(PRINCETON, NJ) -- From Friday, March 26 to Sunday, March 28, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents the third installment of its widely popular Buskaid – A Musical Miracle series showcasing South Africa’s renowned Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble. The March concert, A Lark and Diverse Dances, features Buskaid-trained violinist Kabelo Monnathebe performing an impressive rendition of Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending on a dance-infused program including Georg Muffat’s Passacaglia from Armonico Tributo, the first and final movements of Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite, Op. 40, and an arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky’s Hopak by Michael Pilkington. There are also buoyant pop and kwela songs to keep the spirit moving. Buskaid Founder and Music Director Rosemary Nalden conducts.
The response to the Buskaid series to-date has been outstanding. According to PSO Executive Director Marc Uys, “People have been watching the virtual Buskaid concerts from around the world. Partnering with Buskaid during the pandemic has enabled us to broadly share the sheer joy of performance exhibited by this amazing ensemble.”
Each Buskaid soloist and all the musicians making up the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble received rigorous, multi-year training at the Buskaid Music School in Soweto before joining Buskaid’s touring ensemble.
Kabelo Monnathebe is a Soweto-born violinist whose uncles were founding members of the Soweto String Quartet. Kabelo joined Buskaid in 1999 as a ten-year-old beginner. He was taught by Rosemary Nalden until 2009 when, assisted by the Buskaid Trust, he traveled to London to take up a full fee scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was taught by Richard Deakin. In 2013, he graduated BMus (Honors). Kabelo is now working as a freelance violinist and violin teacher in Johannesburg, playing for both the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra. He is also a member of the Resonance String Quartet, Kamva Quartet, and Urban Strings.
Access to each concert in the Buskaid – A Musical Miracle series is $5 per unique device link, and includes on-demand viewing of the concert over the course of a 3-day weekend. Look for a new Buskaid on-demand concert each month. To purchase, call 609-497-0020 or visit princetonsymphony.org.
Buskaid is an organization which offers high quality string teaching to less privileged children and young people in the township of Soweto. In 23 years, it has produced a world-class Ensemble, which has undertaken 26 highly successful international tours. Buskaid also runs an inhouse teacher-training scheme, and currently employs twelve Ensemble members as assistant and trainee teachers. Buskaid offers a safe haven to the 120 children currently attending its Music School, many of whom battle with difficult personal circumstances. Studying and playing music improves their self-esteem – and for some, provides a welcome path to skilled employment.
Founder of Buskaid and Director of the Buskaid Music School in Soweto, Rosemary Nalden was born
in England and educated in New Zealand, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Languages before studying viola and singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She freelanced in London for over 30 years, playing under such conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Roger Norrington, and Sir Simon Rattle. Teaching has played an important role in Rosemary’s professional life. She employs a highly specialized teaching approach pioneered by the late Paul Rolland. Her combined interest in performance practice and teaching has placed her in a unique position to develop the innate musicianship and stylistic flair of her young South African students. In 2002, Rosemary was awarded an MBE in the Golden Jubilee Queen’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of her work with Buskaid.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending a live orchestral performance. The PSO receives considerable support from the Princeton community and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, regularly garnering NJSCA’s highest honor. Recognition of engaging residencies and concerts has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the PSO’s commitment to new music has been acknowledged with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
