We report on the design of a solar cavity-receiver packed with an array of thermoelectric converter (TEC) modules, which enables efficient capture of concentrated solar radiation entering through a small aperture. A 1kW demonstrator (proof-of-concept) containing 18 TEC modules, each consisting of Al 2 O 3 absorber/cooler plates, and p-type La 1.98 Sr 0.02 CuO 4 and n-type CaMn 0.98 Nb 0.02 O 3 thermoelements, was subjected to peak solar concentration ratios exceeding 600 suns over its aperture. The TEC modules were operated at 900K on the hot side and 300K on the cold side. The measured solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency was twice that of a directly irradiated TEC module. A heat transfer model was formulated to simulate the solar cavity-receiver system and experimentally validated in terms of open-circuit voltages measured as a function of the mean solar concentration ratio. Vis-à-vis a directly irradiated TEC module, the cavity configuration enabled a reduction of the re-radiation losses from 60% to 4% of the solar radiative power input. Theoretical considerations for TEC with figure-of-merit higher than 1 indicate the potential of reaching solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiencies exceeding 11%.