PSO to present South Africa's Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble virtually

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra will present South Africaʼs Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble on a virtual concert being offered from April 30 to May 2. Rosemary Nalden, Buskaidʼs founder, will conduct the concert, which will include Carlo Farinaʼs Capriccio Stravagante, Claude Debussyʼs Danse sacrée et danse profane with guest harpist Jude Harpstar, and Mendelssohnʼs String Symphony No. 10. Buskaid-trained violinist Mzwandile Twala will perform Fritz Kreislerʼs Praeludium and Allegro and popular and kwela music. Buskaid, founded in 1997, comprises a music school and performing groups such as the Soweto String Ensemble, which has toured internationally on its own and with ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. The Princeton Symphony Orchestra has spotlighted the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble on multiple virtual concerts this season; PSO Executive Director Marc Uys grew up in South Africa where he began his career as a violinist and first became familiar with Buskaid. The PSO has been developing a relationship with the organization ever since a group of trustees, including composer Julian Grant, visited the Buskaid School in Soweto in 2019. For more information, click here (https://princetonsymphony.org/performances/buskaid-musical- miracle/2021-04-30).