Classical music in the hearts of Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble

Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble prides themselves with producing quality classic music and creating a safe haven for their music students.

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The non-profit organisation was founded in 1992 by former professional music player and teacher, Rosemary Nalden (79) and since then, they have strived to achieve great accomplishments.

They started building a music school in Zone 3 in 1998 where they now house about 100 students for music classes and assist to keep them off the streets by providing them with after-school rehearsals led by the group’s enthusiastic and experienced teachers.

“Our organisation offers high quality string teaching to underprivileged children in the area and this comes with high standards and morals which are expected from our students because through teaching music, we also teach them how to deal with life challenges they may encounter in their youth and academics,” Nalden said.

Speaking of challenges, due to the increasing high rate of crime, substance and alcohol abuse in the area, Nalden fears for their young students as they may fall victims of these social ills.

“The minute they step into our classes they become ours and having to see them grow both musically and life in general makes us overwhelmed given that as they will be faced with various challenges and required to make complex decisions which we cannot even make on their behalf and that on its own is scary.”

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Last year, the organisation celebrated its 25th anniversary and still works to oversee its aim of encouraging young talented locals to form their own orchestra which is unique for their playing as well as to train them to become professional music teachers.

Some of their achievements include their 26 highly acclaimed international tours, being the only African classical orchestra ever to have performed at the BBC Proms in 2007 and creating the largest collection of string arrangements of traditional township music.

Baskaid is also renowned for its expertise in creative performance technique and a distinctive format, which combines the performance of classical, classic pop and afro-pop which makes its public performances popular.

Although the organisation is known for its great achievements and undeniable talent, they have a strict selection process of choosing their students.

According to Nalden, their prospective students firstly undergo an interview together with their parents or guardians where the organisation observes where the idea of studying music comes from.

Additionally, the students are required to be located around the area and provide background information so that the organisation can have a clear understanding of how they live.

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“We want our students to be as local a possible because want to limit the cost of having to drive for classes.

“We also observe their level of concentration and energy in the room during practice to see if they will be able to cope with learning.”

Nalden adds that each learner is also given an opportunity to choose their favourite music instruments.

The organisation has a part-time physiologist who gives regular counselling to the students and guardians in need.

Buskaid has also enabled seven of its most talented students to undertake tertiary study at both the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and Royal Academy of Music in London through their musical leadership and hopes to find space to build a bigger music school in future.

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