1610 Amati cello. Initially lent to him on a temporary basis for his Young Musician 2016 win facilitated by violin maker Florian Leonhard, Sheku was granted permission to play the instrument indefinitely at the end of 2016.
Just 17-years-old at the time, Sheku told the BBC, "I immediately fell in love with this cello in the spring and I am thrilled. I can hardly believe that I can continue to develop my relationship with this cello, making the sound more completely my own over time. I could not be more happy and excited."
Florian added, "Sheku is something extremely special and is the most exciting young star we've come across - just pure talent and musicality."