· Buskaid music school in Diepkloof needs R5-million a year but has run out of funding and may not survive past February 2026.
· Founder Rosemary Nalden says corporate donations have dried up and government has not supported the school since 2022.
Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble, a classical music school in Diepkloof, may close down unless it secures urgent new funding before the end of the year.
The school, which has trained professional string players for nearly three decades, needs around R5-million a year to keep going. But funding has dried up, and there is no money left.
“We have survived HIV, we have survived Covid and many other challenges,” said founder Rosemary Nalden. “But we have never been in the situation that we are in now.”
She said Buskaid funds have dried up and the school the worst it has been in 28 years.
Nalden started the project in 1997 after moving from the United Kingdom. Her dream was to teach classical music to young people in Soweto.
Over the years, dozens of those learners have become professional musicians.
“Some of our alumni teach at Buskaid and pass on the skills they learned to a new generation of violin, viola, cello and double bass players,” said Nalden.
One of them is Keabetswe Goodman, who joined the school in 1999 and is now a full-time music teacher at the school.
Buskaid currently has about 80 students, and 70 more are on a waiting list.
“There are about 30 people on the payroll, including teachers, musicians and support staff,” said Nalden. “We would like to grow to 100 learners, but this requires more funding.”
Since 2022, the school has received no funding from government and now relies only on donations from companies and private funders. But those funds have dried up since Covid.
“Without new sources of funds, Buskaid will not be able to continue past the end of the financial year in February 2026,” Nalden said.
Buskaid has toured the world, played with the New York Philharmonic and performed for the late Nelson Mandela, President Cyril Ramaphosa and former United States First Lady Michelle Obama.
Pictured above: Members of the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble perform.
Image source: Buskaid Facebook account
