The Ewing rejection? Don't be that guy.
Cellist-to-the-royals tonight at SPAC.
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TOP: Royal cellist plays SPAC tonight!
BELOW: Frank Mirahmadi. We aleady wrote about him, but he’s soooo good we just needed to say more. You can speak with him, too.
Royal Wedding musician plays SPAC tonight
Rising star cellist Sheku Kenna-Mason play for the Royals (and 2 billion viewers), and tonight’s your chance to see him live.
Aug 20, 2025
∙ Paid
As a teenager, Sheku Kenna-Mason was chosen by the now-Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) to play during a key part of their 2018 “I dos.” And tonight he’ll hit SPAC with the Philadelphia Orchestra for an exciting program that ends with a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
The cellist, now 26, is making his SPAC debut. He’ll be performing Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, the second piece of the evening’s four-piece program.
“Sheku became very well known because billions of people watched him play cello at the Royal Wedding, and then he’s gone on to have this incredible career playing with all the top orchestras,” says SPAC President Christopher Shiley. “He's based in the UK so he's not Stateside very often. We’re excited to have him performing.”
For more info and to buy tickets, visit spac.org.
Keep reading!
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Philly Orchestra brings in the young guns for a stellar Week 1
Why clever Ewing call 'rejected' by announcer Mirahmadi
And how you, too, could chat with Saratoga's great announcer, Frank Mirahmadi, before the end of the season.
By: Abby Tegnelia
Catching Frank Mirahmadi’s clever word plays in the wild has become my own personal sport — and one for which I have reinforcements. When I wrote of a certain “slam dunk” of a call back in early July, it never occurred to me that by the end of the season, I’d get to ask the man himself about it.
As it turns out, that call has been quite the topic of conversation throughout the season.
In a nutshell, a 2-year-old named Ewing — named after basketball icon Patrick Ewing — broke his maiden by four lengths during this year’s special July 4th Racing Festival. And with that big of a lead, Saratoga’s announcer of three years had plenty of time to stretch out his Knicks sports trivia.
When Ewing ran — and won — again? Nothing.
And that’s how I came to learn that
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