About the Piece
Chris Ducasse – Souvenirs | Memories
“Souvenirs” is a French title that translates to “Memories”. With this music, I wanted to express the feeling of remembering a specific event in the past that had a great impact on your life. Based on Haitian rhythms, “Souvenirs” has a dancing feel to it, slow, reflective, and reassuring. The repetition of the main melody many times over the course of this piece is a way to imply that no matter what happens, some memories can never be replaced, and will always be cherished. The bright and happy feel of the dancing rhythms is a way to feel the comfort of those precious memories guiding us on our way towards a brighter future.
Instrumentation:
Strings
About the Composer
Biography
A native of Port-au-Prince Haiti, Christopher attended Holy Trinity Music School where he learned voice, violin, and piano. Christopher became a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Holy Trinity in 2007 and conducted their main choir “Les Petits Chanteurs” for three years beginning in 2011. He was a BLUME HAITI Scholar in the Haitian student exchange program at Lawrence University in 2015, and in 2017 he joined Silver Lake College of the Holy Family to get a Bachelor in Choral in Music Education. Christopher is currently getting a master’s in music in Choral Conducting at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Christopher was the Winner of the WCDA Conducting Competition in 2018. He has also composed vocal and instrumental pieces that have been performed by various groups, most notably Petits Chanteurs and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Holy Trinity Music School, the Lawrence University Cello Ensemble, and the Silver Lake College of the Holy Family Chorale. Christopher sings baritone, in addition, to play piano and violin, and does some photography as a hobby. (from www.Christopherducasse.com/about )
Performance Materials
Performance materials, including score and parts, are available on the composer’s website: HERE.
Recording
A recording is available on the composer’s website: HERE.