Sheku Kanneh-Mason, whose services were personally requested by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will be making his U.S. orchestral debut with the Seattle Symphony this fall.
A young cello virtuoso who earned rave reviews for his performance at the royal wedding will be making his U.S. orchestral debut with the Seattle Symphony this fall.
British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason had been scheduled as a guest soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra — until Meghan Markle called, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Prince Harry had seen Kanneh-Mason, 19, perform in London last summer, and his talents were requested for the royal couple’s wedding on Saturday.
“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,” Kanneh-Mason said in a statement from Kensington Palace. “What a privilege to be able to play the cello at such a wonderful event.”
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Elena Dubinets, Seattle Symphony’s vice president of artistic planning and creative projects, apparently first learned of Kanneh-Mason after he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2016 after a stunning performance of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto at London’s Barbican Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
He also was lauded for an arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” performed at the BAFTAS Awards show at the Royal Albert Hall, that went on to be a social-media hit, according to information provided by Seattle Symphony.
Kanneh-Mason will be performing with Seattle Symphony Oct. 18, 19 and 20 in programs featuring works by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is rescheduling with Kanneh-Mason for its 2019-20 season.