House of Music: Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason in Conversation with Julian Lloyd Webber
To mark the publication of House of Music
This event is now available to watch on demand until 10th July.
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Seven brothers and sisters. All of them classically trained musicians. One was Young Musician of the Year and performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The eldest has released her first album, showcasing the works of Clara Schumann. These siblings don't come from the rarefied environment of elite music schools, but from a state comprehensive in Nottingham. How did they do it?
For the first time, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason opens up about what it takes to raise a musical family in a Britain divided by class and race. In conversation with musician, conductor, and broadcaster Julian Lloyd Webber for this exclusive virtual event, Kadiatu will share her story of immigration, determination and hard work of a remarkable family succeeding when everything seemed stacked against them. It is a moving and inspirational account of determination, music, and love; it is a story about race, immigration, and education. It is the story of a mother and her family. And it is the story of her children, seven phenomenally talented musicians.
Collectively, the Kanneh-Masons have performed at the 2018 BAFTA Ceremony and concert halls across the world and, during the lockdown months, garnered huge audiences for their popular Facebook live performances from their family home in Nottingham. These precious moments of family life and music were beautifully captured in the BBC’s recent Imagine documentary.
Don’t miss this suitably unique and joyous celebration of the musical talents of the Kanneh-Mason family, which also serves as a window into issues of race and class in twenty-first century Britain.
Julian Lloyd Webber has performed with many of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and every leading symphony and chamber orchestra in the UK in partnership with such conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Neville Marriner, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Mark Elder and Sir Andrew Davis
‘A searing account of growing up as a mixed-race child in the Britain of the 70s. A deeply intimate and honest read on so many levels.’ John Suchet
‘Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s story offers a ray of sunshine. Her account of the daily struggle to manage the musical educations of her family’s seven talented children reaches a triumphant conclusion when second son, cellist Sheku, achieves worldwide fame in 2018, playing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’ Financial Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR
‘Riveting, taking in prejudice as well as sacrifice. There are 4.30am starts, lost instruments, fractured wrists, all captured with vivid flourishes. A paean to camaraderie.’ Observer