South African cellist Abel Selaocoe has established himself as a leading voice of reimagining classical music. 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.
Selaocoe is Artistic Partner of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Artist Spotlight at London’s Barbican Centre and Artist in Association with the BBC Singers, performing
with each throughout the season. He also continues to perform his solo cello concerto Four Spirits widely in 2023/24, including with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra at EFG London Jazz Festival and Philharmonie Zuidnederland. Abel makes his Carnegie Hall debut with Sphinx Virtuosi this season, and also debuts at Edinburgh International Festival, Caramoor, Wiener Konzerthaus, Luxembourg Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin.
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.
Abel Selaocoe is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics.