Join Misfits Music Institute for an inspiring evening at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Wednesday 18 February, with the award-winning Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason in conversation with Anton Clarke-Butler (Freelance Clarinettist). Together they will reflect on the challenges and celebrations of creating art as Black musicians. This fascinating discussion will be provoked by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s highly reviewed book To Be Young, Gifted and Black.
The evening will include a special performance by cellist Mariatu Kanneh-Mason, showcasing her extraordinary talent. The backdrop to this fascinating discussion will be provided by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s latest book To Be Young, Gifted and Black. Afterwards there is an opportunity to stay for a book signing, with The Heath Bookshop (Independent Bookshop of The Year 2025). You can purchase your copy of the book at the event too.
Rob Jones, Artistic Director, Misfits Music Institute said: “We are incredibly excited to be hosting this event, Kadiatu, Mariatu and Anton are so inspiring, and talented, so to be able to welcome them to Birmingham is wonderful. This event is a unique opportunity to hear their personal stories, insights, and their experiences navigating the world of music, creativity, and identity.”
The Kanneh-Masons are the UK’s most well-known musical family, whose astounding achievements include countless awards, highly regarded recordings and performances internationally both as soloists, and as family ensembles.
To Be Young, Gifted and Black – A talk with Kadiatu & Mariatu Kanneh-Mason takes place on Wednesday 18 February, 7pm – 9pm at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, tickets cost £10/£12 and are available via: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/kadiatu-and-mariatu-kanneh-mason
Misfits Music Institute is an ambitious Birmingham based arts organisation and charity that runs high quality yet accessible musical groups for adults, helping to improve mental health and wellbeing. Find out about their work here: https://misfitsmusic.org.uk/
Listing
To Be Young, Gifted and Black – A talk with Kadiatu & Mariatu Kanneh-Mason
Wednesday 18 February 2026 – 19:00 – 21:00
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, Birmingham, England, B4 7XR
Misfits Music Institute are teaming up with The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and The Heath Bookshop to host a very special event where Kadiatu and Mariatu Kanneh-Mason will be in conversation with prolific orchestral clarinettist Anton Clarke-Butler, reflecting on the challenges and celebrations of creating art as black musicians as described Kadiatu’s new book To Be Young Gifted And Black.
In addition to the talk, there will be a live performance from cellist Mariatu and the opportunity to get your book signed.
Details: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/kadiatu-and-mariatu-kanneh-mason
Misfits Music Institute is an ambitious Birmingham based arts organisation and charity that runs high quality yet accessible musical groups for adults, helping to improve mental health and wellbeing.
Founded in 2018 by professional musicians Rob & Reuben, the organisation has since grown to become a core part of Birmingham’s thriving music and arts scene, running seven weekly groups including massed rock bands, community orchestras, and a drum battery. They regularly perform across the city, with previous venues including Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and Midlands Arts Centre, and are strong believers that music making has the power to bring people to new heights. Their musical projects and events have been featured in The Guardian Newspaper, BBC News, ITV News and they were Highly Commended in the BBC Radio WM Make A Difference Awards in 2024. They are grateful to all their funders and supporters, and especially to the National Lottery Community Fund as their main funder until 2027.
For more information and to get in touch, head to their website at: https://misfitsmusic.org.uk/.
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 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.’ Her second book, To Be Young, Gifted and Black was released in May 2025 and focuses on what it means – and how it feels – to grow up as a Black artist in today’s turbulent times. Via conversations with her family, Kadiatu searches for a hopeful way through.
Mariatu Kanneh-Mason is sixteen years old and attends Trinity Catholic School in Nottingham. She studies cello with Ben Davies, and piano with Fiona Harris at Junior Royal Academy of Music. At age 10, she gained Grade 8 distinction on the cello and holds a piano diploma distinction (ARSM).
She has performed with the Kanneh-Masons in a series of concerts around the UK, Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and in Antigua and Barbuda. With the Kanneh-Masons, Mariatu performed at The Royal Albert Hall for the 2021 BBC Proms, and with her siblings for The (then) Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in March 2017, at St Johns Smith Square in 2018, at Cheltenham Literary Festival and the Barbican in 2020. She recently joined her family at the Barbican to perform a concert including Carnival of the Animals with Michael Morpurgo.
Mariatu has appeared on several television and radio programmes with her siblings, including BBC World Service, Al Jazeera TV, Channel 4, BBC 1 The One Show (in 2016 and 2025), Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, and the BBC4 documentary, Young, Gifted and Classical. She has featured, with the Kanneh-Masons, in a documentary for Sunday Morning CBS Television (USA), Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1), The BBC Proms (BBC2 and BBC4), and the Imagine documentary for BBC1, This House is Full of Music.She has acted as co-presenter as part of The Kanneh-Mason Family Takeover series on Classic fm. She has also recorded for the Decca Classics album, Carnival, and on the new family album, River of Music.
British Clarinetist Anton Clarke-Butler is a graduate from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, having achieved an honours degree in music performance followed by a Masters with Distinction.
Since graduating, he has performed and toured with a number of UK professional ensembles such as BBC National Orchestra of Wales, English Touring Opera, Ulster Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and regularly at the Proms with Chineke! Orchestra. He has also performed chamber works with the London Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Anton has performed in many contemporary music projects, for the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show and the Beijing Modern Music Festival.
The Heath Bookshop is an independent bookshop which opened in September 2022, located in Kings Court in the South Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath. They were announced as Winner of Independent Bookshop of The Year 2025 at the British Book Awards on 12th May 2025.
The Heath Bookshop welcomes everyone – offering a range of books in which the diverse local community can see themselves. Providing a friendly atmosphere to sit in amongst books enjoying an espresso coffee, a place to chat all things books and life!
The Heath Bookshop hold frequent author and related events and held the first The Heath Bookshop Literature and Music Festival in 2024 in partnership with the Hare & Hounds and How Brave is the Wren, supported using public funding by National Lottery through Arts Council England. The second Festival will take place in April 2026.
For further information visit www.theheathbookshop.co.uk