New Connections Close By

I mentioned in an earlier posting that this project has opened up some new connections between the members of the choir and members of the Haitian community in Quebec. I just experienced the same thing here in New York. Last year, I met some wonderful musicians on my trip to Haiti and I learned much about their church music, their dance music, and other traditions that refer back to their West African roots. I will stay in contact with them and we will get together during future trips. However, as I was talking about the Missa Kreyol project today with some of my colleagues here in Geneseo, NY, they told me about several fine Haitian musicians in Rochester, which is just down the road. This project is not only introducting me to new contacts in Quebec, but also new contacts in my own backyard. We have had some preliminary discussions about producing a concert of the new piece here in Western New York sometime next year after the December 2014 premier in Quebec. I think I just found the musicians I will need for that show!