This Sunday, February 10, oboist Brenda Schuman-Post and her ensemble, Sonic Forest, return for another performance at Allen Temple Gardens. This time the ensemble will make a performance that celebrates Black History Month.
Sonic Forest was established in 2009. The San Francisco based ensemble performs in a variety of configurations with instrumentation and size varying depending upon what best suits the venue and situation. With core instrumentation of oboe, violin, Celtic harp, upright bass, piano, accordion, and percussion, Sonic Forest always provides appropriate, engaging, and uplifting entertainment for any event or occasion.
I spoke to Brenda Schuman-Post via e-mail about the event and the experience performing at Allen Temple Gardens.
You seem to be performing every year at Allen Temple Gardens. How many times have you performed at the gardens? What is it that draws you back to this place?
“Sonic Forest performs almost exclusively for audiences that might not otherwise get to hear live music at the high quality that we offer so we are usually very much appreciated. But at Allen Temple Gardens the audiences are so warm, loving, nurturing, and positive. It’s just wonderful to be there. February 10 will be the fourth performance.”
What kind of music will you perform at the gardens? How will it be different from your last performance?
“[Well] this is the first time [that] we are playing a concert of music specifically composed by African-American composers. We’re helping to celebrate [Black History] Month. We’re playing music by John Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, Billy Strayhorn, William Grant Still, Florence Price, Jimi Hendrix, Bobby McFerrin, India Cooke, and we’ll play two slave songs.”
What instruments will you use for this year’s performance? How long is the performance?
“The concert [that’s] on February 10 includes oboe, violin, upright bass, piano, and drums. We’ll start at 5:00 PM and play until about 6:00 PM.”
What was the reaction that you received from last year’s performance at the Gardens?
“So much love and positive comments. The people at Allen Temple [Gardens] are so welcoming and appreciative.”
What kind of energy do you receive from the seniors at the Gardens? Will you be expecting the same energy as before or do you think that it will be something different? What’s it like performing for the seniors?
“Well, what can I tell you about seniors performing for seniors? Three of us in the ensemble are seniors so it’s playing for people who ‘get us.’ I’m hoping that we get a bigger audience than in the past especially with the diversity of musical styles that we’ll be playing. This concert will be even more educational than our previous concerts. We’ll tell the audience stories about the composers. Some of this music is familiar but some of it you may never have heard before. I mean has anyone there ever heard of Florence Price? Her music is amazing!”
Has anyone given you any grants to perform at the event? Can you say who and why?
“We are all professional musicians and we have to be paid. We received a donation from a friend of mine [a private donation] and it’s enough. The financial donation was large enough so that we can all be paid to play this concert since this is what we do for a living. As soon as we got that [donation], I contacted Diane Burr [Service Coordinator at Allen Temple Gardens] and asked if we could play there again.”
You and Sonic Forest have been together for 10 years. What is it like being together for that long? What has changed? What hasn’t changed? What do you like about performing with the ensemble? Any future plans?
“Sonic Forest has gone [through] a big change just recently. Violinist India Cooke is new to the ensemble and so is our percussionist, Elijah Post. Suzanne Garramone, the pianist, and I have been playing together since 1982 and we’ve played over 400 concerts together. It’s fun, rewarding, and very nice to have people to work with when that work is actually ‘play.’
Please join Allen Temple Gardens on February 10, 2019 at 5:00 PM for this event.
For more information on Sonic Forrest go to http://www.brendaschumanpost.com/
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