What a week it was!!! August 28, 2022 - Cap Haitian
Under the aegis of BLUME Haiti and the Haitian Orchestra Institute (HOI), 11 musicians from the Utah Symphony, Rick Baldassin, their piano technician, and maestro Jean Rudy Perrault joined me in Cap Haitian for 5 days of remarkable work with 40 young musicians hailing from across Haiti.
There were two memorable concerts at the end of the week featuring both faculty and participant performances with music of Beethoven, Dvorak, Haydn, Mozart, Haitian composer Lina Mathon Blanchet, the world premiere performance of a new string quartet by Cap Haitian composer, John Karly Fils Menard, and more!
As Spin Joseph, our host at the CEMUCHCA Institute of Music pointed out, at a time when people are seeking to leave Haiti by whatever means possible, the fact that the musicians from Utah left their families, their homes and chose to come to Haiti to work with young musicians here was very meaningful to everyone. And, given the current, very difficult situation in the capital, we were especially pleased that over 20 string and wind players from that area were able to come. Instead of hearing gunfire on the streets and fearing gang violence, the Institute was held on a beautiful campus in Cap Haitian.
Your support of music education in Haiti provides these young musicians the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, self-confidence, resilience and concentration. It improves their ability to work together and to focus. In just one week we saw outstanding progress in all of these areas as the participants worked with their Utah Symphony mentors.
But, it wasn’t all work. After one participant mournfully declared that, because of political and security issues, it had been four years since people from Port-au-Prince had seen the ocean…we were able to arrange an afternoon outing to the beach for everyone!
We are so grateful to the Haitian Orchestra Institute and the musicians from the Utah Symphony for making this extraordinary event possible. Many people have told us that, in the current context of Haiti, the Institute along with the various summer camps that we support are some of the absolutely most important events at this time. Seeing these young people working together and producing a spectacular result, even in these dark times for Haiti, gives people hope for the future. To be sure, for most, every day is still a battle, but events like these help people regain confidence that a positive path forward is still possible.
It is YOUR support that makes events like these possible. We thank you for your contributions to music education across Haiti.
