This cellist from Montreal will perform at King Charles's coronation concert
Marion Portelance will play the King's former cello during the outdoor event on the grounds of Windsor Castle
"I still don't believe it; it's unreal," cellist Marion Portelance told Radio-Canada's Patrick Masbourian during an interview on May 3. She was referring to her invitation to perform at King Charles's coronation concert on May 7, to be held on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Portelance, 24, is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London, England. Her school first contacted her in March to ask about her availability during the first weekend of May, without specifying the details.
Portelance told Radio-Canada she "was really honoured to have been selected to represent my school at this event," upon learning that she'd be taking part in the coronation concert.
She will perform as part of a string quartet comprising fellow students from the Royal College of Music. They'll play an arrangement of "Somewhere" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.
The instrument that Portelance will play, a William Forster cello dating from 1804, once belonged to King Charles. He played it while he was a student at Cambridge University. It now belongs to the Royal College of Music's instrument collection.
Katy Perry and Lionel Richie will headline the coronation concert. The show will also feature performances by Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Take That, Freya Ridings, and Alexis Ffrench.
The coronation concert will be live streamed on the BBC's iplayer. Further information is available here.
Watch this clip of Portelance performing the cello concerto by Robert Schumann with l'Orchestre symphonique du Conservatoire in 2021:
CBC 's coverage of the coronation of King Charles will be available across all platforms on May 6 starting at 4 a.m. ET on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Radio and streaming on CBC Gem, CBC News Explore, and CBC Listen.