Abel Selaocoe is one of the most exciting musicians in the world today. The South African cellist, singer and composer is an exceptional virtuoso at crossing over between musical worlds, whether collaborating with symphony orchestras on the classical platform, as a brilliant improviser or as the frontman of his ensembles. He is as much at home in Western classical music as in the musical traditions of South Africa, and he is uniquely capable of moving seamlessly between styles and genres while connecting them through his overflowing musicality. In 2023 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ›Instrumentalist Award‹ for his concerts that »blaze with creation, sending audiences home on a high«.
The DSO will present Abel Selaocoe in March 2026 as its »Artist in Focus« in four concerts on three stages, offering sufficient opportunity to get to know all the different facets of this extraordinary musician.
In the moderated Casual Concert on Fr 20 March 2026, under Giancarlo Guerrero’s baton, Selaocoe will present the world premiere of a new cello concerto tailor-made for him by the American composer Jessie Montgomery. The work is a joint commission of the DSO, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center Festival, Aspen Music Festival and Utah Symphony Orchestra.
On Sat 21 March 2026, the new Cello Concerto can be heard again in the Philharmonie, this time perched between the sensuous shapes and colours of Debussy’s ›Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune‹ and the rhythmic explosion of Stravinsky’s ›Le sacre du printemps‹.
Before those two concerts, on Thursday, 19 March 2026, Abel Selaocoe can already be experienced in a solo evening at the jazz club Quasimodo. Then, on Sunday, 22 March 2026 he’ll appear at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt with his band the Bantu Ensemble, made up of Alan Keary (electric bass), Fred Thomas (piano) and Dudù Kouaté (African percussion).
The concerts with Abel Selaocoe are part of the DSO series ›Afrodiaspora – Composing While Black‹, supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media’s programme ›Exzellente Orchesterlandschaft Deutschland‹.
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