COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT: Sydney Guillaume | Réfugié, mon Frère
Over the next few weeks, Resonance features composers and artists whose work will be performed at the Safe Harbor concert on March 1st.
We continue with Haitian-American composer Sydney Guillaume. His moving work, “Réfugié, mon frère,” is a setting of text by his father, Gabriel T. Guillaume, and reminds us of the humanity of refugees that is often overlooked.
“We are all travelers on the roads of the earth.
May I dare ask you not to forget
The humanity you carry within you.
My brother, whatever your refuge is, you are at home.”
Composer Sydney Guillaume
About “Réfugié, mon Frère”
“Réfugié, mon Frère” was written in 2017 at a time when DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was being debated in the United States because of a suggested end to the program that granted temporary protection from deportation to nearly 700,000 young people. As an immigrant from Haiti who migrated to the U.S. with my family at 11 years-old, I was deeply affected by the uncertain future the “DREAMers” were facing through no fault of their own.
Since the premiere of the piece in 2018, there have been some gruesome acts against immigrants and refugees, including children being separated from their parents at the U.S. border. My hope is that this piece brings to focus a part of the immigration debate that is often forgotten – the humanity of the refugees fleeing their countries.
— Sydney Guillaume
Join us on March 1 to hear Resonance perform Guillaume’s “Réfugié, mon Frère.”
Sydney Guillaume will be attending Safe Harbor, and will participate in a Q&A talkback after the concert- so think of your questions!
Until then, please enjoy our friends at Lewis & Clark College performing “Réfugié, mon Frère” last winter:
About Sydney Guillaume
Praised by the Miami Herald for their “impressive maturity and striking melodic distinction”, Sydney Guillaume’s compositions are known to be intricate, challenging and yet highly spirited. They promote human values and are full of heart and passion. His compositions continually enthrall choirs everywhere and have been performed around the world. They have been featured at numerous conferences and international festivals like the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the World Choir Games and Ireland’s Cork International Choral Festival. He is an active member of the choral community as a composer, singer, clinician and conductor. In 2017, he was honored by the top music school in Haiti for his “great contribution in the expansion and the promotion of the music and culture of Haiti around the world.”
Sydney Guillaume graduated from the University of Miami in 2004 where his works were performed by the Miami University Chorale conducted by Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe. Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he is currently residing in Portland, Oregon working as a full-time composer, conductor and clinician. For more about Mr. Guillaume, click here.
For more information about Safe Harbor click here.