Rosemary Nalden

Rosemary Nalden MBE, BA, LRSM (violin & viola), ARCM, Hon Member RPS Founder of Buskaid and Director of the Buskaid Academy of String Teaching and Performance in Soweto. Born in England and educated in New Zealand, Rosemary graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Languages before studying viola and singing at the Royal College of Music in London. Teaching has played an important role in Rosemary’s professional life, and she employs a highly specialised teaching approach, pioneered by the late Paul Rolland and developed by the late Sheila Nelson, the distinguished British string pedagogue. Her combined interest in performance practice and teaching has placed her in a unique position to develop the innate musicianship and stylistic flair of her young African students. In 2002 Rosemary was awarded an MBE in the Golden Jubilee Queen’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of her work with Buskaid. In May 2013, Rosemary was one of only five musicians worldwide to have been awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society, an extremely rare honour which has been bestowed on fewer than 140 musicians in the 200-year history of this illustrious British organisation.