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Introduction
After the International Society for Music Education (ISME) world conference in 1998 in Pretoria, the Finnish branch of ISME formulated an intercultural1 development project with the South African STTEP2 Music School,3 which focuses on teaching Western orchestral instruments to disadvantaged black children and youth4 from townships5 around the city of Pretoria, South Africa. The Music School of the Municipality of Jyväskylä in Finland took a specific initiative as a friendship school to STTEP, and two cooperative music camps were organised in South Africa in the years 2000-2002. In July 2001, nine STTEP students visited Finland; two were afforded this opportunity in 2009. During these visits STTEP pupils worked together with Mauno Järvelä, 6 a famous Finnish music pedagogue and folk fiddler.
The first author of this article serves on the STTEP Board of Directors, and works in the Department of Music of the University of Pretoria (UP), on the campus of which STTEP was offered free accommodation when having to move from its previous location. She thus serves as a link between the UP Music Department and STTEP. She also coordinates the exchange programme between the universities of Pretoria and Jyväskylä. The second author worked for six months as a violin teacher at STTEP, during her time in South Africa in 2005 as an exchange student from Finland at UP, and subsequently as a researcher, using the project as the basis for her research work back at the University of Jyväskylä.
In this article the authors wish to demonstrate the manifestation of Ubuntu7: pupils see STTEP, and the opportunity to play an instrument, as something very significant. STTEP gives them meaningful activity especially on Saturdays, when they are free from school, although the school's weekday afternoon programme has grown increasingly in recent years.
Background
In 1995 STTEP was launched, a few years after the husband and wife team of Philip8 and Julie Clifford moved to Pretoria from the UK. Julie was working as a violinist in the orchestra of the State Theatre, in the centre of the country's capital city, when the Mercedes Benz motor company granted funds for black orchestral cadets to join the orchestra and be educated...