Musician Cancels Toronto Show After Air Canada Axes Seat

A famed British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason abruptly canceled his concert in Canada after the country’s airline denied his pre-booked seat for his multi-million dollar cello.

Kanneh-Mason became a household name after performing at the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at 19 years old. Since then, he has performed across the world showcasing his talent. Currently, he is on a North American Tour alongside his sister, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, CNN reports.

However, the musician duo postponed their Toronto show due the mishap with Air Canada. They released a joint statement detailing the matter on Dec. 12. The pair are also part of a larger musical family from England, consisting of five other siblings.

“We were deeply saddened not to be able to perform for you at Koerner Hall last night. We had severe misfortune with the flights and tried our very best to reach you,” they explained to the fans.

They also shared their unfortunate traveling experience, noting delays ahead of the cellist’s issue with confirming a seat for his instrument.

They continued, “First we had delays, then a cancellation, and the day concluded by being denied boarding with the cello — despite having a confirmed seat for it — on a new, final flight into Toronto. After nine anxious hours at the airport, we realized our journey wasn’t going to be possible.”

The musician’s website also explains the historic significance and worth of the cello. On indefinite loan to him, the instrument was made in 1700 by Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriller. According to a short film about the esteemed item, it is worth over $3 million.

The siblings added, “We can only dream of a time when all airlines have a standardized, global and carefully considered approach to the carriage of precious instruments that are booked to travel in the cabin.”

Moreover, their management emphasized the constant hassles they face when transporting the instrument in cabin with Kanneh-Mason. They expressed how the frequent ordeal remains “frustrating” as artists try to perform in various places. The team also told CNN that Air Canada has yet to apologize for the circumstance. Despite this, they did refund all the tickets.

“This is a frequent and extremely frustrating experience for Sheku and many professional musicians with instruments that need to travel in the cabin of an aircraft,” explained Kanneh-Mason’s management at EMM Ltd/IMG Artists. “We would welcome some constructive discussion with the airline industry body. Whilst Air Canada has now at least refunded all the tickets, we have yet to receive any form of apology for their error which led to over a thousand people having their concert tickets cancelled that evening.”

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