Doublereed Archive - Posting 000076.txt from 2008/05

From: "HAROLD" <harold@-----.br>
Subj: [DR-L] DR-L] Grenadilla Conservation/Oboist Brenda Schuman-Post wins grant
Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 19:41:23 -0400

DEAR Lists
Brenda S.-P has written me asking if everyone received her important e mail.
Just a few weeks ago I was discussing at a NYC restaurant the subject of
woods for ww instruments with a prominent and veteran clar. teacher and
mouthpiece maker.He considers the newer instruments inferiour to the older
ones,due to to the wood quality ,which has gone down,he claims.How little
attention and time we dreeders give to this important subject.

On a personal note, I am happy to report that my 40 year old EH is playing
better than ever after being treated with linseed oil and dried out.Not
every ww player would have the courage or nerve to submit his or here
instrument to good bath but for me and my aging horn it was worth it.My
clarinet specialist however says the baths are "nonsense."
Hoping to hear some responses to Brenda's worthy project.

Rgds,

harold emert
rio-brazil

----- Original Message -----
From: <BSP6263@-----.com>
To: <doublereed@-----.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:15 PM
Subject: [DR-L] Grenadilla Conservation/Oboist Brenda Schuman-Post wins
grant

Dear Doublereed Friends,

African Blackwood trees (grenadilla, mpingo) are designated as “vulnerable”
and “near threatened.”

I've been awarded a Global Connections grant from Meet the Composer. The
grant covers airfare so that I can collaborate with local musicians in
Moshi,
Northern Tanzania, site of the African Blackwood Conservation Project, to
create a new piece of music that will serve as a bond between the Tanzanian
people
who devotedly work to replant and protect those trees and the musicians who
play the instruments made from them (us).

"This project is about interconnectedness. We will build bridges between
our
diverse and codependent cultures. For possibly the first time in history,
the Western musical community, still profoundly unaware of the “near
threatened”
status of the primary tree that becomes woodwind instruments, and the
African communities that play so unappreciated and yet so significant a
role in
Western music, will be bonded through the music that both are responsible
for
creating."

Communities in Tanzania are raising themselves up from poverty by
replanting, protecting, conserving and sustainably harvesting blackwood.
They are fully
aware of the use and importance of the wood to us, yet these collaborative
concerts will mark the first time that most will hear the oboe live!
Performances will take place in urban and rural communities for community
conservation
groups, culminating with a performance for the Environmental Day
Celebrations in Moshi, Tanzania on September 27th, 2008. It is speculated
that once the
people finally hear the oboe, they'll become even more motivated and their
commitment to blackwood conservation will be reinforced. Since the tree
takes
90-200 years to mature, it is vital that the children understand the reason
why they must educate their own children.

I hope this message generates discussion. Since the grant only covers my
airfare, more funds are needed to pay for lodging and food, pay the
Tanzanian
musicians for rehearsals and concerts, record and mix the new piece, rent
vehicles to transport the musicians and equipment to rural areas. The more
money
we have, the more concerts we can play and the more communities and
families
become educated. In addition, since I make my living exclusively as a
freelancer, I will need to make up lost income.

There are several ways that you can help! If each woodwind player who hears
about this donates $1.00, hundreds of kids will retain musical memory to
inspire their children and grandchildren, and thousands of trees will be
planted
and protected.

- Please make an online tax deductible donation to
_http://blackwoodconservation.org/musicproject08.html_
(http://blackwoodconservation.org/musicproject08.html)
In the ‘comments’ box, please write “music project.”

- or send a check to
ABCP c/o James Harris P.O. Box 26 Red Rock, TX 78662
On the memo line please write “music project.”

- Engage me to present my lecture-performance at your school, university,
museum, public or private venue so that this educational process comes full
circle. Addressing issues connected with music, art especially sculpture,
African studies, forestry, sociology, anthropology, botany, and global
interconnectedness, my show is "Mpingo's Fruit: Harvesting the Music Tree,
the people,
the places, the process. Visit: _http://oboesoftheworld.com/perf3mpingo.htm_
(http://oboesoftheworld.com/perf3mpingo.htm)

Can anyone please donate?:
- PC laptop for the Tanzanian composer Sixtus Koromba. Laptop must be
capable of editing film, burning CDs etc.
- Movie Camera for Brenda
- Northwest or KLM airline miles so I can use the grant money for travel
within
Africa.
- American Airlines miles - AA offers an alternative and longer route but
will still
get me there.

Sent with permission from doublereed.org
Many thanks.

Brenda Schuman-Post
www.oboesoftheworld.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------
For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org