Events

Woodwind instruments are made from Mpingo Wood, also known as African Blackwood and grenadilla. Oboes, clarinets, bagpipes, flutes, piccolos, and fingerboards for stringed instruments including guitars, are made of Mpingo. So are the highly prized sculptures made by the Makonde people. Mpingo grows in Tanzania and Mozambique, and worldwide, individuals and organizations work to conserve and preserve it. Over the past several years, Brenda Schuman-Post has taken on the task of bringing awareness to those involved in Western Classical Music of the impact that their culture is having on other peoples. As an oboist, she herself depends on the availability of Mpingo. This timber has been culled from areas in Southern Africa over the past two centuries, and its progressive depletion has created increased impoverishment among the indigenous peoples of the area.