The Ochrim School of Music, with the help of Sasol, is nurturing musical talent for the future.
There is no doubt that great countries and watershed eras in human history have at least one attribute in common: visible artistic talent flourishing in a vibrant culture.
When one thinks of 20th-century America, for example, one is reminded of such inspirational and diverse musical talents as Leonard Bernstein, Miles Davis, George Gershwin and Jimi Hendrix. Similarly, Haydn and Mozart are synonymous with 18th-century Austrian music.
Profoundly significant musical talents, however, do not just spring up serendipitously. They have to be discovered, appreciated and nurtured in the right environment with the right support system. South Africa is no exception with its plethora of undiscovered musical talent.
To this end, a small group of enthusiastic musicians and music tutors under the leadership of Israel Malamba formed the Ochrim School of Music at Soshanguve on the outskirts of Pretoria in 1995.
Their founding vision was clear and simple but nevertheless challenging: find young township children with an appreciation of music and teach the promising ones to become proficient, in time, on a musical instrument by starting them with basic tuition on a recorder. The recorder was chosen because it is simple to learn, easily transportable and inexpensive (a good recorder today costs about R50).
Right from its inception Ochrim was intended to be a music development programme for young people from historically disadvantaged communities with the geographic focus being on the greater Tshwane metropolitan council area. This area includes Mamelodi, Hammanskraal, Mabopane and Garankuwa.
Today the Ochrim School of Music is flourishing. The original school has been run from a modest, five-roomed house at Soshanguve. This centre was recently superseded by a far larger and more conveniently situated facility in the heart of the Pretoria CBD. The Soshanguve facility is open on Saturday mornings only. It caters for children from the age of eight upwards.
The Ochrim music curriculum has been extended to include lessons on the flute, violin, cello, piano, guitar and drums. Tuition is offered in conjunction with tutors from the Unisa Music Foundation under the auspices of the University of South Africa (Unisa).
Besides its close relationship with Unisa, Ochrim has also established links with the University of Pretoria and Technikon Pretoria. These two institutions offer assistance and advice in structuring the school’s curriculum and have also established tuition partnerships.
The main Ochrim School of Music is housed on the top floor of an office block in the Pretoria CBD and covers an area of more than 750m2. Focused on the needs of developing the musical talents of older and more accomplished children (from Grade 10 upwards) and young adults, the main city school has three lecture rooms each catering for up to 30 students, and a musical hall that can accommodate as many as 50 students or guests.
The hall is frequently used for music demonstrations and informal concerts. It was recently used to showcase the talents of one of South Africa’s most popular gospel groups, Lundi.
The city school also has an ensemble room that can accommodate as many as 30 musicians, and 15 air-conditioned practice rooms for individual tuition and rehearsing.
The school currently caters for about 60 students and has a staff complement of 10, half of whom are music tutors.
With the opening of the larger city facility, Ochrim expects to increase its enrolment of students to about 120 before the close of the year.
Lessons are focused on the theoretical and practical aspects of singing and playing various musical instruments. Tuition has a strong grounding in classical music and jazz.
Director Malamba says: “The students receive a comprehensive training in the theory of music. The language of music is the same ? it’s universal. The children therefore receive an excellent grounding and can move from one musical style or genre to another, depending on their preferences and their capabilities.
“It is encouraging to see promising musical talent emerging in the central and outlying areas of greater Pretoria. For the people of Ochrim, the real reward comes when we see young children who once had no knowledge of music progressing, month by month, on their chosen instrument.”
Sasol Limited has been so impressed with the promising work of Ochrim that it has decided to increase its sponsorship to the school. Sasol committed an initial sponsorship amount of R50 000 a year from 1999 to 2001 and has since undertaken to provide sponsorship of almost R600Â 000 a year for 2002 to 2004.
Trevor Munday, Sasol’s executive director responsible for the portfolios of public affairs and social investment, says: “Sasol has long recognised that artistic talent has to be discovered and nurtured as an integral part of developing a vibrant artistic community and helping South Africa to further develop its rich and diverse cultural heritage.
“Key to this commitment, Sasol has a deep desire to contribute meaningfully to the development of the arts in the country and to share the rich national cultural endowment with as many South Africans as possible.
“Arts and culture is one of the five main areas into which Sasol invests socially. The other four primary areas are: education and training; job creation and economic empowerment; community health and welfare; and nature conservation and related environmental programmes.
“Sasol was attracted to Ochrim because fundamentally it is an outreach programme aimed at children in historically disadvantaged communities who have an interest in the classical arts ? in this case, music.”
Munday says social investors such as Sasol expect to see positive returns on their social investments.
“In the case of our commitment to the Ochrim School of Music,” says Munday, “there are two key issues. First, we are helping to nurture artistic talent in this country. Secondly ? and just as important ? we are helping to develop an appreciative and supportive audience for the classical arts. Both elements are necessary in the process of developing and maintaining a rich and vibrant socio-economic fabric in South Africa.”
Looking ahead, an upbeat Malamba says: “The school has a lot to offer future generations of music students. We’d like to see the school grow and become a centre of artistic excellence for many generations. We have many bold plans and dreams in mind, but will need continuing sponsorships from such corporate donors as Sasol.
“In the future, for example, we’d like to run musical competitions. We also hope to launch a university bursary programme for our most promising students.”