The rising South African cellist and composer redefines the parameters of his instrument with his effortlessly fluid performance style, with support from Colin Alexander at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.
ABEL SELAOCOE
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 programs 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 program 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.
COLIN ALEXANDER
Colin Alexander is a composer and cellist working across a range of disciplines and traditions. Whilst collaborating with artists such as Kit Downes, Héloïse Werner, Abel Selaocoe, Max Baillie and Shiva Feshareki, Colin also performs regularly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, LSO Ensemble, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 12 Ensemble and Dotdotdot Flamenco. Alongside his performing schedule, he has written new works for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Contemporary Orchestra, Contrechamps, The Mercury Quartet, Hyper Duo and Le Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain.
Colin is extremely grateful to have studied composition and cello at the Purcell School, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music with David Buckley, Richard Baker, Jonathan Cole and Oleg Kogan.
He has released two albums with Addelam on the Big Ship label, features on both ‘Tre Voci – Auro’ and ‘I hope this finds you well in these strange times – vol.2’ on Nonclassical and has more recently released ‘Homework’, ‘While Swimming’ and 'codi' on October House Records.
PLEASE NOTE that this is an outdoor event which will go ahead regardless of the weather. Please bring appropriate clothing including waterproofs if rain is forecast.