Carnegie Hall presents Abel Selaocoe, cello & Bantu Ensemble
$55-$65
- Abel Selaocoe, cello
- Alan Keary, electric bass
- Fred Thomas, piano
- Dudù Kouaté, percussion
With his Bantu Ensemble, rising-star cellist, singer, improviser, and composer Abel Selaocoe moves with virtuosic grace across genres, broadening both the scope and audience of classical music while blending African and Western European traditions. "One of the most captivating performers [of] the classical music world ... other genres can claim him too, but part of what makes him so compelling is the way all those labels seem to dissolve in front of him," says the The Guardian in its review of Selaocoe's debut album. "Nobody else could have made this."
About Bantu Ensemble
The Bantu Ensemble was formed by cellist Abel Selaocoe in 2022 and is made up of Alan Keary (bass), Fred Thomas (piano) and Dudù Kouaté (percussion). As a group, they celebrate an innovative approach to reimagining classical music and move seamlessly across a multitude of genres and styles, incorporating classical, traditional, and jazz inspirations into their programmes, which are based around Selaocoe's compositions alongside works by composers which inspire them, including Giovanni Platti and J.S. Bach.
About Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall's mission is to present extraordinary music and musicians on the three stages of this legendary hall, to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience, to provide visionary education programs, and to foster the future of music through the cultivation of new works, artists, and audiences.
https://www.carnegiehall.org/About Abel Selaocoe, cello
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe is a rapidly rising star who is redefining the parameters of the cello. He moves seamlessly across a plethora of genres and styles, from collaborations with world musicians and beatboxers, to concertos and solo performances. Selaocoe combines virtuosic performance with improvisation, singing and body percussion, and is devoted to composing works and curating programmes that highlight the links between Western and non-Western musical traditions, broadening the horizons of classical music to reach a more diverse audience.
In 2016, Selaocoe formed Chesaba – a trio specializing in music from the African continent, including many of his own compositions. He enjoys close collaborations with musicians from a medley of genres, including Bernhard Schimpelsberger, Tim Garland, Seckou Keita, Giovanni Sollima, Famoudou Don Moye and Gwilym Simcock. He has a close partnership with Manchester Collective, with whom he devised the hugely successful Sirocco programme which has been enjoyed both live and digitally by audiences since 2019. In 2020/21, Selaocoe performed at Kings Place, Norfolk & Norwich and Ryedale Festivals, and performed with ensembles including BBC Concert Orchestra at the EFG London Jazz Festival, Manchester Collective and Britten Sinfonia.
Selaocoe made his solo BBC Proms debut in August 2021, curating a programme with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Chesaba and Gnawa Ensemble. Other highlights of the 2021/22 season include a tour with Manchester Collective and Chesaba of their new collaboration, The Oracle; debuts with St Paul Chamber Orchestra and at Stanford Live; and performances both solo and with Chesaba throughout the UK and Europe.
Abel Selaocoe is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics and his debut album Where is Home? (Hae Ke Kae), on the subject of home and refuge, will be released on Friday 23 September 2022.
Selaocoe completed his International Artist Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music in July 2018. In May 2021, he was announced as an inaugural Power Up Music Creator participant in PRS Foundation’s new initiative to address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector and in July 2021, he received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation award for his compositional work.
https://www.abelselaocoe.com/