Sheku Kanneh-Mason's wedding honour

13 July 2018

Sheku Kanneh-Mason was "honoured and excited" to perform at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason

The 19-year-old cellist was personally called by Duchess Meghan to ask him to be involved in her nuptials to Prince Harry on May 19, and though he had never seen her TV show 'Suits', he made a point of sitting down to watch it ahead of the big day.

He said: "She very nicely asked me to perform at the wedding and I said yes. I was honoured and excited. I hadn't watched Suits, but I watched it very soon after that.."

At the wedding Sheku - who played Schubert's 'Ave Maria' at the request of the couple, and two of his own suggestions, 'Sicilienne' by von Paradis and 'Après un rêve' by Fauré - was unable to see Michael Curry deliver his powerful sermon because he was seated behind a pillar.

However, he insisted: "It was really cool."

The teenage musician thinks the wedding was particularly "exciting" because it brought together aspects of many different cultures.

He told The Times newspaper: "It definitely brought together so many different people from many different backgrounds. I found it a very lovely and exciting event to be a part of."

And Sheku hopes his own newfound fame can inspire an interest in classical music.

Asked the advantages of fame, he said: "I mean, the main thing is I love the opportunity to be able to perform now for so many people, to bring music to as many people as possible.

"It's lovely when people recognise me and things like that. And particularly people who have never experienced this music before...

"Diversity is a massive issue in classical music. It's two main things. I think one is a lot of people not having the proper music education to learn the instruments to get into the profession.

"The other is about not seeing someone who looks like you doing it. If there's not that, then it's very difficult to see yourself doing it. That's something that I'm very keen on changing. I hope that I'm able to inspire young people to go and see classical music."