When South-African cellist Abel Selaocoe makes music, he gathers together an unbelievable harmony of classical cello, African traditions, throat singing, percussion, and unbridled joy.
He performs with equal parts grace and fire, whether he’s directing his own compositions, improvising, or inhabiting Baroque music. Feeling him perform is a joyful surrender to his irresistible beat.
Selaocoe’s rare affinity for the cello is the thread that draws together the musical worlds he inhabits, as he explores and celebrates the sounds of the South African culture that made him. He’s now in demand all over the world, making his mark on classical music by bringing his infectious exuberance and drive for innovation to orchestras and ensembles everywhere.
Against the backdrop of taking the music establishment by storm in Europe, the USA and beyond, he's now coming to Australia to direct and perform with the ACO.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Born in South Africa
Abel Selaocoe was born in Sebokeng, a township in South Africa, in 1992. He picked up the cello when he was enrolled in the African Cultural Organization of South Africa (ACOSA) weekend music program and, excelling at his craft, went on to get a music scholarship for private boarding school, St John's College, in Johannesburg.
In 2010, Selaocoe got a place to study at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in the UK.
Forming Chesaba trio and nurturing collaborations
In 2016, the cellist formed Chesaba, a trio specialising in music from the African continent, including many of his own compositions.
One of Selaocoe's many strengths is his voracious curiosity and appetite for collaborating across genres and across artforms, and he has done so with Manchester Collective, composer and percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger, saxophonist Tim Garland, percussionist Seckou Keita, cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima, percussionist Famoudou Don Moye and pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock.
★★★★★
“Selaocoe inhabits a captivating sphere of spontaneous, mercurial creativity... In Selaocoe’s hands the cello is a shape-shifter...Song is the dominant form: everything flows from his own extraordinary voice, a soothing baritone that can plunge into unfathomable bass via Xhosa-style throat singing.”
BBC Music Magazine
BBC Proms debut
Selaocoe made his solo debut at one of the world's biggest classical music stages, the BBC Proms, in 2021. He performed with a mega-ensemble made up of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, his own trio, Chesaba, and Gnawa London, a Moroccan music ensemble founded by Simo Lagnawi.
Signing with Warner
The same year, the cellist signed as an exclusive artist with Warner. His debut recording, Where is Home (Hae Ke Kae), received a slew of five-star reviews from the music press and beyond, being named editor's choice at many, and picking up awards to boot. “Nobody else could have made this recording,” The Guardian wrote. “One moment Selaocoe is growling and beatboxing his way through a playful number hymning his young nephew; the next he is singing a gentle countermelody to a movement from a Bach cello suite, like his mother used to do when he practised at home.”
★★★★
“One moment Selaocoe is growling and beatboxing his way through a playful number hymning his young nephew; the next he is singing a gentle countermelody to a movement from a Bach cello suite, like his mother used to do when he practised at home.”
– The Guardian UK
Activism
In May 2021, Abel Selaocoe 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. “It’s a great privilege being a part of POWER UP network, an inspiring environment to cultivate my ideas with highly creative people while sculpting a better future for black creators,” he said at the time.
Abel Selaocoe is going to be something truly special. Don’t miss this concert, or you will hear about it from your friends later and regret it.ACO Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Valve
Abel Selaocoe performing with the ACO
“I can’t wait for our tour with Abel Selaocoe!,” ACO Violin Liisa Pallandi says. “I first saw him perform in a car park in Clapham about 10 years ago and have been a fan ever since.”
ACO Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Valve agrees: “Abel Selaocoe is going to be something truly special. Don’t miss this concert, or you will hear about it from your friends later and regret it.”
A cellist's cellist, perhaps, because ACO Julian Thompson has also pegged Selaocoe as his top choice for ACO 2025: “I’m really looking forward having Abel Selaocoe performing around Oz with the ACO. He’s a musical live-wire, expanding the role and breadth of the cello’s many characters and I can’t wait to see what kind of cellistic vibrancy he brings to the table.”
We can’t wait!
Single tickets & subscriptions for ACO 2025, our 50th Anniversary Season, are now on sale.
Click here to discover and book Abel Selaocoe, touring to Wollongong, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne & Adelaide, 3–15 April.
Photo: Christina Ebenezer
