Join us for a magical fundraising concert with ten members of the internationally renowned South African Buskaid Ensemble – a performance of live classical music from Handel and Elgar to township Kwela music.
This is a poignant venue for Buskaid: Buskaid’s Founder, Rosemary Nalden, is the daughter of the late Charles Nalden CBE, one of Coram’s most distinguished foundlings. The Buskaid musicians are themselves no strangers to hardship: like Coram, Buskaid offers transformative opportunities for less advantaged young people.
For this musical celebration, Rosemary has chosen music to link both charities, including the Chaconne from Terpsichore by Handel, Coram’s most famous benefactor, and Elgar’s Sospiri, honouring Rosemary’s father, an accomplished harpist who loved the music of Edward Elgar. The concert will end with a rousing burst of township ‘Kwela’ music, arranged by the Buskaid musicians themselves.
Tickets and Timings
Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite.
All tickets include a welcome drink, and private access to the Foundling Museum‘s exhibition, including the special exhibition display, 300 Years of the ‘Rival Queens’: Handel’s 1726 Opera Season.
6 pm: Access to the Foundling Museum for all guests.
7 pm-9 pm: Concert with interval.
About Buskaid
The Buskaid Music School was founded by Rosemary Nalden in 1997 in response to requests from the less privileged local community in Diepkloof Soweto. At its inception, it comprised just 15 children; its current membership stands at 82. To meet this demand, in 2002 Buskaid initiated a teacher-training course for all its students; all the musicians playing tonight are employed by Buskaid as highly-skilled string teachers.
The Buskaid Ensemble is world-renowned for its high-performance standards and its innate grasp of musical style, and as a result, has undertaken 28 international tours to Europe and the Americas. It is the only African orchestra to have performed at the BBC Proms.
The Ensemble has collaborated with many distinguished artists such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Melvyn Tan, Steven Isserlis and Karl Jenkins. It has performed in the presence of numerous dignitaries, notably the late Nelson Mandela, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, and Michelle Obama.
Programme
Jean-Philippe Rameau – Air pour les Guerriers; Entrée De Polymnie; Contredanses I & II
Henry Purcell – Fairest Isle; Rondeau; If Love’s a Sweet Passion; Chaconne
Edward Elgar – Sospiri (Sighs)
Jean Sibelius – Impromptu
George Frideric Handel – Terpsichore HWV 8b: Chacconne
Kwela, Afro-jazz and Afro-pop (Arr. Buskaid musicians)
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