Fresh from last month’s tour of Symphony for the Dance Floor, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) heads to Little Rock where, on November 12th and 13th, he performs his Voodoo Violin Concerto (LINK: https://www.subitomusic.com/staging_woocommerce/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20) with the Arkansas Symphony conducted by Philip Mann. “DBR is a unique, creative voice and a multi-talented performer,” Mann shares. “His personality and artistic gifts have allowed him to cross genres and defy conventions.” Programmed as part of the symphony’s “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” concert, Roumain’s 25-minute concerto is part of a “program [that] as a whole features composers who have combined conventional classical language with exotic and interesting sounds – for instance, folk music, Latin American rhythms, and dances.”
Mann continues, “Often classical music is most alive when it has been infused with an element that surprises. As a quintessentially American composer, DBR brings the full picture of his [Haitian] background together to create the intriguing sounds, propulsive rhythms, and voodoo inspired colors and textures of an electric violin [which] add to the audience experience. Certainly his appeal and popularity with young music listeners was a big factor in our decision to bring him here…[But] good music is good music, and DBR’s singular voice has resonated with classical music audiences, hip-hop listeners, and fans of music across the globe. The Voodoo Violin Concerto is one of DBR’s most popular signature works and we are very excited that he will be playing it during his first Arkansas performance.”
Originally composed for chamber ensemble, Voodoo Violin Concerto was commissioned by The Kitchen House Blend in 2002. In 2006, the Vermont Youth Orchestra asked DBR to arrange the work for full orchestra, the resulting work showcases a drum kit and hip-hop/jazz beats throughout.
Next up on DBR’s schedule: he returns to Cleveland to continue his composer-residency at Cuyahoga Community College, and sets out on tour to Hawaii in December with DJ/producer Elan Vytal.