Teenage cellist wows royal wedding guests
Millions tuned in to hear 19-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Mason from Nottingham, U.K.
Young British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was thrust into the global limelight on Saturday, heard by millions as he played at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Asked by Meghan herself to perform, the 19-year-old from Nottingham is already well-known in Britain, where he was voted BBC Young Musician in 2016 and his debut album Inspiration topped the classical music charts.
As the couple signed the register, Kanneh-Mason played three pieces accompanied by an orchestra: Après un Rêve by French composer Gabriel Fauré, Sicilienne by Maria Theresia von Paradis and Schubert's Ave Maria.
In the hours after his performance media around the world scrambled to find out more about the musician. "Who was the man with the cello?" read one headline in German magazine Der Spiegel's online edition, while celebrity news website Hollywood Life told readers "5 things to know about the hunky 19-year-old wedding cellist."
Kanneh-Mason said on Twitter in April that he received a personal call from Meghan asking him to perform at the ceremony.
- RECAP | Prince Harry and Meghan wed in Windsor
- U.S. bishop's fiery 'love' speech highlight of royal wedding
"Of course I immediately said yes! What a privilege," he wrote.
He was the first black musician to win the prestigious BBC competition since it was launched in 1978.