Internationally acclaimed British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason joins Royal Northern Sinfonia and conductor Dinis Sousa at Middlesbrough Town Hall for a programme centred around Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1.
The concert also includes Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3 and music from Grieg’s Peer Gynt.
Kanneh-Mason has become one of the most recognisable British classical musicians of his generation.
Raised in Nottingham as part of the Kanneh-Mason musical family, his career has taken him from schools and youth music programmes to concert halls around the world.
His 2020 recording Elgar reached number eight in the main UK album chart, making him the first cellist to reach the UK Top Ten.
He was appointed MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours.
His prominence carries particular significance within British classical music.
For much of its institutional history, the image of the professional classical musician presented to British audiences has rarely reflected the full ethnic diversity of the country.
Black musicians have always participated in Western classical music, but their presence has often been less visible within orchestras, conservatoires and the historical narratives surrounding the genre.
The success of musicians such as Kanneh-Mason has helped challenge those assumptions.
His career demonstrates that Black British excellence in music cannot be confined to particular genres.
Black British musicians belong equally within classical concert halls, jazz clubs, gospel choirs, reggae sound systems and every other part of Britain’s musical culture.
His visibility has also introduced classical music to audiences who may previously have felt distanced from the tradition.
It is important to be precise about the Black History Month connection.
This Royal Northern Sinfonia concert is not advertised as an official Black History Month event.
We are including it editorially because one of Britain’s leading Black classical musicians is performing in the North East during Black History Month.
That distinction matters.
Black History Month should not require Black performers to speak exclusively about race or history in order to be included.
Achievement itself forms part of the story.
Kanneh-Mason appearing as the featured soloist with a major British orchestra offers audiences the opportunity to celebrate contemporary Black British excellence at the highest level of classical performance.
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