#RoyalWedding catapults teenage cellist to global fame

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played at the wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Picture: Lars Borges/Pool via Reuters

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played at the wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Picture: Lars Borges/Pool via Reuters

Published May 19, 2018

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Windsor, England - Young British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was thrust into the global limelight on Saturday, heard by millions as he played at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

Asked by Meghan herself to perform, the 19-year-old from Nottingham is already well-known in Britain, where he was voted 2016 Young Musician of the Year and his debut album "Inspiration" topped the classical music charts.

As the couple signed the register, Kanneh-Mason played three pieces accompanied by an orchestra: "Apres un Reve" by French composer Gabriel Faure, "Sicilienne" by Maria Theresia von Paradis, an Austrian contemporary of Mozart, and Schubert's "Ave Maria".

Kanneh-Mason posted a video of himself on Instagram while being driven to Windsor on Saturday with his blue cello case.

"I'm on my way to Windsor to perform at the royal wedding. I'm really looking forward to that, to getting there and having a really great day," he said.

Kanneh-Mason said on Twitter in April that he received a personal call from Markle asking him to perform at the ceremony.

"Of course I immediately said yes! What a privilege," he wrote.

He was the first black musician to win the prestigious BBC competition since it was launched nearly 40 years ago.

Reuters

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