Support ABCP and Get a Copy of the "Tree of Music" Video

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the "Tree of Music" video, which was originally broadcast in 1992 on the US PBS Nature series and was the inspiration for the founding of the ABCP, please let us know (see order details on the donation form). We have purchased copies of the video from The Television Trust for the Environment (TVE) in the UK, to which the BBC has granted international distribution rights for the film. As US Directors of the ABCP, we have decided to donate the videos, which we purchased with our own funds, to the project so the entire amount you pay for the videos will be used as a contribution to the ABCP. The video is available from us only in NTSC format for US viewers. We are offering the video for the same $40 price as is it is offered on the TVE website, plus shipping and handling, Contributors donating $200 or more to the ABCP may receive a copy of the video as a premium if they so desire.

For those in countries other than the United States, the film is still available to individuals from TVE in PAL format for $40 payable by international cheque or money order. You may order the film online from the TVE website by first loading the Search page (http://nt.oneworld.org/cfdocs/tve/mp6/search.cfm), typing in Mpingo in the "Search titles for:" box and then clicking the "Start Search" button. This should bring up the results page with information about the film, called "Mpingo - The Tree That Makes Music" (the UK title), and a link to place an order. After placing the order, TVE will send the customer a pro-forma invoice by international mail confirming payment and order details.
—James Harris & Bette Stockbauer

A BBC-TV VIDEO

At a musical instrument factory in France, skilled craftsmen work fragments of African blackwood into clarinets and flutes for the international market. But in the early 1980s, with more and more wood cracking under pressure on the lathes, investigations turn to the plains of Tanzania, and to the Mpingo tree - the source of the remarkable black heartwood. The Mpingo takes over 70 years to reach commercial maturity. Prized by musicians around the world, it is also much sought after by Tanzania’s Makonde woodcarvers whose sculptures play an important role in cultural life. Michael Gunton’s exquisite film links the instruments of today with the forests where people first made music, and shows how sustainable management of Mpingo plantations benefits local communities and international markets alike. (Credit for text and image: TVE website)