Daniel Bernard Roumain – En Masse

After a show-stopping collaboration with local student musicians at last year’s PVDFest, the Haitian born, Harlem-based composer/violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (aka DBR) returns for a massive musical spectacle in the shadow of the West Side’s iconic Cranston Street Armory. DBR is a musically omnivorous, genre-bending modern composer who has worked with artists ranging from Philip Glass to Savion Glover to Lady Gaga. En Masse is a large-scale composition created for up to 500 musicians that is entirely new every time it is performed. This collective musical celebration – a cross between a flash mob and a processional – will feature marching bands, street musicians, and music students from across Rhode Island. FirstWorks and DBR have a decade of history together and the composer has previously collaborated with local groups like Community MusicWorks and the Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.