David Cyster
Music Projects | Kuils River, Western Cape The right instrument. At the right time.
Some children dream of becoming firefighters. Others want to be astronauts. At the age of three, David Cyster knew exactly what he wanted to do.
He wanted to play the clarinet.
He had heard the instrument on television, fallen in love with its sound and never looked back.
At seven, he began studying music at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre in Parow. By seventeen, the quiet young musician from Kuils River was already making quite a noise on South Africa's classical music scene.
In 2017, David won the Leon Hartshorne Prize for Best Woodwind Instrumentalist at the National Youth Music Competition, followed by several other awards and distinctions. He attended prestigious masterclasses, performed at concerts and festivals and earned a place in the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
There was, however, one problem.
An instrument out of reach.
Although David was an accomplished clarinettist, he needed an A clarinet to perform much of the orchestral repertoire he was now encountering. Without one, he had to transpose music for the instrument he owned, adding unnecessary technical challenges to already demanding pieces.
For a young musician with David's ambitions, the right instrument could make an enormous difference.
His mother, Helen, approached Proud Partners.
After meeting David and discovering more about his remarkable talent and dedication, Proud Partners purchased a nearly new A clarinet for him.
According to Helen, her normally shy son was almost beside himself with excitement. She later described the gift as something that had quite literally changed his life.
And David showed his appreciation in the best way he knew how.
He kept practising.
And the music played on.
What happened next is perhaps the most rewarding part of David's story.
In 2022, he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree from Stellenbosch University, where he studied clarinet performance under Annelize de Villiers.
He went on to complete a Master's degree in Music, specialising in clarinet performance and researching the chalumeau, an early predecessor of the modern clarinet.
His musical career has included performances with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, leadership positions in youth and university orchestras and chamber music collaborations with accomplished South African and international musicians.
In September 2025, he performed at the Baxter Concert Hall alongside violinist Johanna Roos and pianist José Dias. In January 2026, he appeared at the Maynardville Open-Air Festival in Shades of Blue, a programme combining classical music with jazz influences.
And the performances continued.
In July 2026, David participated in a Mandela Day concert featuring new compositions by Palestinian composer Mahmoud Abuwarda. Later that year, he shared his knowledge of the chalumeau at the Cape Town Baroque Festival and appeared in the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees programme.
The little boy who first heard a clarinet on television has become an accomplished musician in his own right.
A proud partnership indeed.
Proud Partners cannot take credit for David's extraordinary musical ability, his years of dedication or the achievements that followed.
But we can take enormous pleasure in knowing that, at an important moment in his journey, we were able to help him acquire an instrument he needed.
Sometimes, making a difference doesn't require a grand gesture.
Sometimes, it begins with listening to a young musician and helping him find the right instrument.
And then enjoying the music that follows.
Watch David Perform →