PLAY IT FORWARD
Buskaid got them on their feet and now they’re giving back, writes Annette Bayne
OUTSIDE the Buskaid Soweto String Project in Maphatlalatsane Street, the sound of a violin being tuned curls out of the open window, cutting through Diepkloof’s afternoon din. It is just a few days to go before the annual Buskaid concert and practice is needed.
Promising a mix of music, this year’s event at the Linder Auditorium in Joburg features violinist Kabelo Monnathebe and violist Tiisetso Mashishi, both of whom graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in June.
Four years ago, British professional viola player Rosemary Nalden, who founded Buskaid, not only saw potential in these two young musicians but also arranged to take them to London for entry auditions into the academy.
Dressed in jeans, the two stood before a panel of music professors and gave the performance of their lives — not only were they accepted, they were also offered full scholarships to the academy.
“They were up against kids from all the specialist music schools in England, where kids start at four years old and have specialist tuition all the way through, plus Eastern Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, whizz kids from all over the world,” Nalden says. “After the first audition, I think it was Tiisetso, one of the panelists came out and said ‘This boy is so musical, it is just wonderful to hear such musicality,’ and then Kabelo went in and when he came out the adjudicator said, ‘I don’t believe it, there are two of them.’ ”
Although they were both inspired by violin-playing uncles, it was only on the cusp of becoming teenagers that the two found a home in Buskaid.
With limited resources, spaces are
I am really interested in uplifting kids and showing them there is possibility out there
coveted and in fact it took Mashishi three visits to the school before he was able to secure a place in the rehearsal room. He started on the oboe. Six months later he took up the violin and eventually moved to his instrument of choice, the viola. As with many teenagers, the hours of practice, patience and discipline that music demands didn’t always come easy.
“At first I was one of the worst students. Rosemary was always calling me lazy,” says Mashishi.
“I played rugby at the time and I wanted to be a rugby player more than a musician. It was only as I got older that I realised music could change my life. I knew my family couldn’t pay for my tertiary studies and I was either going to finish matric and try to find a job, or take playing the viola seriously and study, possibly overseas.”
Nalden demands of the Buskaid players discipline, manners and consistent practice. Monnathebe says these demands kept him out of trouble as a teenager and gave him a solid base to fall back on at college when he was expected to look after himself.
Monnathebe and Mashishi returned to Buskaid following their recent graduation.
“Going [to London], we realised how much we don’t know, how much is out there … When we teach, we talk a lot with our students about what we have seen and experienced and hopefully they can take that and use it,” says Mashishi.
As senior members of the company, they were already considered role models to the younger players, but by returning with a degree in music and solid career plans, they are living the dream; demonstrating the possibilities promised in the music.
“I am really interested in education, uplifting kids and exposing communities to the violin and showing them there is possibility out there, that you can make a career of it,” says Monnathebe.
Since that very first fundraising busk 21 years ago, Nalden has given her time, energy and resources to this corner of Soweto, confident in the belief that music has the power to transform lives.
This year, she was awarded an honorary membership to the Royal Philharmonic Society, out of admiration for the work she has done and continues to do with Buskaid. The graduation and return of Monnathebe and Mashishi has galvanised Nalden in her purpose.
“They have come back and shown every sign that this is home and I hope that doesn’t change. This is the whole philosophy behind Buskaid, the idea was that, as students become more proficient in teaching and performing, they are paid to give back by communicating their skills and their love of music to the younger ones. Both Kabelo and Tiisetso are very complimentary about my teaching, but they also have a lot of their own to offer. It is a dream come true.” • Monnathebe and Mashishi will be performing with Buskaid at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown on September 7 at 7.30pm. Book through Computicket.
They will also be giving a recital at Villa Arcadia, Hollard Campus, Parktown, on September 28 at 7.30pm, with five students. To book, contact Buskaid on 011 442 9676.