Brenda Schuman-Post

Oboes Of The World

Their spiritual, psychological, and historical meaning worldwide
A lecture-performance by Brenda Schuman-Post

The modern oboe has folk and sacred counterparts almost everywhere.  Virtuoso oboist Brenda Schuman-Post displays and demonstrates her collection of shawms (oboes) from Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.  With photographs and audio recordings of authentic performances by indigenous musicians, she explores the ceremonial role of the shawm in world culture, its connection to nature, and its imagery in art and literature.  She illustrates how the style of playing these instruments can influence and enhance modern oboe technique and music.

Oboes Of The World is a lecture-performance covering the history and use of the oboe (shawm) worldwide.  Brenda Schuman-Post displays and demonstrates 30 ethnic oboes, shows photographs of master musicians from 20 different cultures, and plays recent, recorded examples of their musics.  She reveals how ethnic music and western music have influenced one another and how listening to ethnic music can inform, enhance, and enrich our understanding of all styles of contemporary American music.  "Oboes Of The World" can be crafted to accommodate the needs of a particular university department, group of courses, lecture series, school, etc.  The presentation might be of interest to students of contemporary classical, popular, jazz and world musics, composition, ethnomusicology, music therapy, music history, visual arts especially wood crafts, anthropology, ethnobotany, history, multicultural studies, travel, and more.

Downloadable Flyer

The flyer is available in Microsoft Word Rich Text Format (.rtf), Microsoft Publisher (.pub) and and Adobe® Portable Document Format (.pdf).  Simply download the file of your choice and fill in the date, time and venue of your Oboes of The World event.
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From The Press ...

"Your music saves the world."

Professor Thomas Lin Yun, Grand Master, Black Sect Tibetan Buddhism
 

"Brenda Schuman Post can do anything.  She has opened a window onto the oboe's possibilities."

Ned Rorem, Pulitzer Prize winning composer
 

"She was successful in bringing a very important perspective to a wide range of students.  She was truly engaging and very well received."

Tim Schultz, faculty, Julliard School of Music
 

"I used what I learned the very next day in teaching my class, The Music of Bach."

Drora Pershing, Aaron Copland School of Music
 

"She links the modern European oboe to its ancestors."

E.W. Wainwright, African Roots of Jazz
 

". . . educational, entertaining, appealing to all ages - even small children listened attentively."

June Anderson, Folk Arts Coordinator, Anthropology Department, California Academy of Sciences

Other Lecture - Performance Topics

• Mpingo's Fruit - Harvesting African Blackwood
  Mpingo wood, also known as African Blackwood and grenadilla, is a primary wood used in the making of musical instruments.  Brenda discusses the current status of African Blackwood and shows samples of the wood, carved art works, and alternative materials.
• How To Play and Teach The Oboe
  Also known as "Demystifying The Myths", this demonstration is intended for absolute beginners as well as parents, doublers, band and orchestra directors who are mystified by the oboe, or anyone else who may be curious about this often maligned instrument that isn't a hard to play as we are led to believe.  Includes handouts and a discussion of incorporating the oboe into jazz band.
• Extended Techniques
  A class for experienced oboists that includes flutter and double tonguing, circular breathing, multiphonics, bent and micro-tonal pitch, glissandi and more.  Particular emphasis is placed on one valuable skill - usually double tonguing.  Bring your oboes and expect to play!
  This class can be combined with Improvisation for Classical Musicians, in which case it is called Extended Techniques and Improvisation.
• Improvisation for Classical Musicians
  How to begin!  And no, you do not have to be an oboist.
• Study Oboe with Brenda!
  Brenda maintains private studios in San Francisco and San Rafael, California. She teaches all levels - absolute beginners to highly advanced players. Brenda also presents master classes worldwide.

Booking Information

Brenda Schuman-Post
2939 Ulloa Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
Brenda@OboesOfTheWorld.com 

Slide Shows, Screen Savers and Other Fun Stuff

• Gyalings Slide Show [Java Applet]

  Tibetan Buddhist Monks play gyalings for a traditional Ladakhi, a ceremonial masked dance, Phyang Gompa, Indus River Valley, Himalayas, Ladakh, Jammu-Kashmir State, India

• Monks of Tibet Screen Saver [Windows]

  Download and install this screen saver compliments of Oboes Of The World® Online.  Thank you for your visit!