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The Kanneh-Mason Family

After Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason's inspiring talk during our online Conference in 2021, the Kanneh-Mason family hardly needs an introduction. Raised in Nottingham, the seven brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 27 to 14 years old, play either violin, piano or cello.

The family has strong links to the festival movement having performed at the Derby Arts Festival, Grantham Music Festival and Workshop Music and Drama Festival as young, up and coming musicians.

Semi-finalists in Britain’s Got Talent in 2015, the siblings have played all over the world, both as soloists and as a family. In 2016 cellist, Sheku, was the first-ever black musician to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year, following which he was invited to play at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. In May 2021, the family were awarded the Global Award for Best Classical Artist.

In Braimah's words:

‘Music teaches you so much – listening, hard work, perseverance – whether you want to pursue music as a career, or just for fun’

Anna-Jane Casey

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Anna- Jane Casey is a singer, dancer and actress best known for her work in Musical Theatre. She trained at the Lupino Dance School in Bury.

Having performed in festivals herself, Anna-Jane is a strong supporter of their role in developing young performers.

Anna-Jane has worked in television and has starred in numerous West End productions. In 2005 she won the TMA (Theatrical Management Association) Award for Best Performance in a Musical playing Mabel in In 2022, she toured with Sir Ian McKellen and John Bishop with the production of Mother Goose.

She has also performed with all of the UK’s major orchestras and has a long history with the John Wilson orchestra including numerous Proms appearances and tours. She also performs in her own cabarets worldwide.

You can watch Anna-Jane performing in the current West End production of Fawlty Towers, playing the role of Sybil Fawlty at the Apollo Theatre.