2022 Sphinx Competition winner Kebra-Seyoun Charles (they/them) is a double bassist and composer lauded for their innovative and integrated approach to musical expression, as both soloist and creator. As a modern virtuoso and composer of concerti, ballets, and pop ballads, Kebra’s music has been praised for its “buoyancy and verve — pushing the far reaches of tonality while savoring hummable grooves” (ICareIfYouListen). A rising star and advocate for a more inclusive classical music community, The Strad confirms that “Versatility defines Charles’s approach.”
The 2024/2025 season opens with the world premiere of Kebra’s new double bass concerto Nightlife conducted by Mei-Ann Chen at Carnegie Hall featuring the American Composers Orchestra. This season also features the premiere of a new ballet commissioned by Peter London Global Dance Company in Miami, plus chamber collaborations with NYC supergroups Bang On a Can, Alarm Will Sound, and International Contemporary Ensemble.
After being recognized with the Robert Frederick Smith Prize from the Sphinx Organization, Kebra has continued to receive honors including the American Composers Orchestra Van Lier Fellowship and perform recital events featured on Performance Today, Young Arts, and NPR’s From The Top. They are also two-time winner of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s concerto competition, winner of the American Music Talent Competition, and winner of the NAACP’s ACT-SO concerto competition. Kebra has soloed with orchestras including the New World Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Wilmington Symphony, and was the featured soloist on a national tour with the Sphinx Virtuosi. Other notable performances include those at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kagoshima Jazz Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Library of Congress.
Growing up the child of an African drummer and dancer, Kebra was exposed to music at a very early age.They grew up around jazz, gospel, and traditional African music, which led Kebra to develop an interest in a diversity of contrasting genres and a new fusion of styles they term “Counterclassical”: a third wave of classicism blending stylistic influences from jazz, gospel, pop, and RnB with the formal and harmonic structures of the classical canon. This synthesis is exemplified in Kebra’s ballet Enby, commissioned by Sphinx’s MPower grant, which is centered around the life of a Black non-binary classical musician, and shared with new generations of musicians via groundbreaking educational initiatives such as the Counterclassical Treatise, which empowers young people to reimagine the concept of musical ornamentation updated for today’s omnivorous ears.
In addition to their solo and compositional career, Kebra is a passionate chamber musician. Playing with groups like East Coast Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, and Palaver Strings affords Kebra the opportunity to showcase their musicianship and lead from within an ensemble (as in their role performing the 2019 Emmy Award-winning Broadway production “Hadestown”). Kebra has collaborated with esteemed improvisers and composers such as Jon Batiste at Carnegie Hall, 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey at the New England Conservatory, and jazz musician/composer Jason Moran via an interactive installation at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.
Originally from Miami, Florida, Kebra received their Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where they studied with Todd Seeber and Lawrence Wolfe. In 2022, they graduated from the Juilliard School with a Master’s degree under the tutelage of Joseph Conyers, receiving the Benzaquen Career Grant and Morse Teaching Artist Fellowship in recognition of their talents. Kebra’s lifelong commitment to both the performance and creation of music ensures that they are always learning, experimenting, and building a more inclusive classical music community.
Learn more at www.kscharles.com.
