Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello & Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of the brightest young stars on the classical music scene and the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition, is already in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. In 2018, his spectacular performance at the Royal Wedding endeared him to millions of viewers across the globe. As The Telegraph notes, Sheku is “ a superstar who’s also a true artist in the making.”

In January 2018, his debut recording for Decca Classics, Inspiration, propelled Sheku to a debut spot at number 18 in the official UK album charts, and number 1 in the classical chart. Alongside short works by Shostakovich, Offenbach, Casals, and Saint-Saëns, Sheku’s own arrangement of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” was also featured on the album, and went viral on social media, clocking 1 million streams in its first month on Spotify alone. Just 20 years old, Sheku has already made successful debuts with many of the world’s top orchestras including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Barcelona Symphony, and more.

For his International Artist Series debut in the Ordway Concert Hall, Sheku’s program features Beethoven’s Variations in F Major Opus 66, Sonatas for Cello and Piano by Barber and Rachmaninov, and Lutoslawski’s Grave. He will be joined on piano by his sister, Isata Kanneh-Mason.

Acknowledgements

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