Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Photo by Lucy Robinson.
In Friday’s (3/1) Strad (U.K.), an unsigned article reports, “The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has named British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason as its 2024 MAC Music Innovator. The CSO’s MAC Music Innovator is a year-long music residency that works to showcase and highlight Black leaders of classical music. Selected musicians embody artistic innovation and a passion for community engagement and education. As the MAC Music Innovator, Kanneh-Mason’s residency will include masterclasses with area students and chamber performances and culminate with performances with the CSO on 26 and 27 April at Music Hall, where he will make his CSO debut performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto with the Orchestra led by guest conductor Katharina Wincor…. ‘Sheku’s mission to make music accessible to all really resonated with us and aligns with the intent of the MAC Music Innovator program, which was created to showcase Black classical musicians who demonstrate artistic excellence as well as a passion for community engagement,’ said Jonathan Martin, president and CEO of the CSO…. Kanneh-Mason is the seventh MAC Music Innovator since the residency’s inception in 2018, succeeding bassist Endea Owens, conductor Antoine Clark, composer and pianist William Menefield, composer and drummer Mark Lomax, pianist Michelle Cann, and violinist Kelly Hall-Thomas.”
