Latest news with #KadiatuKannehMason
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
A home filled with music — raising the Kanneh-Masons
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason is a former English academic and the mother of seven extraordinary children. All of them are gifted classical musicians. Her eldest daughter, Isata wrote and performed her first piano concerto at the age of eleven. Her son Sheku mastered the cello and performed at the royal wedding of Harry and Megan Markle. Every day the seven Kanneh-Masons, who range from early teens to the mid-twenties, fill the family home with glorious, sometimes chaotic, music. Further information Originally broadcast in August 2022. House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons is published by Oneworld. Kadiatu's newest book, also published by Oneworld, is called To Be Young Gifted And Black.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BBC accused of cutting cellist who played at Meghan and Harry's wedding out of its highlights because he was black
The mother of an award-winning cellist has accused the BBC of cutting him out of highlights of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry 's wedding because he is black. Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason said she was shocked to find her talented son Sheku did not feature in any of the corporation's highlights coverage nor in any newspapers the next day. The Duchess of Sussex had personally called the celebrated black cellist to ask him to perform in front of guests at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in 2018. Millions of people across the world watched his stunning performance in awe as he performed three pieces of music, yet his mother said that night he was not in any of the broadcaster's highlights. Speaking at the Hay Festival, in Wales, Mrs Kanneh-Mason questioned whether his omission was because he was 'not doing a black thing'. The Telegraph reported her as saying: 'So there was the choir, there was the preacher but he was left out as though he hadn't been there. 'The next morning, we looked through all the papers. He was not there. So they decided that he was going to be absent. And we thought, what's going on here? 'I think what it was: the gospel choir was doing what it was supposed to do. The preacher was doing what he was supposed to do. But a black cellist? A black cellist cancels itself out … he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing, he's not doing a black thing. 'That's really interesting, unpacking what the media thinks we're supposed to do.' The classical music star, who had two years earlier won the BBC's Young Musician Award, was chosen to perform alongside gospel singers The Kingdom Choir. While the sermon was by African-American priest Rt Rev Michael Curry. The Sussexes were widely applauded for the multicultural event with Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty Magazine, telling The Sun at the time: 'There's never been a royal wedding like in modern history.' A BBC spokesman told The Telegraph: 'BBC News reported widely on Sheku Kanneh-Mason's role in the 2018 royal wedding including news that he was selected to play, multiple stories of how the day unfolded and on the impact of his performance.' MailOnline has contacted the BBC for further comment. Sheku told of his pride at performing at the royal wedding a year later saying: 'I enjoyed every moment of it. The atmosphere was buzzing and I felt lucky to play in such a beautiful building.' He has also won two Classic Brit Awards, and received an MBE for services to music. Sheku, from Nottingham, revealed in 2019 of the moment he received a phonecall from Meghan. He told HELLO!: 'An American voice came on the line saying, "Hi, I'm Meghan Markle. Would you like to play at my wedding? I've been a fan of yours for a while but I didn't know you were British".' During the ceremony Sheku played Maria Theresia von Paradis's Sicilienne, Gabriel Faure's Apres un reve and Franz Schubert's Ave Maria. In an interview with the Evening Standard Magazine, Sheku previously revealed that he'd never been to a wedding before and talked to the royal couple before their nuptials. Sheku said: 'I'd never actually been to a wedding before. It was pretty cool. Kind of like I'd imagine a wedding to be. I actually really enjoyed it.' In the run up to the wedding he met Meghan and Harry in St George's Chapel to discuss the music they wanted for the big day. He said that Meghan had her own ideas about songs and they both very passionate about what would be played. Sheku continued: 'They were really friendly. It was great to talk to them and see how much they cared about what I played.' He also reached the 2015 semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent in a classical music ensemble with four of his siblings. He has performed at No 10 Downing Street, been the subject of a BBC Four documentary and performed at the BAFTAs twice. Sheku was brought up the third eldest of seven siblings. His parents Stuart and Kadiatu both played instruments but didn't have a musical calling. His big sister Isata, the eldest, studied at the Royal Academy on a scholarship funded by Sir Elton John (after she played for him at a concert in America) and was a Young Musician piano finalist in 2014. Brother Braimah also took part in the 2014 Young Musician contest as part of a string quintet.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘My son was cut out of BBC's Harry and Meghan wedding highlights because he is black'
A cellist who performed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding was left out of the BBC's highlights package because he was black, his mother has claimed. Sheku Kanneh-Mason was chosen to perform at the 2018 wedding, held at St George's Chapel, Windsor. His mother, Kadiatu, said she was dismayed to see that he was cut from the BBC highlights coverage, and was not featured in newspapers the next day. She suggested that the media did not know how to deal with a black cellist, as classical music was normally the preserve of white musicians. Speaking at the Hay Festival, in Wales, Mrs Kanneh-Mason said: 'When Sheku played at the royal wedding, that night he was not in any of the BBC highlights. So there was the choir, there was the preacher but he was left out as though he hadn't been there. 'The next morning, we looked through all the papers. He was not there. So they decided that he was going to be absent. And we thought, what's going on here? 'I think what it was: the gospel choir was doing what it was supposed to do. The preacher was doing what he was supposed to do. But a black cellist? A black cellist cancels itself out … he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing, he's not doing a black thing. That's really interesting, unpacking what the media thinks we're supposed to do.' Sheku, the first black winner of the BBC Young Musician competition, was chosen to perform at the wedding after the Duke saw him play at a charity event. He played three pieces of music at the ceremony. The wedding also featured gospel singers The Kingdom Choir, who performed Stand By Me, and a sermon by American preacher Rt Rev Michael Curry, who was the first black presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Mrs Kanneh-Mason has written a book, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, about Sheku and his six musically gifted siblings, exploring 'issues of cultural, racial and national identity'. She said of Sheku entering the BBC Young Musician competition: 'I panicked because he had a massive afro at that point and I thought, 'If he goes on the stage with that… the judges are not going to believe he's a classical musician. Should we make him a bit more formal?' 'In the end, he went on as himself but we had to think about that: what the presentation was, what the image was. It's one of those things going on all the time.' Mrs Kanneh-Mason said that her daughter, Konya, a pianist, was racially abused by an audience member while a student at the Royal Academy of Music. She said a man came up to her daughter and said 'I think you played beautifully – I don't know, because I was looking at your body all the time. 'Then he said, 'You shouldn't be here, because you people are taking all the jobs from the white musicians who should be here'. And she looked around and thought, 'I am the only black musician, the only black person in this room, so whose job am I taking?'' Asked about her children suffering 'micro-aggressions', Mrs Kanneh-Mason said: 'They're called micro-aggressions but actually they're maxi-aggressions. They happen all the time. And having to navigate that on a daily basis is very difficult.' A BBC spokesman said: 'BBC News reported widely on Sheku Kanneh-Mason's role in the 2018 royal wedding including news that he was selected to play, multiple stories of how the day unfolded and on the impact of his performance.'
