Sheku Kanneh-Mason: ‘I had to place Black and classical next to each other in a way that made perfect sense’

In an exclusive extract from his new book, the star cellist reflects on the challenges a Black British classical musician faces; music education; and the ‘volcano’ of racism he stoked over his Last Night of the Proms commentWhen I won BBC Young Musician, I couldn’t believe it. When I heard my name my whole body shone with delight. My hand covered my open mouth and, as I saw when I watched the footage back later, relief mixed with impossible joy on my face. I walked out in front of the standing crowd like a boy in a dreamworld … my family in a row, crying. I found out, much later, that social media, although mostly delighted, was also hosting a thread of darkened disbelief, turning on the idea that being Black meant I couldn’t possibly have been good enough. Surely, they said, this was a “politically correct” decision. He only won because he was Black. I was the first and therefore the unconscionable, impossible winner. If there were none before me, that itself was proof there should be none of us now. We were damned if we won and damned if we didn’t. Luckily, my parents folded all of this into their quiet whispering together and hid it from me …I was very aware, though, of the kind of scrutiny I was weathering. The radio and newspaper interviews let me know without hiding it that I had questions to answer. On the one hand, was I a bona fide good cellist or“just” a Black musician? Was I really fit to be pushed into this spotlight and stand next to “real” classical musicians who looked authentic? On the other hand, I was challenged, without having said a thing, for making my Black identity visible and meaningful when, surely, nothing mattered but the music? I remember thinking: “Well, clearly it’s on your mind because that’s what you’re asking me about.” Continue reading...

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‘Music is never fixed in me’ … cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason on surviving a ‘volcano of racism’

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