Basic Facts
Born: 1971, Skokie, Illinois
Type of Performer: composer, violinist
Genre: mutli-genre, classical, contemporary
About DBR
Daniel Bernard Roumain, who goes by his initials DBR, was born in 1971. Shortly after he was born, his family moved to Florida. His parents encouraged his interest in music, filling their home with Haitian folk music and Western classical and popular music alike. He picked up the violin at age five, but was drawn to other instruments as well. In high school, he formed his own rock group with electric guitar and synthesizer and he played in his school's jazz orchestra. He attended Vanderbilt University for his Bachelor's degree, and he received both his Master's and Doctorate degrees in Music Composition from the University of Michigan.
DBR's career has spanned more than two decades and has included collaborations with artists from across the spectrum, from Philip Glass to Lady Gaga. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2000, with the American Composers Orchestra performing his work, Harlem Essay for Orchestra. He has also appeared on NPR, ESPN, and American Idol, and he has written music for opera, chamber and orchestra groups, and more. He is an active arts advocate and serves on the board for several organizations, including the League of American Orchestras and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and Creative Capital. Much of his music also addresses current events. His 2007 work, Tuscaloosa Meditations, was commissioned in observation of the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" attempt to stop the integration of the University of Alabama. One of his newest operas, Cipher, created for the Philadelphia Boys Choir, is based on the incarceration of young Black men. He currently teaches at Arizona State University.
Listen
Symphony for the Dance Floor
Blackbird, Fly
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