The Power of Music

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Brought to you by Penguin.

Music is what makes us alive, mindful and connected to each other. Music is what makes us human. This is the power of music.

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason knows and feels the transformative power of music as much as any musician alive. From winning the prestigious BBC Young Musician Award to performing at Harry and Meghan’s wedding; from Bach’s solo suites to Bob Marley’s reggae; his ferocious passion shines through in every single performance, whether in a packed-out concert hall or on record.

But how was it that someone like him – a person of colour, from a state school in Nottingham – rose to the upper echelons of the classical music world? What were the obstacles that he had to overcome, what did he learn along the way, and how could a young person follow in his footsteps today?

In The Power of Music, Sheku explores the experiences and values that led him here, from a childhood of football practice and family music sessions, to his work today in the world’s finest concert halls and in the less privileged communities that surround them. As his star continues to rise, he shows us the darker side of an industry ruled by exclusivity and stubborn adherence to tradition.

With its power to transform our mental and physical health, to effect social change, and to make a house a home, Sheku shows us that classical music is for everyone, not just an elite few. The Power of Music is a celebration of music of all sorts and those who make it, and a rallying call to change.

'Sheku believes that the future of classical music is bright, and in the hands of young musicians like him, it certainly is’ John Suchet

‘A heartfelt plea for the importance of excellence in music performance and education, from one of the leading role models of our time' Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former director of the BBC Proms and Barbican Centre

'Powerful and inspiring' Sir Stephen Hough

© Sheku Kanneh-Mason 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

Sheku's powerful and inspiring conviction that classical music is for everyone is not just a message of encouragement for young people. Even more importantly it is a passionate plea for parents, schools and authorities to break down doors and make the timeless beauty of music a possibility in everyone's life
Sir Stephen Hough
A heartfelt plea for the importance of excellence in music performance and education, from one of the leading role models of our time. Sheku's inspiring story of his achievement will surely encourage a new generation of musicians to flourish
Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former director of the BBC Proms and Barbican Centre
This is a virtuoso manifesto for the right of access to music for everyone, in a spirit of striving, of creative confidence and of artistic expression
Caroline Sanderson
The Power of Music is at once an impassioned argument about the importance of music in education, and a joyous celebration of the music that has shaped Kanneh-Mason's life ... He writes compellingly of the need to broaden access to music, to put instruments in the hands of children and allow all people to experience the connections that music can forge. A vital book at a time when music education is under threat from so many directions.
Carol Atherton, author of Reading Lessons

With typical modesty Sheku acknowledges that someone like him could never have achieved his dream -- however great his talent -- without loving and supportive parents, great teachers, and six talented siblings who grew up playing music together. Now, from performing Schubert, Elgar and Frank Bridge, to arranging songs by Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin, he is an inspiration to a new generation of young musicians.
This is Sheku's story but it is more than that. It is a heartfelt plea for musical education to be at the heart of the school curriculum; for every schoolchild, whatever their background, to be given the opportunity to pick up a musical instrument, and watch it change their lives. Sheku emerges from this book as a masterly musician, but also a deeply modest and grateful young man with a message that should be on every desk in Westminster. Sheku believes that the future of classical music is bright, and in the hands of young musicians like him, it certainly is

John Suchet
An absorbing read and insight into the world of Sheku's music and the transformational impact of local music education
Grace-Evangeline Mason, Composer

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