Abel Selaocoe: Where Is Home (Hae Ke Kae)
Abel Selaocoe, cellist and musical innovator, explores the meaning of home, drawing on diverse influences from across Southern Africa and the Baroque era.
At its heart is a music that is about learning to understand the different ways we seek refuge, and how this is not always a place of comfort, but one of empowerment and the potential to live a fulfilled life.
It’s also a music which understands that our homes exist not just in geographical spaces, but also in spiritual ones, in our habits, in the people we choose to be around, and in communal ceremonies.
It draws on elements of South African culture personal to Selaocoe.
‘From spoken word and deep voices of Makoloane (boys of age from Lesotho and South Africa going through initiation school) to Tswana rhythmic dances with foot stomps, and taking inspiration from African string instruments such as the uhadi from Southern Africa, sekhankhula from Lesotho and zeze from Tanzania,’ he says, ‘going on to weave connecting threads between Baroque music and South African hymnal song that took this sound world through its colonial past.’
The result is something which celebrates an environment which, Selaocoe says, allowed ‘a deep religious and cultural practice while learning Bach cello suites and hearing the same melodies I practised through African voices of family who interpret the music in the way which they hear it’.
Both cultures have an improvisational nature which allows a freedom that leaves labels of genre behind, revealing a story about finding your place of empowerment: home with expressions of different dialects.
Performers
- Abel Selaocoe cello, vocals
- Alan Keary electric bass, vocals
- Fred Thomas piano, percussion
- Sidiki Dembélé African percussion, vocals
- Bernhard Schimpelsberger percussion
- Simran Singh violin
- Rakhi Singh violin
- Ruth Gibson viola
- Kadialy Kouyate kora
- Elizabeth Kenny theorbo
- Alice Zawadzki vocals
- Ellen Lewis vocals
Need to know
For ages 7+
Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer at 6pm: Pre-concert talk with Abel Selaocoe and Toks Dada (Head of Classical Music, Southbank Centre). Admission free
Dates & times
Price
- Standard entryFrom £10*
- Concessions25%**
* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.
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** Limited availability. Read about concessions.
Tickets can only be sold through the Southbank Centre and our authorised agents, and can't be resold. You can return your tickets to the Southbank Centre for a credit voucher up to 48 hours before the event. Tickets resold on any third-party platforms will become invalid.
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Multi-buy discount
Classical Music: Autumn/Winter 2022/23
As part of our classical music multi-buy offer, book multiple Autumn/Winter concerts in the same transaction to receive a discount:
- 3 – 4 events: 10% discount
- 5 – 7 events: 15% discount
- 8 – 10 events: 20% discount
- 11 – 14 events: 25% discount
- 15+ events: 30% discount
Discounts apply to selected events from September 2022 until January 2023 inclusive. Offer can't be combined with Spring/Summer multi-buy.
Venue
Queen Elizabeth Hall
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The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open 90 minutes before events
Our address is: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. The nearest tube and train stations within 5-7 minutes walk are Waterloo (Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Waterloo & City lines) and Embankment (District & Circle lines). There are also lots of bus routes with stops 2-5 minutes from our venues. For more information on getting here by road, rail or river.
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More information
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Get an overview of the seating layout of Queen Elizabeth Hall by downloading our seating plan.
Toilets
An accessible toilet is located in the foyer.
A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1 Royal Festival Hall next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.
The facility includes a height-adjustable bench, tracking hoist system, a centrally-placed toilet, a height-adjustable basin and a shower. Please visit the Welcome Desk on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, where a member of staff can provide you with the key. You can also use the phone next to the Changing Places toilet to speak to a member of staff. The facility is open daily 10am – 11pm.
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For step-free access from the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road off Belvedere Road to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating (excluding rows A to C) and wheelchair spaces in the Rear Stalls, plus Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and the Purcell Room, please use the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.
To reach this entrance, enter the Royal Festival Hall via the Southbank Centre Square Doors. Take the JCB Glass Lift to Level 2 and exit to the Riverside Terrace. Turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.
You can also use the external lift near the Artists' Entrance on Southbank Centre Square to reach Mandela Walk, Level 2.
For access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating rows A to C and wheelchair spaces in the Front Stalls, please enter via the Artists' Entrance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road (Level 1).
Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open.
Please bear with us while we update our access map to reflect the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall’s Level 2 foyer spaces. The step-free routes remain the same.
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