It was a day to remember for some of our young cellists as Ambassador Sheku Kanneh-Mason delivered a Future Talent Masterclass at the Royal Academy of Music.
February 6, 2023
On Sunday 29 January, Future Talent Ambassador Sheku Kanneh-Mason delivered a masterclass to six of our young cellists.
Working in the Angela Burgess Recital Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, six young cellists hailing from London, Kent and Abergavenny had 30 minutes each working one-to-one with Sheku on a piece they had prepared.
Despite being a little starstruck, our young musicians were enraptured; attentive to every word Sheku had to offer and visibly thrilled to be receiving guidance and support from the 2016 BBC Young Musician winner.
Throughout the afternoon, the cellists all worked on different sonatas, concertos and solo suites, from Saint Saëns, Schubert and Chopin through to Shostakovich, Popper and Bloch.
Watch an excerpt from Haru's session working on Schubert's Arpeggione with Sheku - head over to our new TikTok page!
Sheku, who has been an Ambassador of FutureTalent since February 2019, said, “It was a real pleasure to spend time working with these six quite different and talented young cellists and notice how quickly they took the suggestions on board and took their performances to a new level. When I was their age, I was lucky enough to have a masterclass with fellow Future Talent Ambassador Guy Johnston and I have never forgotten the advice he gave me - I think about it every time I play the piece.”
Future Talent CEO Clare Cook said, “We are hugely grateful to Sheku for creating an unforgettable and life-changing opportunity for Future Talent’s young musicians. The six young cellists blossomed under his attention, and the impact of his guidance was immediately evident to everyone in the room. We know how important it is that talented young musicians from low-income backgrounds are supported to progress musically and follow their dreams.”
