Caribbean Roots Musician Becomes Global Star After Royal Wedding Performance

By NAN Contributor

News Americas, LONDON, England, Tues. May 22, 2018: Caribbean-roots cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, has become a global star ever since his incredible performance Saturday at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Since then, Kanneh-Mason’s Twitter followers has grown to almost 90,000 and he has been interviewed by several major TV channels, including the BBC, CBS, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight as well as media houses like British GQ, People, Vanity Fair and Billboard. Yesterday he appeared on both CBS Evening News, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight in the US.

“It was such an awesome moment – just really incredible to perform for Prince Harry and Meghan at their wedding!  The atmosphere was amazing and I’m proud to have played a small part in the celebrations.  It’s a day I will remember for the rest of my life,” the 19-year-old Nottingham-born teen tweeted yesterday.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: The Caribbean Presence At The Royal Wedding Of Prince Harry And Meghan Markle

His debut album, Inspiration, also soared to fourth place in the US classical albums chart with some calling him the classical musician to watch.

A former Trinity School pupil and now Royal Academy of Music London student, Kanneh-Mason’s album includes performances of Shostakovich, Offenbach and even Bob Marley songs. He has been playing the cello since he was six and has an incredible passion for playing and learning and reveals he never gets nervous before a performance.

Kanneh-Mason has also made no bones about who his musical inspiration is, showing his Caribbean heritage.

“A lot of you have been asking who my musician inspirations are and I have to say, the great @bobmarley has been a huge influence to me,” he tweeted. “I recently arranged one of his tracks for my album – I hope you enjoy it!”

RELATED: Guess Which Caribbean Flowers Made It On To Meghan Markle’s Veil?

Kanneh-Mason’s father, Stuart Mason, was born on the Caribbean island of Antigua & Barbuda. He and his wife, Sierra Leonean, Kadiatu, are themselves classical musicians who taught their family of 7 to play.

The entire UK-based Kanneh-Mason family of siblings is musical and also appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and were deemed ‘The Most Talented Family in the World’ by well-known judge, Simon Cowell.

Kanneh-Mason came to fame in Britian after he won the BBC Young Musician 2016 title and made his BBC Proms debut in 2017.

On Saturday he played Sicilienne by Maria Theresia von Paradis and Apres Un Reve, by Gabriel Faure, before finishing on Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their guests. It has been reported that Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, began to well up during the performance.