Diversity and Classical Music

A talk by Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason

Barbican Music Library is delighted to host Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason for this free short talk and Q&A on Monday 14 October at 2.30pm. Come with your questions in this rare opportunity to meet and hear from an inspirational figure who is helping to change the face of the UK’s musical landscape.

Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason lives in Nottingham and is a former lecturer in English at The University of Birmingham. Her memoir House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons, won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Storytelling Award in November 2021 where it was described as ‘a fresh, moving account of raising children and nurturing their creativity. It captures what’s sincerely human in classical music-making.’ It then went on to win the the Non-Fiction prize in the 2022 Indie Book Awards, noted as ‘a joyous celebration of the musical talents of the Kanneh-Mason family, which also serves as a window into issues of race and class in twenty-first century Britain.’ Kadiatu and her husband Stuart were given a Lifetime Award for Contribution to Children’s Arts at the 2018 J.M. Barrie Awards and in February 2022, on behalf of the family, they collected the prestigious ABO Award for commitment and inspiration given to other aspiring young musicians and fellow parents. Kadiatu was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Academy of Music in 2022, and in 2023 she received the ISM Distinguished Musician Award.

Kadiatu has seven children, all of whom are classical musicians. The family has been the subject of several TV documentaries and in early 2023, along with husband Stuart and all her children, she co-presented and curated their first radio series, The Kanneh-Mason Family Takeover, for Classic FM. She is “Champion” of Music Mark, on the Board of Trustees for ESTA String Teachers Association, The Nottingham Education Trust, Real Talk TV, Music Masters, the National Children’s Orchestra and MISST – the Andrew Lloyd-Webber charity for music in secondary schools. She is on the advisory council for the Royal Philharmonic Society and the family is patron to Sinfonia Viva. A strong advocate for the benefits of regional music-making and accessibility, Kadiatu is also patron of the Swaledale Festival, patron of SaMM in Totnes, President of the Chester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Honorary Friend of the British and International Federation of Music Festivals.

In April 2023 the Kanneh-Mason family were appointed Cultural Ambassadors to Antigua and Barbuda and commended for their contributions to the development of the musical talents of young Antiguans and Barbudans.

If you have a disability you wish us to consider when attending our events, please inform the staff in advance.