South African music group partners with Princeton host for on-demand concert series

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra will present South Africa’s Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble in “Buskaid – A Musical Miracle,” a five-concert on-demand series curated from the group’s performances over the last five years.

The series opener, “Brilliant Baroque to Cool Kwela,” will be available online from Friday, Jan. 29, to Sunday, Jan. 31 on PSO’s website princetonsymphony.org.

Buskaid is an organization that offers music instruction to less privileged children and young people in the township of Soweto. Directed by founder Rosemary Nalden, the student ensemble is noted for its animated performances of classical, pop and South African music.

The Jan. 29-31 concert will include the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major performed with guest pianist Melvyn Tan, Max Bruch’s Romanze for Solo Viola and Orchestra featuring Buskaid-trained violist Tiisetso Mashishi and Princeton-based composer Julian Grant’s “Sancho’s Dance-Mix,” a suite after dances by Ignatius Sancho. The program will be enhanced by popular vocal selections and Kwela — a South African style of music derived from the marabi sound.

A new Buskaid on-demand program will be posted each month. Access to each concert in the series is $5 per unique device. To purchase, call 609-497-0020 or visit princetonsymphony.org.