Choral works

Sydney Guillaume (b. 1982), originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, came to the United States at the age of eleven. In Miami he attended the magnet program at Coral Reef Senior High, where he continued his studies in piano. Guillaume earned his Bachelor’s degree in composition at the University of Miami in 2004, where he studied with Robert Gower and piano with Rosalina Sackstein. Shortly after joining the University Chorale under the direction of Jo-Michael Scheibe, Sydney was inspired to write choral music. His first choral piece, Kalinda, won the Cambridge Madrigal Singers Eighth Annual International Choral Composition Contest. The Miami Herald has praised his work for its “impressive maturity and striking melodic distinction.”
While living in southern California, he continues to draw inspiration from his homeland. Drum ritual is prominent in Haiti, deeply intertwined with native religion and cosmology, as well as many types of cultural ceremonies. Twa Tanbou (Three Drums) recounts a tale of three drums in playful competition. A through-composed work, the text alternates between the voice of the storyteller, and the voices of the three drums: little Kata, medium-sized Tambourin, and great big Boula. The three drums argue about who has the loudest and most beautiful sound. In contrast, his mother’s struggle with cancer inspired him to write the atmospheric Pour Toi, Mère, which revels in extended harmonies and an up-tempo pitter-patter in the middle section.

(c) Jason Stell