About Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)

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.

From Australia’s Sydney Opera House to South Florida’s Kravis Center, DBR continues to premiere solo works and pulsing duets 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 ambassadors from today's contemporary musical landscape including Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid and DJ Scientific.

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. The second commission to be premiered at BAM’s 2008 Next Wave Festival is Darwin’s Meditation for the People of Lincoln, a musical setting of a new pocket play by Daniel Beaty exploring an imagined conversation between Darwin and Lincoln featuring the chamber orchestra SymphoNYC, and internationally renowned Haitian recording artist Emeline Michel.

DBR has collaborated with an array of orchestras and chamber ensembles. Most recently, the performances and commissions of WE MARCH, a guitar concerto that premiered with 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; and the upcoming Double Quartet: The Kompa Variations, an exploration of Haitian kompa music within a theme and variations form, commissioned by and composed for the Providence String Quartet scheduled to premiere this year at the First Works Providence festival in Rhode Island. Other projects include the score for Carl Hancock Rux’s contemporary opera Makandal; ground-breaking fusion of contrasting cultures and instruments with Elan Vytal aka DJ Scientific in DBR’s Sonata for Violin and Turntables; and ongoing collaborations with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and DJ Spooky. DBR also serves as the Artist-in-Residence of the Seattle Theater Group sponsored by Starbucks.

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 made 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).

About DBR & The Mission

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.

For more information contact

W.E.B. DuBois Community Development Corporation

150-A North White Street,

Wake Forest, NC  27587

(919) 556-0709

Additional Links to DBR and DBR & The Mission