Simon Turner
Mike and Dot Memorial Fund
Fundraising for Buskaid
Mike and Dot were wonderful, talented and energetic people with a real zest for life and we still miss them enormously. They were both widely respected within the musical community not only as string players but also for their commitment to music education. They had undertaken education projects around the world, and Dot was also a great fundraiser for CAFOD. To honour their memory we wish to provide an excellent violin to help the educational work of the Soweto Strings Project in South Africa.
Soweto Strings, supported by the charity Buskaid, is an initiative offering high quality string tuition to impoverished youngsters at its in . It was founded in 1992 by viola player Rosemary Nalden in response to an item on the BBC's Today programme highlighting the difficulties of a group of young string players in Diepkloof, . The first fundraising event which Rosemary organised was a simultaneous ‘busk’ at sixteen British Rail stations, involving 120 of her distinguished professional colleagues. Today, Soweto Strings strives to fund itself by revenues from its own CD sales and performances by the flagship Soweto String Ensemble, but also relies heavily on sponsorship and charitable donations. In 1997, in response to passionate requests from many of the youngsters Rosemary had taught when visiting the original string project, she established the Buskaid Soweto String Project, formed from the younger members of the original project. At that stage there were just 18 students, taught in a dilapidated church office, or outside under the trees. Now housed in its own purpose-built in Diepkloof, the Project currently offers specialist tuition to some 80 youngsters aged between 4 and 25, a teacher training programme and an in-house instrument repair workshop. The Ensemble has performed with great success in the , , the , and , as well as at important South African state occasions, and recorded five acclaimed CDs. In July 2007 the Ensemble appeared at the BBC Proms, and in January 2008, Soweto Strings - a documentary following two years in the life of the - was broadcast on BBC4. The Hallé already has a strong connection with Buskaid; one of the first pupils to leave Soweto and continue his musical education in England was Samson Diamond, who progressed through the Hallé Professional Experience Scheme whilst at the RNCM, won the Charles Hallé Award and undertook regular freelance work, and has now returned to South Africa with the intention of setting up his own string ensemble. Hallé Leader Paul Barritt has also spent time coaching at Buskaid; he speaks very highly of what is being achieved there. Having decided that the Memorial Fund should support Buskaid, we asked them how precisely we could best help. Rosemary felt that at this stage what was needed was a fine violin to be loaned for several years to one of their senior players; the school has enough instruments for the younger students, but a really good violin that will help a more experienced player develop and fulfil his or her potential will inspire not only the musician but also give those less experienced a taste of a sound to which they can aspire. The violin will bear a label of dedication to Mike and Dot. Thank you for your donation. Your generosity will help young musicians in unlock their full potential.
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