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Celebrity Musician Cancels Concert After Airline Refuses Seat for His $3.2M Cello

Sheku Kanneh-Mason blamed the airline in a statement addressing his concert cancellation.

World-famous cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason said he was forced to cancel a concert after Air Canada refused to give his 300-year-old, $3.2 million cello a seat he had booked for his flight. Kanneh-Mason is touring Canada with his sister, the pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, and the two released a joint statement addressing the show, which was supposed to take place Wednesday in Toronto. “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,” they explained in the statement. “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.” The airline addressed the incident in a statement to CBC. “In this case, the customers made a last-minute booking due to their original flight on another airline being cancelled,” a spokesperson said. “We are still reviewing what happened including why the cello was not successfully rebooked.” Kanneh-Mason rose to world renown after playing at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

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Liam ArchackiNews Reporter

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