Sean Shibe, 12 Ensemble & GBSR Duo (Double Bill)
Oliver Leith builds a nostalgia-tinged sound-world in his imaginary concert by a fictional band, performed by guitarist Sean Shibe, GBSR Duo and 12 Ensemble.
Guitarist Sean Shibe begins his residency at the Southbank Centre with GBSR Duo and 12 Ensemble for Leith’s Doom and the Dooms.
The work imagines Doom and the Dooms performing their greatest hits, in a concert that takes in melancholy harmonies, fast-paced rock, distortion and microtonal string writing.
Shibe takes the mantle of the lead guitarist, with strings and keyboard standing in for a singer. The result is a bittersweet evocation of a history and music that never was.
Leith says, ‘The guitar has cultural baggage, so I’m embracing it, rather than avoiding it. Its baggage is material.’
The composer’s fascination with this topic was also on show in his 2022 opera Last Days, based on a fictionalised account of the death of Kurt Cobain.
2018 Young Artist Award winner and recipient of the 2022 Leonard Bernstein Award, Sean Shibe continues to prove himself a truly original mind at the frontier of contemporary classical music.
Shibe is a Southbank Centre Resident Artist for Classical Music: Autumn/Winter 2025/26.
Performers
12 Ensemble
GBSR Duo
Sean Shibe electric guitar
Repertoire
Oliver Leith: Doom and the dooms for electric guitar & ensemble
Need to know
Tickets give you access to this event as well as After Dark: Sean Shibe – Electric Counterpoint in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer at 9.15pm.
Find out more about the music with our free programme.
View the programme
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.