One of the country’s most-loved and leading musical charity-driven and high-quality string mentorship programmes for underprivileged but talented young people is gearing up to celebrate the 80th birthday of its founder and director of the Buskaid Soweto String Project.
The celebration of Rosemary Nalden will culminate in a concert performance at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Braamfontein on August 17.
As expected, Soweto’s Buskaid String Ensemble will as part of their annual celebration treat music lovers to a scintillating group performance that has seen the ensemble being highly sought-after musical exports across the globe.
Nalden, who has prepared a basket of string-infused classical performances with a touch of amapiano for this year’s celebrations, said that for more than two decades, the ensemble’s Soweto headquarters has been the country’s breeding ground for young black string talent at the grounds of a Presbyterian church in Diepkloof, Soweto.
“Buskaid’s mission is to produce young black musicians of international standards, which it does with huge success. But its two principal teachers, Sonja Bass and myself, also offer specialised skills training in string teaching and concert performance. In turn, this creates employment for many young people in Diepkloof and beyond,“ said Nalden.
This modest purpose-built music school – the first of its kind in Soweto – has for the past 27 years produced many of the string-playing stars of South Africa’s classical music scene.
Founded in 1997 by Nalden, a British musician, Buskaid is a vital presence within and beyond its local township community.
Its flagship ensemble has toured internationally 26 times and was named by the UK’s “Gramophone” magazine as one of the world’s 10 most inspirational orchestras.
Nalden has called on music lovers to come in their numbers and see what the young people of the music school are made of, saying this is their chance to experience the extraordinary Buskaid Ensemble live in concert
“And last but not least, this organisation gives pastoral support to any Buskaid child or family member in need of assistance. Buskaid is one of South Africa’s big cultural and community success stories,” she said.
This year’s programme features two black composers, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and black American composer Florence Price. There are also two contrasting pieces by Ernst Bloch, his Nigun and Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra and Piano.
“In between there’s some Gershwin and Béla Bartόk, whose exuberant Rumanian dances will lift the roof. And finally, the Ensemble’s own Afrojazz, kwela, and for the very first time, amapiano, which is all the rage in South Africa right now,” she said.
In 2009, the Buskaid Ensemble was identified by “Gramophone” magazine as one of the world’s 10 most inspirational orchestras, alongside such orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
In July 2017, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Ensemble undertook a series of concerts and workshops in Brazil and Colombia, where it collaborated with the acclaimed dance project, El Colegio del Cuerpo.
In May 2018, in response to an invitation from the Sonora Black Music Festival, the Ensemble performed in Italy for the first time, presenting three highly successful concerts across northern Italy.
Saturday Star
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