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ABOUT DBR |
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Known for fusing his classical
music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, Haitian-American
artist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) has
carved a reputation for himself as a passionately innovative
composer, performer, violinist, and band leader. His exploration
of musical rhythms and classically-driven sounds is peppered
by his own cultural references and vibrant musical imagination.
His unique hybrid style continues
to capture new music lovers worldwide. From Australia’s
Sydney Opera House to South Florida’s Kravis Center,
DBR is scheduled to premiere solo works and pulsing duets
off of his debut international solo album etudes4violin&electronix
(Thirsty Ear Recordings) in a 2008 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 ambassadors from today’s
contemporary musical landscape including Philip Glass, Ryuichi
Sakamoto, and DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid.
As a composer, his dramatic
soul-inspiring pieces range from orchestral scores and energetic
chamber works to rock songs and electronica. According to
the New York Times, his “eclecticism was wide-ranging
as ever” in One Loss Plus; DBR’s
evening-length, multimedia work for electric/acoustic violin,
prepared/amplified piano, electronics, and video which debuted
at BAM’s 2007 Next Wave Festival. Conceived and composed
by DBR, One Loss Plus features a collage of resonant
conversations between people who have never met--- interwoven
from posts submitted from the general public via YouTube
and MySpace. Concert projects include 24 Bits: Hip-Hop
Studies and Etudes and Event Pieces performed
by DBR on piano and laptop; the score for Carl Hancock Rux’s
contemporary opera Makandal premiering in 2008
at Miami’s Carnival Center; ground-breaking fusion
of contrasting cultures and instruments with DJ Scientific
in DBR’s Sonata for Violin and Turntables;
and ongoing collaborations with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s
and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. DBR also
serves as the Artist-in-Residence of the Seattle Theater
Group sponsored by Starbucks.
DBR has collaborated with an
array of orchestras and chamber ensembles. Most recently,
the performances and commissions of WE MARCH, a
guitar concerto for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and
guitarist Eliot Fisk; The Tuscaloosa Meditations,
an original piece commemorating the heroism of the desegregation
of the University of Alabama; Voodoo Violin Concerto,
a virtuosic handling of DBR’s Haitian heritage premiered
by the Vermont Youth Orchestra; and Call Them All: Fantasy
Projections for Film, Laptop, and Orchestra, an orchestral
work which received its world premiere at Carnegie’s
Zankel Hall by the American Composers Orchestra.
As a violinist and performer,
DBR has worked with Philip Glass, DJ Spooky, Vernon Reid,
Savion Glover, Susan Sarandon, and Cassandra Wilson, and
many others. As the band leader 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 makes its international debut at Australia’s
2008 Adelaide Festival.
Proving that he’s
“about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist
gets” (New York Times), DBR’s 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), and one of the entertainment industry’s
“Top 5 Tomorrow’s Newsmakers”
(1010 WINS Radio).
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| ABOUT DBR & THE
MISSION |

Click on a member of DBR & THE MISSION
above for bio.
DBR & THE MISSION is (clockwise starting
at upper left): Elan Vytal, aka DJ Scientific (turntables,
beatbox), Jon Weber (viola), Kenny Grohowski (drums),
Jim Robetson (bass), Jessie Reagen (cello), Earl Maneein
(electric violin), Wynne Bennett (music director,
keyboards, groovebox), Daniel Bernard Roumain (electric
violin, acoustic violin, piano, vocals, laptop), and
Matthew Szemela (electric violin).
From
a sold out performance with Philip Glass at Arizona’s
Gammage Auditorium, to the alternative and experimental
monthly show at New York City’s downtown Bowery
Poetry Club, DBR & THE MISSION presents lively,
genre-jumping contemporary music that is captivating
audiences nationwide. Founded in 2003 by composer/performer
Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), DBR & THE MISSION
is comprised of nine young, multi-cultural musicians
from diverse musical backgrounds including an amplified
string quartet, drum kit, keyboard, a vocalist, DJ
and laptops. Each member is well-versed in modern
classical, jazz, rock, and hip-hop performance practices
and has the profound ability to perform DBR’s
wide ranges of pieces. DBR’s Hip-Hop Studies
and Études were highlighted at the group’s
sold out performance at Joe’s Pub receiving
critical acclaim---“true to form, these vary
greatly in style, from slow, introspective Neo-Classical
ruminations to rhythmically complicated, riffy pieces
that would not be out of place in a dance club.”
(New York Times)
DBR
& THE MISSION recently received a stunning welcome
to Los Angeles at the Cerritos Center playing works
“from a woe-inflicted interpretation of ‘Amazing
Grace’ to turntable-like scratching and deafening
electric Jimi Hendrix riffs” (LA Times). DBR
& THE MISSION’s multi-disciplinary performances
(with Yuki Nakajima often providing a live video mix)
have been applauded at New York’s Joe’s
Pub and Cutting Room, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy
Center, Miami’s Caleb Auditorium, Pace University’s
Schimmel Center, Brooklyn’s 651 Arts, Arizona
State University’s Gammage Auditorium, Williams
College and Montclair State University’s Kasser
Theater.
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