Eyethu Soweto Music Project
EYETHU started as a project at Mdelwa-Hlongwane Primary School in 1994, with Mbuya Mabuya teaching recorder to children after school hours. This programme was extended in 
1995, with 5 Soweto schools receiving 10 scholarships each, to send children to Parktown to study recorder. In 1999, the company joined the previous National Symphony Orchestra in providing music training to both teachers and students in a further 6 primary schools. The project, managed by Ignatius Wapenaar and Yvonne Raedane at the Vista Campus of the University of Johannesburg in Soweto, continues to provide instrumental and ensemble training every Saturday to over 100 children from Soweto.
Called EYETHU, meaning “ours”, the project was a response to needs for music education, expressed by six Soweto primary schools. The project is “ours” because it maintains close links with the original schools, developing further partnerships with the high schools to which our learners have graduated. Parents and caregivers share in the project’s aim to provide quality music training to children, contributing to their growth and development.
EYETHU offers opportunities for student teachers to be mentored by professional musicians, as well as being employed part-time by the Orchestra Company. Valuable teaching and musical skills are being passed on to these senior members of the Youth Orchestra, building the capacity of the company and providing development opportunities for these young people.
[Photographs: Chris Kirchoff]
Rupert Music Foundation