Starting today, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra unveils a new series of on-demand concerts featuring the remarkable Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble.
Buskaid is an organization that offers high-quality string teaching to young people in the township of Soweto, South Africa. In 23 years, the organization has produced a world class ensemble that has received acclaim on 26 international tours.
This weekend’s opener, available now, features guest pianist Melvyn Tan, Buskaid-trained violist Tiisetso Mashishi, popular vocals, and examples of kwela, a South African style of music with jazzy undertones, derived from the marabi sound. The concert was filmed at Johannesburg’s Linder Auditorium.
PSO Executive Director Marc Uys, who hails from South Africa, visited the Buskaid School with a group of PSO trustees in 2019. Among them was composer Julian Grant, whose work “Sancho’s Dance-Mix,” a Buskaid commission, is featured on this weekend’s program.
To learn more about the series and to gain three-day access to this weekend’s debut concert, visit princetonsymphony.org.
Uys and Grant talk about their personal connections to Buskaid on a podcast with Discover Jersey Arts:
https://jerseyartsfeatures.com/content/2021/1/28/from-soweto-to-princetonthe-buskaid-string-ensemble
Uys and Buskaid Founder and Music Director Rosemary Nalden visit “A Tempo” on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org:
