Four evenings, one artist: Abel Selaocoe as ‘Artist in Focus’

The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) presents Selaocoe as its ‘Artist in Focus’ from 19 to 22 March 2026 in four concerts on three Berlin stages.


Multitalented Abel Selaocoe is the ‘Artist in Focus’ of the DSO's 2025/2026 season. The South African cellist, singer and composer moves confidently between Western classical music, jazz and the musical traditions of his homeland. In 2023, the exceptional artist was honoured with the Instrumentalist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society for concerts ‘that are bursting with creativity and send the audience home feeling elated’. His debut album was released by Warner Classics in 2022, followed by his second album, Hymns of Bantu, in 2025. In March 2026, the DSO invites you to experience Selaocoe in all his artistic facets, presenting him to Berlin audiences in four consecutive concerts.

The series kicks off on Thursday, 19 March with the solo evening Spirit of Ntu at the Quasimodo jazz club. ‘Ntu’ – in many Bantu cultures a symbol of the interconnectedness of all being – inspires Selaocoe to create a musical cosmos in which sounds from South Africa, traditions of the Tanzanian Wagogo and the nomadic Khoi-San peoples merge with improvisation and his own music to form the ‘Spirit of Ntu’.

In a moderated casual concert on Friday, 20 March at the Philharmonie Berlin, Selaocoe, conducted and moderated by Giancarlo Guerrero, will premiere the cello concerto ‘These Righteous Paths’, which was written especially for him by American composer Jessie Montgomery on commission from the DSO.

On Saturday, 21 March, Selaocoe will once again perform Montgomery's cello concerto at the symphony concert in the Berlin Philharmonic, this time in the tension between the timbral music of Debussy's ‘Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune’ and the rhythmic fireworks of Stravinsky's ‘Le sacre du printemps’.

The finale will take place on Sunday, 22 March, with a performance at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt: together with his band, the Bantu Ensemble – Alan Keary (electric bass), Fred Thomas (piano) and Dudù Kouaté (African percussion) – Selaocoe effortlessly transcends genre boundaries and creates a distinctive musical language from elements of classical music, jazz and other musical traditions.

The concerts are part of the DSO's seasonal focus on ‘Afrodiaspora – Composing While Black’ and are supported by the federal programme ‘Exzellente Orchesterlandschaft Deutschland’ (Excellent Orchestral Landscape Germany) of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.


Thu 19 March 2026, 10 p.m., Quasimodo

Abel Selaocoe, cello and vocals

Solo programme ‘Spirit of Ntu’



Fri 20 March 2026, 8 p.m., Philharmonie

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Abel Selaocoe, cello
AKA KELZZ, live act
ALBA DJ
Jessie Montgomery ‘These Righteous Paths’ – Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (world premiere – commissioned by the DSO)

Followed by Casual Concert Lounge with live act and DJ



Sat 21 March 2026, 8 p.m., Philharmonie
7.15 p.m. Introduction

Giancarlo Guerrero Conductor
Abel Selaocoe, cello

Claude Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Jessie Montgomery, These Righteous Paths – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
Igor Stravinsky, Le sacre du printemps


Sun 22 March 2026, 8 p.m., House of World Cultures

Bantu Ensemble
Abel Selaocoe Cello and vocals
Alan Keary Electric bass
Fred Thomas Piano
Dudù Kouaté African percussion

A synthesis of classical works, traditional songs, jazz improvisations and original compositions

Concert tickets: 

Available online at ➔ dso-berlin.de, in person at the DSO Visitor Service office (Charlottenstr. 56, 10117 Berlin), by telephone on T 030 20 29 87 11 or by email at dso-visitor@dso-berlin.de. Tickets for the Abel Selaocoe solo recital at Quasimodo and for Abel Selaocoe & Bantu Ensemble at HKW are €25 each, tickets for the Casual Concert are €35 each, and tickets for the symphony concert range from €24 to €69. at the DSO visitor service office (Charlottenstr. 56, 10117 Berlin), by telephone on T 030 20 29 87 11 or by email at tickets@dso-berlin.de.