daniel bernard roumain
echoes

Co-presented by Portland Ovations and Indigo Arts Alliance

All events are free and open to the public

Saturday, May 11

• 3 – 6 PM: Community events at partner sites

• 6 – 7 PM: Pre-performance Block Party

• 7 – 8 PM: Live performance by Daniel Bernard Roumain

Black, Haitian American composer, violinist and activist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) returns in a celebratory new project spanning February-May 2024 and culminating in a day of community programs and an outdoor public performance at the at the historic Abyssinian Meeting House.

This is a site-responsive composition project that aims to reflect the breath, sorrow and beauty of Portland, Maine’s complex history and relationship to its Black community, utilizing live performance to mark, reclaim and celebrate a site of significance and enduring legacy. With the Abyssinian Meeting House as inspiration, DBR shares an original work, to which local artists across disciplines are invited to remix and respond.

This work, by its very nature, is rooted in a complex investigation into Black trauma, ownership, equity, and joy while utilizing DBR’s violin and scores as an instrument of change, of seeking and finding resonance. It is important to DBR that the work feels personal, even familial, accessible, intimate, and deeply collaborative where marginalized communities can participate as they wish to hold vigil, hold space, and hold each other.