Abel Selaocoe

Last updated

Abel Selaocoe
Born1992 (age 3132)
Sebokeng, South Africa
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, composer
Instrument cello
Labels Warner Classics
Website www.abelselaocoe.com

Abel Selaocoe (born 1992) is a cellist, singer, composer and improviser from South Africa.

Contents

Biography

Selaocoe was born in 1992 in Sebokeng, a township in South Africa. He started learning classical cello following his older brother Sammy at a Saturday music programme for children at the African Cultural Organization of South Africa (ACOSA) in Soweto. At 13 Selacoe won a scholarship to St Johns College in Johannesburg. At the college he studied with the teacher Michael Masote, one of the most influential classical South African musicians. [1]

In 2010 Selaocoe moved to Manchester and enrolled at the Royal Northern College of Music. [1] [2] He completed his International Artist Diploma in 2018. [3]

In 2021 Selaocoe signed to Warner Classics record label. [4]

On 23 September 2022 Selaocoe released his debut album Where is Home (Hae Ke Kae).

Style

Abel Selaocoe combines classical cello with traditional South African singing. His vocals are inspired by the throat singing of the Xhosa people. [5] His music combines different genres including classical suite, township rhythms and ancestral anthems. [6] His tracks include translations in African languages including Sotho and Zulu. [1]

Awards

Collaborations

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Lloyd Webber</span> British cellist and conductor (born 1951)

Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.

Philip Cashian is an English composer. He is the head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mats Lidström</span>

Mats Lidström is a Swedish solo cellist, recording artist, chamber musician, composer, teacher and publisher.

Guy Johnston is a British cellist and the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2000. He has subsequently enjoyed a successful international career as a soloist and chamber musician and currently serves as an associate professor of Cello at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York.

James Zuill Bailey, better known as Zuill Bailey is an American Grammy Award-winning cello soloist, chamber musician, and artistic director. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Juilliard School, he has appeared in recital and with major orchestras internationally. He is a professor of cello and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at El Paso. Bailey’s extensive recording catalogue are released on TELARC, Avie, Steinway and Sons, Octave, Delos, Albany, Sono Luminus, Naxos, Azica, Concord, EuroArts, ASV, Oxingale and Zenph Studios.

Han-Na Chang is a South Korean conductor and cellist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Singers</span> British professional chamber choir

The BBC Singers is a professional British chamber choir, employed by the BBC. Its origins can be traced to 1924. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time professional British choir, the BBC Singers feature in live concerts, radio transmissions, recordings and education workshops. The choir often performs alongside other BBC Performing Groups, such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and is a regular guest at the BBC Proms. Broadcasts are made from locations around the country: London venues have included St Giles-without-Cripplegate, St John's, Smith Square and St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge.

Andrew Kennedy is an English tenor. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland, England, was a chorister at Durham Cathedral, attended Uppingham School, and then was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. Further study at the Royal College of Music was followed by a place on the Vilar Young Artists programme at the Royal Opera House where he performed many solo principal roles.

The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards are given annually for live classical music-making in the United Kingdom. The awards were first held in 1989 and are independent of any commercial interest.

Deshamanya Rohan de Saram is a British-born Sri Lankan cellist. Until his 30s, he made his name as a classical artist, but has since become renowned for his involvement in and advocacy of contemporary music. He travels widely and is much in demand for workshops and summer schools in addition to sustaining a schedule of adventurously programmed concerts.

Andrew Shulman is an English virtuoso cellist, conductor and composer. He is currently the principal cellist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and maintains his cello studio at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, California.

Huw Thomas Watkins is a British composer and pianist. Born in South Wales, he studied piano and composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, where he received piano lessons from Peter Lawson. He then went on to read music at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and Alexander Goehr, and completed an MMus in composition at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Julian Anderson. Huw Watkins was awarded the Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music, where he used to teach composition. He is currently Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal College of Music.

Iestyn Davies is a British classical countertenor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Su-a Lee</span> South Korean cellist

Su-a Lee is a cellist born in Seoul, South Korea and resident in Scotland. She is known for her wide-ranging collaborations across classical music, contemporary music, Scottish traditional music and jazz.

Matthew Barley is an English cellist. He is best known for his performances of core classical music, improvisation, and contemporary music including electronics.

The Cello Concerto is a concerto for solo cello and orchestra by the American composer Nico Muhly. The work was commissioned by the Barbican Centre for the Britten Sinfonia and cellist Oliver Coates, to whom Muhly dedicated the piece. It was first performed on March 16, 2012 at the Barbican Centre by Coates and the Britten Sinfonia under conductor André de Ridder.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a British cellist who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician award. He was the first Black musician to win the competition since its launch in 1978. He played at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018 under the direction of Christopher Warren-Green. Also performing at the wedding was the traditional choir of St. George's Chapel led by James Vivian and a gospel choir conducted by Karen Gibson named, the Kingdom Choir. As of 2021, Kanneh-Mason plays a Matteo Goffriller cello that was made in 1700.

This is a summary of the year 2017 in British music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Armstrong</span> British composer (born 1991)

Lucy Armstrong is a British composer based in London, who was appointed Fellow of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London in 2018. She is currently doing a three year residency at Glydnebourne.

Kate Kennedy is a British biographer, academic and BBC broadcaster, who specialises in the literature and music of the First World War. She is the Associate Director of the Oxford Centre for Life-writing at the University of Oxford.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Morris, Hugh (23 September 2022). "Abel Selaocoe Finds a Home in Improvisation". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  2. Nowell, Andrew (28 March 2022). "What Manchester Means To Me: why musician Abel Selaocoe finds an ideal creative hub in the city" . Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. "Strings Alumni - Royal Northern College of Music". RNCM. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 "News | Abel Selaocoe | Warner Classics". www.warnerclassics.com. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. 1 2 "How South Africa's Abel Selaocoe includes throat singing while playing the cello". The BBC . 11 January 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  6. Davis, Clive (8 September 2022). "Abel Selaocoe: Where Is Home review — a cellist with charisma and raw energy". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. "2023 RPS Awards winners announced". Royal Philharmonic Society. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  8. "BBC Concert Orchestra with Abel Selaocoe". EFG London Jazz Festival. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  9. Sinfonia, Britten. "Abel Selaocoe". Britten Sinfonia. Retrieved 16 September 2024.