The Power of Music

Sheku’s powerful and inspiring conviction that classical music is for everyone is not just a message of encouragement for young people. Even more importantly it is a passionate plea for parents, schools and authorities to break down doors and make the timeless beauty of music a possibility in everyone’s life * Sir Stephen Hough *A heartfelt plea for the importance of excellence in music performance and education, from one of the leading role models of our time. Sheku’s inspiring story of his achievement will surely encourage a new generation of musicians to flourish * Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former director of the BBC Proms and Barbican Centre *This is a virtuoso manifesto for the right of access to music for everyone, in a spirit of striving, of creative confidence and of artistic expression * Caroline Sanderson *The Power of Music is at once an impassioned argument about the importance of music in education, and a joyous celebration of the music that has shaped Kanneh-Mason’s life … He writes compellingly of the need to broaden access to music, to put instruments in the hands of children and allow all people to experience the connections that music can forge. A vital book at a time when music education is under threat from so many directions. * Carol Atherton, author of Reading Lessons *

With typical modesty Sheku acknowledges that someone like him could never have achieved his dream — however great his talent — without loving and supportive parents, great teachers, and six talented siblings who grew up playing music together. Now, from performing Schubert, Elgar and Frank Bridge, to arranging songs by Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin, he is an inspiration to a new generation of young musicians.This is Sheku’s story but it is more than that. It is a heartfelt plea for musical education to be at the heart of the school curriculum; for every schoolchild, whatever their background, to be given the opportunity to pick up a musical instrument, and watch it change their lives. Sheku emerges from this book as a masterly musician, but also a deeply modest and grateful young man with a message that should be on every desk in Westminster. Sheku believes that the future of classical music is bright, and in the hands of young musicians like him, it certainly is

Sheku Kanneh-Mason shot to fame as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, the first black musician to win the award since its launch in 1978. He then became a household name after being invited to perform at the 2018 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which was watched by billions around the world. He records exclusively for Decca Classics, and enjoys a busy schedule of international concert performances, at venues including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the BBC Proms. In the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours, he was awarded an MBE for his services to music.