due to lung cancer. hi there and a warm welcome to our arts and culture news and before we start with a fantastic news ical project from south africa let's have a quick look at what else is coming up on today's program. it's flower time in the belgian capital brussels and the city hall at the center. and if you bend it like beckham well you're sure to like the latest film from british director chad out blinded by the light blends a u.k. coming of age story with the music. well it was in 1998 that peter guy and american double bass player who had moved to south africa started the ball toby last string project it began with 18 kids from the black townships around. and since then hundreds of children from disadvantaged backgrounds have learned to play a string instrument well today the orchestra travels the world and we took in their performance at the right angle festival in western germany. far away from home south africa's bunch of string orchestra plays a piece of music called the nelson. program is a nod to. the pieces by austrian composer joseph biden. never performing it with a choir from hydrants from country for many it's a 1st visit to the continent of the music they started i love the way. european people just. come from. various they're very serious about the music and the beauty of music african music is. played its rhythm with classical music is like you have to be in control of the piece it's been expressing their emotions even when you're playing it when you're playing this little piece and. you're sad for no reason or whatever. and then you play this little piece and. so that. it really brings out that frustration a lot of for me. before the concert it's rehearsals. the group also plays and sings south african pieces. the concert is dedicated to their country's triumph over apartheid. eat. on a visit to south africa violist cooking takes us to his home at the edge of the town afraid of ford. he started playing his instrument just 4 years ago thanks to teachers from the group's outreach program who regularly visit his community. now the 16 year old practices his instrument 4 hours a day. lives here with his mother and sisters and his niece his father left the family. apprentice outside on most days because. it doesn't strike me that much as when i'm going to sing inside the house because you have a baby and then she'll be playing and sometimes you have relatives then i want to practice. the orchestra itself is based 300 kilometers away and blew from tape at the music on school. pier the next generation of students all from disadvantaged communities are learning the basics that. c they may need some more practice before they're ready to go on tour. that. in germany the touring group is heading to a venue when they break out into song. whether it's african music or european their passion is always palpable. so much so that they can get even the most sudeten even says in on the fun. my colleague david leavitt's has more on this wonderful group of young musicians welcome david and the books have been a string orchestra is really much more than just a musical group it's actually something that is changing people's lives tell us a little bit more in detail you know with the orchestra itself of course is touring europe and playing all kinds of public events in south africa but they're really just the public face of a much broader program string program which is taught hundreds of kids from poor areas how to play the violin viola bass and cello and they do that at their school in bloemfontein they actually bus kids in from the townships around they actually go to these kids pick them up from home because otherwise many of them wouldn't make it into practice and then teachers from the program also go to schools as far as 300 kilometers away and now the families of these kids do have to pay tuition fees about $60.00 euros a year which is a lot of money for some of them and there's also a lot of money that comes from donations from here in europe now the concert that we saw in the report was dedicated to nelson mandela who of course led south africa out of apartheid back in 1904 with this program or a program like this have been possible without him well the sort of answer is probably not apartheid regime really did the bare minimum to provide education for black students certainly they didn't have programs teaching people to played cello . of course the kids in this program that we're seeing were born after apartheid ended in 1904 they're part of the so-called born free generation and the south africa they're coming and unfortunately is not the rainbow nation that nelson mandela spoke of it's still very unequal a lot of racial segregation the economic elites the people whose kids are the majority of those learning to play these instruments are still white so there's a lot of work to be done programs like this are part of the solution but there are unfortunately still a rarity over certainly very glad to learn more about them and i guess i'm viewers can catch the full report on the bunch of orchestra on our upcoming show arts 21 this weekend coming weekend thank you very much for bringing us that those details david leavitt's. well to the belgian capital now for what's being described as a world of floral emotions brussels famous city hall is a unesco world heritage site and every 2 years in summer it gets an extravagant floral make over and this year more than 30 international floral artists have joined forces to decorate its historic rooms each setting their own accents from floor to ceiling. deep in concentration the tiniest account of a is making a few final tweaks she and her team have arranged thousands of flowers with a big opening just around the corner she wants everything to be perfect but she knows how important it is to stay calm. due to natural gas i run around and check everything if something doesn't work i go over and say with details need to be changed i'm never stressed on big projects because i trust my team i'm on the keep . today is the big day for natalia. in just a few hours flower time will begin at brussels city hall the exhibition will see the gothic building transformed into a floral paradise the juxtaposition of contemporary design in these grand historic rooms creates a unique work of art around 70 florists and volunteers from more than 13 countries are here this year to offer their own regional spin. like this japanese pull sled. and these woven palm leaves from indonesia. jewelry and clothing can also be seen among the unusual creations. and this room traditionally used for weddings is decorated with thousands of roses and kids in classic white. the day before the event there's still not much to receive an italian and her team stand. my buildings are supposed to stop and. pick up on me so she's originally from better reduce but head inspiration comes from her new home in brussels which is reflected in her choice of flowers. resort he did for me our kids mean luxury over yours the glory also is a tropical flower and camilla's is a simple crop of plants. so usually i'd never make a bouquet with these flowers and the reason i've chosen them for this exhibition is because i think brussels represents diversity so it's in comics that. the grand unveiling is about to commence the exhibition will run for 5 days and is expected to attract more than $15000.00 for sitters. it's amazing pretty amazing it's so big says those dollars the studio is i didn't know that things exist like. the tension has given way to tears of joy. all the hard work has paid off. now tell us the color over and his team can now sit back enjoy the show and smell the roses. i will finish with the cinematic gem that's opening in theaters this week and next blinded by the light is a coming of age story that mixes the doldrums of factor right in the end with the music of new jersey's greatest songwriter bruce springsteen of course the undisputed poet laureate of working class america a daring cross of cultures you might think but it works. a show that plays only bruce springsteen nothing does for you state that's your idea nothing but springsteen blinded by the light is an exuberant story about a 1st generation british pakistani teen hope in the american icon. directed grin to chatter see similarities between the way she deals with characters in her films and springsteen's music is about people who are generally on the margins of society people who you would see of the edges of frames or know in the frame and then i take them and put them in the center of the frame and say let's see the well from this perspective and the same is true of blinded by the light and i think bruce is mission. the film is set in 1997 in luton england times of financially and politically tough in the middle of all this is job at a teenager who dreams of being a writer despite his conservative worth of says monica. i'm stating. this is a unique way that go in there is telling the story using music in itself i'm not saying that it's a musical but it's not just a drama either. blinded by the light is not just a joyful film about the escape route music can provide one that deals with the problems of racism and division. proved yet again over the universal power of music and i want to put on your movie to do list well that is all for this time so until we meet again all the best from us here in berlin take it easy and.