The Kanneh-Mason family at De Montfort Hall

De Montfort Hall will welcome three musical icons from the Kanneh-Mason family in the 2024/2025 season. Both local orchestras, Bardi Symphony Orchestra and Leicester Symphony Orchestra, and resident orchestra, the Philharmonia, will feature this musical family in their upcoming seasons.

The Kanneh-Mason family are seven brothers and sisters ranging in age from 13 to 26 years old, all of whom play either violin, piano or cello. They have won many prizes and awards and appeared in numerous television shows; the five eldest performed at the Bafta awards in 2018 and all seven appeared in the December 2019 Royal Variety Show. In May 2021, they received the Global Award for Best Classical Artist.

Leicester Symphony Orchestra – Braimah Kanneh-Mason Sunday 23 February 2025

Dexter Drown conductor
Braimah Kanneh-Mason soloist
Catherine Cole leader

MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
MOZART Marriage of Figaro Overture
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4

Bardi Symphony Orchestra – Isata Kanneh-Mason Plays Rachmaninov Sunday 23 March 2025

Toby Purser conductor
Isata Kanneh-Mason piano
Bardi Symphony Orchestra

GLINKA Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.3
BORODIN Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
STRAVINSKY The Firebird, 1919 suite

The Bardi are delighted to welcome back international soloist Isata Kanneh-Mason to perform Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto. East Midlands-born, Isata has taken the world by storm with her charming and engaging performances and featured at the First Night of the 2024 BBC Proms.

Head of Conducting at the Royal College of Music, Toby Purser takes the podium for this concert. With a background in opera, Toby has led many of the top UK orchestras including English National Opera, the Philharmonia and the RPO.

The concert also features a fantastic selection of Russian favourites concluding with Stravinsky’s ballet suite from The Firebird. As concert finales go, they don’t get much more impressive than this!

Philharmonia: Jeneba Kanneh-Mason Plays Rachmaninov Wednesday 30 April 2025

Tess Jackson conductor
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason piano 

RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

Romantic grandeur and dramatic flair close the Philharmonia’s 2024/25 season in Leicester.

Bursting with more memorable melodies than many composers write in a lifetime, Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto is arguably the most popular in classical music history. Jeneba Kanneh-Mason made her Philharmonia debut with the piece in 2022, a performance in which she was praised for her ‘poetry and confidence’ (The Guardian). She returns tonight to win the hearts of the audience in Leicester.

Young British conductor – and Classic FM Rising Star – Tess Jackson makes her Philharmonia debut, completing the programme with Tchaikovsky’s explosive Symphony No. 4. A musical depiction of Fate, written after a period of personal turmoil, it’s a powerful exploration of the meaning of life. From deceptively simple melodies, Tchaikovsky builds a spellbinding forty minutes of high emotional drama.