DALLAS (February 8, 2010) – On Thursday, February 25, TITAS, in association with the AT&T Performing Arts Center, will present Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) in Concert. DBR, a Haitian-American artist, will perform Darwin’s Meditation for the People of Lincoln, a musical setting that explores an imagined conversation between Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, and the political relationship between England, North America and Haiti. This performance will benefit earthquake relief efforts in Haiti through the Dallas Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Because of the artist’s close ties to Haiti, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. Patrons purchasing tickets to the performance will also have the option of adding a donation to support earthquake relief efforts. Both DBR and solo vocalist, Emeline Michel, known as the “Joni Mitchell of Haiti,” have been strong advocates for the people of Haiti. Ms. Michel recently performed in “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon organized by actor George Clooney.
“We feel that it is our responsibility to aid in the relief efforts in whatever small ways we can,” said Charles Santos, executive director of TITAS. “Working with DBR and Emeline has brought this tragedy even closer to home, and we want to support them in their efforts to help their families and friends in Haiti. DBR’s piece, Darwin’s Mediation for The People of Lincoln, which is about the struggle for freedom and the power of people to transform the world, seen through the perspective of the people of Haiti, is all the more powerful and relevant in light of current events.”
An innovative composer, performer, violinist, and band leader, DBR melds his classical music roots with his own cultural references and vibrant musical imagination. Darwin’s Mediation for The People of Lincoln was inspired by the fact that two of the most extraordinary men in history, Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, were born within hours of one another on the same auspicious day of February 12, 1809. If one traced the origin of the human species, the other set its destination in motion. In this work, DBR brings the two men face-to-face for a lush, orchestral event of historic proportions—an imagined conversation between them.
The work features a chamber orchestra composed of 20 students from the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU conducted by Jack Delaney, together with four soloists—DBR (violin), Yayoi Ikawa (piano), D.J. Mendel (actor/playwright), and Emeline Michel (singer). Darwin’s Meditation for The People of Lincoln sculpts the sound of liberation, survival, and legacy in the image of two of its most tireless proponents. The composition of the work is inspired and guided by a musical and historical exploration of the island nation of Haiti. This unusual perspective illuminates new relationships between Darwin, Lincoln and Haiti and is thoughtfully and provocatively infused into all aspects seen and heard in this work.
Using original video by Yuki Nakajima, lights by Matthew Richards, and texts drawn from both Darwin and Lincoln, plus those of Obie Award-winning playwright Daniel Beaty, DBR creates an imagined conversation between two historical giants—and a scintillating, spiritual, sonic vision of what it means to be free.
Tickets for the February 25th performance range from $19 to $127. Ten percent of every full-price ticket will be donated to the Haiti Relief and Development Fund of the American Red Cross. Tickets can be purchased via phone at 214.880.0202, or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Box Office at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street (Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm; Sunday 11 am – 4 pm), at which time patrons can make an additional donation to the Red Cross. DBR tickets only can be purchased online at www.attpac.org. For more information about the American Red Cross, please call 800.797.8022 or email info@usa.redcross.org. The American Red Cross name is used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company or individual.
On February 23 and 24, the Meadows orchestra will rehearse with DBR at SMU. Students from local music programs will be invited to observe the rehearsal and attend the performance on Friday, February 25.
ABOUT DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN
As a composer, his works range from orchestral scores and chamber pieces to music for film, the theater, modern dance, and electronica. In 2007, DBR premiered One Loss Plus, the first of three works commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for their Next Wave Festival. Showcasing his wide-ranging eclecticism, One Loss Plus is DBR’s evening-length, multimedia work for electric/acoustic violin, prepared/amplified piano, electronics, and video. His latest orchestral work and second BAM commission Darwin’s Meditation for The People of Lincoln is a musical setting of a pocket play by Daniel Beaty that explores an imagined conversation between Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, and the political relationship between England, North America, and Haiti. Following its New York premiere in October 2008, Darwin’s Meditation for the People of Lincoln moved to the University of Connecticut as a special celebratory concert February 12, 2009 - the icons’ shared bicentennial anniversary of their birth.
DBR has collaborated with an array of orchestras and chamber ensembles. He was recently selected by the Sphinx Commissioning Consortium, an alliance between Sphinx and nine other American orchestras (Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, New Jersey, New World, Philadelphia, Richmond, Rochester and Virginia) to compose a new work for full orchestra to premiere in 2010. Recent performances and commissions include: Five Chairs and One Table, a commissioned work for Imani Winds that premiered at Carnegie Hall; WE MARCH!, a guitar concerto featuring Eliot Fisk and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra; The Tuscaloosa Meditations, one of the first commissions of a Haitian-American composer by the University of Alabama composed in honor of Vivian Malone Jones; Voodoo Violin Concerto, a virtuosic handling of DBR’s Haitian heritage premiered by the Vermont Youth Orchestra; Double Quartet: The Kompa Variations, an exploration of Haitian kompa music for the Providence String Quartet and a student quartet which premiered at the First Works Providence festival; and newly commissioned works for the Florida Youth Orchestra, Ahn Trio and Claremont Trio. Other projects include original scores for theater and film. DBR has composed music for Daniel Beaty’s play Resurrection directed by Oz Scott, the feature ESPN television segment E:60 Homeless Basketball in which DBR was bestowed with a Sports EMMY nomination for musical composition, and documentary films - Strange Things by Alexandria Hammond and Off and Running by Nicole Opper (premiered at Tribeca Film Festival) which will air nationally on PBS in 2010.
From Australia’s Sydney Opera House to Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, DBR continues to premiere and perform solo and chamber works off of his debut international solo album etudes4violin&electronix (Thirsty Ear Recordings) in a worldwide tour with Elan Vytal aka DJ Scientific. Described as a “demonstration of unquestionable virtuosity and commitment to the violin’s expressivity” (All About Jazz), the album showcases a unified dialogue between DBR and artists from today's contemporary musical landscape including Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, DJ Spooky, and DJ Scientific. As bandleader of DBR & THE MISSION, a young, multi-cultural ensemble, he presents an electrifying show described as “an evening of chamber music with the accessible feel of a rock concert” (Albany Times-Union). Touring nationwide since 2004, DBR & THE MISSION made its international debut at Australia’s 2008 Adelaide Festival.
DBR serves as Visiting Associate Professor of Composition at his alma mater, The Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University. He’s also the Artist-in-Residence of the Starbucks-sponsored Seattle Theater Group and the Music Director of Seattle’s More Music @ The Moore program for the third consecutive year. Additional positions have included: Chair of Composition/Theory at the Harlem School of the Arts; The Van Lier Composer-in-Residence with the American Composers Orchestra; Artist-in-Residence at Arizona State University (2003-2006); Assistant Composer-in-Residence at the Orchestra of St. Luke's and founder of the OSL’s Young Composers Development Program; Music Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; and Rankin Scholar-in-Residence at Drexel University.
Proving that he’s “about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets” (New York Times), DBR recently collaborated and performed with Lady Gaga on FOX’s American Idol. His accolades range from being voted as “America’s Assignment” on the CBS Evening News, to receiving praise as one of the “Top 100 New Yorkers” (New York Resident), “Top 40 Under 40” business people (Crain’s New York Business), one of the entertainment industry’s “Top 5 Tomorrow’s Newsmakers” (1010 WINS Radio), and spotlighted as a “New Face of Classical Music” in Esquire Magazine.
A native of Margate, Florida, DBR’s career blossomed when he studied music as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, completing his masters and doctoral work at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom.
For more on DBR, visit http://www.dbrmusic.com.
UPCOMING SHOWS AT THE AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Dallas Theater Center: Give It Up! Jan. 15-Feb. 14
Wyly Theatre
The Dallas Opera: Cosi fan tutte Feb. 12, 18, 20, 28
Winspear Opera House
Dallas Black Dance Theatre: Cultural Awareness Series Feb. 17 – 21
Wyly Theatre
The Dallas Opera: Don Pasquale Feb. 19, 21, 27, Winspear Opera House March 5, 7
JAZZ ROOTS: Piano Latino March 1
Winspear Opera House
Brinker International Forum: The Creative Process March 4
Winspear Opera House
Texas Ballet Theater: Romeo and Juliet March 12-14
Winspear Opera House
Brinker International Forum: Frost/Langella March 16
Winspear Opera House
TITAS: Dominic Walsh Dance Theater March 18
Winspear Opera House
TITAS: Soweto Gospel Choir March 21
Winspear Opera House
Lexus Broadway Series: Spring Awakening March 23- April 4
Winspear Opera House
About the AT&T Performing Arts Center:
The AT&T Performing Arts Center, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theatre and dance will open in October 2009, completing the 25-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. The Center will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than ten acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that will be unparalleled in the world. The Center will feature the following:
- The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed in a modern horseshoe configuration, will seat 2,200 (with capacity up to 2,300), designed by Foster + Partners.
- The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre will serve as a gateway to the Dallas Arts District from the downtown Dallas business center and will seat 600, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
- The completely new Annette Strauss Artist Square will be the Center’s outdoor entertainment venue, designed by Foster + Partners.
- The City Performance Hall will provide main stage production space for many of Dallas’ smaller performing arts organizations, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
- The Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park will unify the venues within a lush urban oasis and will create a dynamic cultural destination in downtown Dallas, designed by Michel Desvigne.
- Two underground parking areas that will accommodate more than 850 vehicles.
The Dallas Fort Worth Lexus Dealer Association is the title sponsor of the Center’s Lexus Broadway Series, the official vehicle of the Center and its resident companies, the official valet sponsor and the naming rights holder for the Center’s two underground parking areas. More information on the AT&T Performing Arts Center is available at www.attpac.org.
Contact:
Maria May
AT&T Performing Arts Center
214.978.2834
maria.may@attpac.org