Sheku Kanneh Mason joins young cellists for mass performance at The Glasshouse

Sheku Kanneh Mason and young cellists from The Glasshouse [Photo: TyneSight Media]

After a tour with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and conductor Dinis Sousa playing Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in Middlesborough, Gateshead and Kendal, cellist Sheku Kanneh Mason joined young cellists for a massed cello performance on The Glasshouse’s concourse.

For the rehearsal and free informal performance, young cellists from The Glasshouse’s Young Sinfonia and Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programmes were joined by tutors, players from Royal Northern Sinfonia and alumni of The Glasshouse’s education programmes, forming a massed cello ensemble of 24 cellos alongside Sheku Kanneh Mason.

The day was part of The Glasshouse’s Make Music Young People programme. After a rehearsal in Northern Rock Foundation Hall, the cellists performed on the concourse at lunchtime to a public audience as part of The Glasshouse’s Lunchtime Concerts. These a series of free mini performances that take place throughout the year on Sundays which provide an opportunity to hear the music the young musicians from CAT have been working on, from classical pieces to folk tunes and brand-new compositions.

The Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) is part of The Glasshouses weekend school, which has non-auditioned, inclusive ensembles, bands and choirs for young people of all ages, and applications are open all year round.

On Sunday, the cellists performed a programme that included a movement of Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 and music by Gershwin and Joplin.

Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 – Sheku Kanneh Mason, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Dinis Sousa – The Glasshouse, Gateshead [Photo: TyneSight Media]

Sheku Kanneh-Mason said: “After my concerts in Middlesbrough, Kendal and then here at The Glasshouse this week, it was a really special conclusion to hear the young cellists play in the rehearsal and then to join them out on the Concourse, on Sunday morning.  The next generation of musicians matters so much and I loved seeing all the enthusiasm and hearing the talent.”