| Biography | The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble was established by Rosemary Nalden in January 1997 when she first came to work in South Africa in response to requests from the local Diepkloof community. Initially the BSSE consisted of some members of the original Diepkloof Project and a few new beginners. Since then it has more than quadrupled in size and currently comprises approximately 100 students ranging in age from four to thirty, all of whom are drawn from the less privileged local community.
In the fifteen years of its existence, the Buskaid Music School has produced a string ensemble with a formidable reputation for high standards of performance and a sophisticated grasp of musical style. As a result, the Ensemble has toured internationally twenty times, performing with huge success in the UK, France, the USA, Ireland, Holland, Germany, New Zealand, Botswana, Syria and Colombia and as guest artists at the City of London, Cheltenham and New Haven international festivals, at the Cité de la Musique, Paris, and at the 2007 BBC Promenade Concerts. Two years later the Ensemble was voted one of the worlds ten most inspirational orchestras by the UKs Gramophone magazine.
The Ensemble has played five times under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and in collaboration with such distinguished artists as Bernarda Fink and Steven Isserlis. It has performed several times in the presence of Nelson Mandela, for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, HRH Prince Charles and other members of the British Royal family, as well as for many distinguished foreign dignitaries, including the First Lady of the United States of America, Mrs Michelle Obama. |