Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason has booked himself the ultimate album launch party, with the release of his new EP timed to coincide with his performance at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs). The BBC Young Musician 2016 winner will be introduced by host Stephen Fry.
Kanneh-Mason – who is studying for his A-Levels at Trinity Comprehensive School in Nottingham – said he is ‘so excited’ about the appearance, and added that ‘I can’t wait to see so many great actors who I admire.’
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the EP includes Gabriel Fauré’s Après un rêve with the cellist accompanied on piano by his sister Isata Kanneh-Mason, a rendition of Leonard Cohen favourite Hallelujah and Ernest Bloch’s Abodah, arranged for cello by Kanneh-Mason himself. It will be released by Decca Classics on 10 February.
The 2017 BAFTAs take place at the Royal Albert Hall on 12 February, with Kanneh-Mason playing during the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the ceremony that recognises members of the film industry who have died in the previous year.
Millions of people around the world will watch the television broadcast, with hundreds of film stars in attendance.
