From Wagamama’s to Wigmore Hall

A group of fifteen Senior School pupils were treated to a transformative performance by cellist Abel Selaocoe, percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger and vocal collective SANSARA on Tuesday evening.

Following a swift dinner at Wagamama’s, the group made their way to Wigmore Hall, one of London’s finest chamber music venues.

The evening began with a moving rendition of Selaocoe’s arrangement of the traditional South African hymn, Nagula, during which SANSARA encircled the audience, creating an immersive sound experience. Also on the programme was Serenity by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, which the Senior Choir previously recorded on their A Roffensian Christmas album of 2023.

While Abel Selaocoe has mastered the European classical cello repertoire, his artistic mission seeks to expand the horizons of traditional classical audiences by blending South African vocal traditions with improvisation, body percussion, and audience participation. Our pupils enthusiastically joined in the music-making, proudly representing King’s strong singing tradition.

Selaocoe’s fusion of Western-European and South African musical traditions illustrates the universality of music, and its inherent communicative and emotional qualities. The concert’s programme spanned centuries and continents, but was united by the theme of spirituality and human connection.

This excerpt from the text of one of Selaocoe’s original compositions, Lerato, sums up the evening perfectly:

Kena le lerato, le tsamayang      I have a love that transcends
Lefathase kabo phara.                  The boundaries of our world.

La modimo hale fele                      It is infinite,
Lerato leya tsotella                        It cares for the world in abundance.
Efa ba bang                                     Pass it on.
Kena le lerato                                  I have love
Le wena o le tshwere                     And you have it too.
Fitisa fitisa                                       Pass it on, pass it on.