27 May 2025
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One of Britain’s most musical families, The Kanneh-Masons will give their first chamber ensemble appearance at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on Sunday 14th June 2026, in a special finale of the Steinway International Piano Series 2025/26.
Sheku, Isata, Braimah and Jeneba (pictured), who have a strong connection to Wales and describe themselves as a quarter Welsh, will perform in Wales’ capital in a programme featuring Shostakovich’s second piano trio, Mozart’s Sonata in C major for piano four-hands, and Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello.
Winners of the Best Classical Artist Award at the Global Awards in 2021, The Kanneh-Masons will be a special addition to RWCMD’s Steinway International Piano Series. As the world’s first Steinway Exclusive Conservatoire, the College attracts talents to the series including Steven Hough, Angela Hewitt, Yeol Eum Son and Imogen Cooper.
The series begins with Clare Hammond (26 Oct 2025) performing French piano music, and Tamara Stefanovich (30 Nov) exploring the genius of Bach. In the spring, Lise de la Salle (8 Feb 2026) takes audiences to Paris in her concert dedicated to the City of Lights, followed by Leeds International Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev (29 March 2026) in a recital of Romantic repertoire including Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. The Kanneh-Masons complete the series in summer 2026.
Winner of the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016, Sheku’s talent captured the world’s attention when he performed at the at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018. He tours the world’s leading concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and Konzerthaus Berlin. He performs regularly with his sister, Isata, who has also had chart topping tracks in the classical charts and was an ECHO Rising Star in the 2021-22 season, and artist-in-residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2022-23 season. Isata made her BBC Proms debut in 2023 with BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Jeneba made her BBC Proms debut with Chineke! Orchestra in 2021 in a concert celebrating rarely heard composers of African heritage and was named one of Classic FM’s ‘Rising Stars’. Braimah is a member of the Festival Academy Budapest Ensemble and Kaleidoscope Collective (as well as a former member of the pop band, Clean Bandit) and is a passionate advocate for equal opportunity and diversity in music education.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason appeared on the cover of Pianist issue 138.
Isata Kanneh-Mason appeared on the cover of Pianist 110.