I am back in Haiti!

I have been in Haiti for just over two weeks – it’s been action-packed and very rewarding. My friend Mari joined me in Cap Haitian for ten days. We played three recitals of music [mainly] by Haitian composers for cello and piano in Cap Haitian at the CEMUCHCA Institute of Music, and at universities in Limbé and Limonade. 

Just as when we have presented this program in the states, people were thrilled to learn of the complexity and beauty of this repertoire. It is such an affirming view of a culture and country that is rarely presented in a positive fashion in the media.

In between performances, we both did a lot of teaching and coaching. People across Haiti are preparing their auditions for the 2023 Haitian Orchestra Institute. Unfortunately, Maestro Thierry Fischer had an unexpected conflict. We will all miss him but are delighted that Haitian American conductor, composer, violinist, and teacher, Jean Rudy Perrault, will join us in his stead.

Along with teaching and coaching there have also been meetings – meetings galore!  We are working almost every day to secure sponsorships to help defray the costs of the week of events. It has been a real learning experience for me.

Along with our long-term partners, The Musicians of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Symphony, we have joined forces this year with the Fine Arts Museum of Cap Haitian and CEMUCHCA to present A Week of Culture: Celebrating Haitian Arts from Painting to Music. 

The full week of activities will include the launching of the Fine Arts Museum of Cap Haitian with a show called Raising the Curtain and will also feature performances by some of CapHaitian’s finest musicians and concerts given by our Utah Symphony colleagues.

The culminating events will include a dawn concert at the top of the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Citadel Laferrière (The Citadel at Dawn – presented by Utah Symphony and HOI participant brass and percussion players) and a final orchestral concert later that same day at its companion building, the superb Sans Souci Palace. This final performance will feature a second Haitian American conductor, Sydney Guillaume, who will present the world premiere of Lavil Okap, commissioned in 2020 by Classical Movements with support from the Utah Symphony and BLUME Haiti.

We can’t wait!