Brenda Schuman-Post

I am the leader/director/oboist. My ensemble - Sonic Forest - so named because musical instruments are made from trees and other organic materials - plays concerts, presents lectures and workshops, almost exclusively for audiences in under-served communities, in particular senior citizens and people with cognitive and/or physical differences. We are all professional musicians. There are two different core ensembles. The oboe/violin/upright bass and percussion quartet, plays original music and spontaneous improvisations, traditional Celtic tunes and a small percentage of American songbook. The oboe/piano duo plays upbeat classical and older American Songbook. We've played hundreds of concerts for these types of audiences, and always have the audiences in mind. We are fully aware of the effects the music and the unique sound of the ensemble has on the listeners and we program accordingly. We are all educators as well. Our workshops include 'the nature of music' with hands on exhibits of wood, skin, seeds, rosin, bamboo, cactus, and other materials from which musical instruments are made. We address the emotional, physical and spiritual and mysterious bonds that music motivates.