Drum roll please…we have an orchestra!
The 2023 orchestra of the Haitian Orchestra Institute has been formed!
Here are the numbers:
182 people from 7 of Haiti’s 10 provinces indicated an interest in auditioning for the HOI
143 auditioned either in person or by video
83 accepted
21 music schools represented
6 of Haiti’s 10 provinces represented
We couldn't be happier about the enthusiasm shown by musicians throughout the country for the return of the Haitian Orchestra Institute! Despite all the challenges they face, people still managed to send us audition videos for review. The dedication, determination and courage that these musicians demonstrate is a daily inspiration to me.
As is always the case, preparing for auditions provides ample opportunity for growth; here in Haiti, this was no exception. It was heartening to see how seriously school directors, teachers and students took the need for preparation, and this showed in the results!
I’m in Cap Haitian now through early April. I have been helping Spens Joseph, the General Coordinator of the CEMUCHCA Institute of Music and their 11 annexes, along with Emile Eyma Jr, the President of the Fine Arts Museum of Cap Haitian, with plans for the upcoming Week of Culture - A Celebration of Haitian Arts: From Painting to Music. This will showcase the launching of the Fine Arts Museum of Cap Haitian and will also bring music to all corners of the city from March 25 to April 1st. It is both exhilarating and nerve-racking!
I walk into town from the house where I am staying (thank you Henold!), past goats, the occasional donkey and onto city streets just ten minutes from CEMUCHCA. And from there, if I am not working with students, I head down to the Cap Haitian Society for History and the Protection of Heritage. There, we work, and work, and work; writing letters, seeking funds, inviting people to the Haitian Orchestra Institute, and tying up loose ends. This office is located in a gorgeous, colonial-era building that began life as a Customs Office. As was typical at the time, there is a marvelous small courtyard, a functional 17th-century well, and a bread oven connected to a large fireplace where food was prepared. It’s a beguiling place to settle down for the day!
When there is a little break, I sometimes watch Mme Fredley grill peanuts to make her amazing spicy peanut butter. In fact, along with spaghetti Haitian style (with sliced hotdogs, onions and ketchup) one of my favorite breakfasts here in Haiti is what is actually an “artisanal” peanut butter sandwich made, of course, with locally grown peanuts, uniquely spiced by each maker, ground by hand in a mill designed for this purpose and enjoyed along with a nice cup of local coffee - yum!
We are in the final stretch before Haitian and American musicians descend on the city for the Haitian Orchestra Institute. Given all of the heartache in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, where gang violence, kidnappings and worse are daily occurrences, the HOI will not only offer solace and respite, it also will use music as an act of resistance and an instrument of hope.
