A very special experience awaits us on Friday, February 20, when Jeneba Kanneh-Mason steps onto the stage at the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
Young in age but mature in her musicianship, Jeneba is on the cusp of a brilliant career. She grew up in a house where music filled every usable space. With seven children working at their instruments, sometimes even the bathroom had to serve as a practice room for a cello or a violin.
Arts groups in Nottingham supported the Kanneh-Mason children among others in a variety of ways. Weekly trips to London for lessons at the Royal Academy of Music made for a very busy schedule.
Jeneba has already played in some venerable music halls, among them London’s Wigmore Hall and Zurich Tonhalle. She has performed with major orchestras: Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, Chineke!.
Jeneba has already signed an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classics and released her first full recording Fantasie in March of last year. In December she released an EP entitled Jane Austen’s Piano, a volume that combines her love of reading with her musical world.
The program she has prepared will display her ability to communicate a wide range of musical styles: the technical demands of Bach, the fiery passions of Beethoven, the dreamy reveries of Debussy, the romantic beauty of Chopin, not to mention the spirit of Black America distilled into classical form by Florence Price.
Just a few weeks ago, Jeneba was nominated for the BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award. We have the opportunity to hear this wonderful young talent next Friday. Tom Lee Music will provide a Steinway piano for this performance.
Tickets are available online at www.valleyconcertsociety.com at $32 for adults and $20 for students. Call 604-289-3377 for more information.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society