The Kanneh-Mason family includes seven musical siblings. All talented and hard-working, they’ve enjoyed individual and collective success. They were featured on Britain’s Got Talent, they’ve played at prestigious events in England and beyond, and they were the subject of a documentary in BBC1’s Imagine series.
The Kanneh-Mason family lives in Nottingham, and three of the seven siblings have recording contracts. In 2018, Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh, the musicians’ mother, told The Financial Times she had always been determined “never to remark on the lack of black people in classical music to our children.”
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, 22, has studied piano at The Royal College of Music in London. Now she’s on her way to Alberta to share the stage with the Calgary Philharmonic. We asked Jeneba about her musical training, her family, and her new album.
You play both piano and cello. What went into your decision to study piano at The Royal College of Music?
I’m no longer playing the cello; it was always going to be an instrument that I studied till 18 years old and went on to senior college. I really wanted to work with Vanessa Latarche who is head of piano at RCM. The pupil/ teacher relationship is very important to me.
You are one of seven siblings, all of whom are musicians. How did your siblings and your parents create an environment of achievement, while still leaving room for collaboration and fun?
We were brought up to support each other and we always had each other’s backs in competitions and performances and so it was an environment that was created naturally.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 is such a beloved work in the world of classical music, technically demanding but also expressive. What do you enjoy about performing it?
The first concertos I played were always those of Mozart, and I enjoy the way his characters are very refined. The key of A major is very bright, so in this one in particular, there is a joy and lightness which is so fulfilling to perform.
You have recorded your first recital album, scheduled for release this Spring. What was that process like, and how did you decide which pieces to include? I always wanted my first album to be a solo recital programme, and it was a discussion between myself and the Sony team to choose which those pieces would be. But essentially they are pieces and composers that I always loved listening to and playing, and whose styles blend well together.
What do you like to do when you’re not making music?
I love to run when I have time, and reading is a passion of mine.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performs with the Calgary Philharmonic on March 21 and 22. Find info and tickets here.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason’s album, Fantasie, is available now through Sony Classical. The first single, Debussy’s “La fille aux cheveux de lin,” was recorded in St Jude’s Church in Hampstead.
