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The cello player from Harry and Meghan’s wedding has called on the BBC to axe Rule, Britannia! from the Proms.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason said on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Disks that fans of the song don’t realise how “uncomfortable” it can make certain people.
The cellist also spoke about his experience as a young black classical music artist.
He said that, while he felt comfortable most of the time, there were occasions he had not been “taken seriously”.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason performing at The T.J. Martell Foundation 43rd New York Honors Gala in 2018
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Speaking to presenter Lauren Laverne, the 24 year old said: “I don’t think it should be included and I didn’t stay for that.
“That’s just my opinion. I think, maybe, some people don’t realise how uncomfortable a song like that can make a lot of people feel, even if it makes them feel good.
“I think that’s somehow a big misunderstanding about it.”
He has previously suggested that the Last Night instead focus on folk tunes, although he conceded it would be “probably not as popular”.
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Simon Rattle conducts cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the London Symphony Orchestra
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Kanneh-Mason became a household name at the age of 19 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Speaking about his performance at the event in 2018, he said: “I think at the time of performing, it felt like very much just playing to the people in the room.
“I think in terms of nervousness, I’m more nervous for my cello lesson, because I know that my teacher listens in (a) certain way.
“I guess what I’m saying is, the audience, yeah, I’m grateful for them being there, but I don’t think who is there necessarily puts … more pressure.”
Sheku Kanneh-Mason received an MBE by the Princess Royal in 2021
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Speaking abut his experience as a young black classical music artist he said: “Very often, in the spaces that I was in within classical music, myself and my family were very often the only black people in those places.
“Most of the time it was fine in the sense I felt comfortable and all good.
“But there was certainly occasions where my being black meant that I wasn’t necessarily taken seriously in some situations.
“What gave me the strength in those situations is, we would spend a lot of time as children watching documentaries of real black heroes succeeding and being challenged and overcoming.”
Sheku Kanneh-Mason accepts the award for Best Classical Artist on stage at the Global Awards 2020
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The Last Night of the Proms has become a political minefield in recent years.
In 2020, there was an outcry when it revealed a plan to perform Rule Britannia! without lyrics, a decision that was reversed one day after Tim Davie took over as the corporation’s director general.
Last year, the BBC faced calls for an inquiry into its coverage of the event after it showed a sea of European Union Flags being waved.
It was announced in November that David Pickard, the Proms director, would step down later this year, having led the music festival since 2015.
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