19-year old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason has been selected to play at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. He made his mark in history by being the first black winner of the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016.
Ms Markle called Sheku on the phone and asked if he would like to play at the wedding. The young cellist from Nottingham reveals that he was excited, honoured and bowled over at this request.
Prince Harry had earlier seen Sheku play at at a charity concert in London in support of the Antiguan charity- the Halo Foundation- (as confirmed by Kensington Palace), and was apparently impressed by his performance. In a tweet, Kensington Palace confirmed the invitation.
Sheku responded by tweeting: “I was bowled over when Ms Markle called me to ask if I would play during the ceremony and of course I immediately said yes!!! What a privilege. I can’t wait!”
Sheku went ahead to record an album of arrangements of modern songs and classical pieces after winning the Young Musician competition. His string of successes didn’t stop there. This album was ranked number one in the classical chart and 18 in the main chart. This makes Sheku the youngest ever cellist to feature in the countdown.
In addition, he has broken a UK chart record with his classical album, Inspiration.It’s the biggest-selling British debut album of the year so far.
In a rare display of selflessness he donated £3,000 to his old school, Trinity Catholic School in Nottingham, to ensure cello teaching could continue there.
Sheku grew up in Nottingham and began playing the cello when he was only 6 years old. His talent and dedication have made a way for him to stand before kings (literally). We applaud this show of Black Excellence and wish him even more success in his endeavours.
The royal wedding will take place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on 19 May, 2018 with a reception at the castle afterwards.
