Daniel Bernard Roumain, Violinist Interviewed by Jonathan Batiste

Having carved a reputation for himself as an innovative composer, performer, violinist, and band leader, Haitian-American artist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) melds his classical music roots with his own cultural references and vibrant musical imagination. Proving that he's "about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets" (New York Times), DBR is perhaps the only composer who has collaborated and performed with Philip Glass, Cassandra Wilson, Bill T. Jones, and Lady Gaga. He's received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), the Library of Congress, and the sports channel ESPN. He's appeared on American Idol (FOX), America's Assignment (CBS Evening News), E:60 (ESPN) and been voted one of the "Top 100 New Yorkers" (New York Resident), "Top 40 Under 40 business people" (Crain's New York Business), "Top 5 Tomorrow's Newsmakers" (1010 WINS Radio), and spotlighted as a "New Face of Classical Music" (Esquire Magazine). Most recently DBR has created a new evening length-work, "Symphony for the Dance Floor", for the 2011 BAM Next Wave Festival and ASU Gammage, and composed music for the Atlanta Ballet, "Home in 7", with the choreographer Amy Seiwert and the poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph.