DMA Doctor of Musical Arts Orchestral Conducting Personal Statement

Guiding the orchestra with precision, embodying the art of conducting.

I grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where the styles of music are compa, voodoo, racine, zouk and troubadour. I did not know much about classical music until I attended l’Ecole de Musique Sainte Trinité (Holy Trinity Music School), the most well-established music school in Haiti, where I was given the privilege to begin my musical training. I started learning the violin at the age of eight. After joining the National Philharmonic Orchestra and earning an advanced certificate at the Festival Summer Music Camp in 2002, I became a violin instructor at Holy Trinity. At that point I felt like my musical skills and knowledge were limited; but my devotion to music earned me a full scholarship to come to the United States to further my musical studies at the University of XXXX in 2015.

Aspiring orchestral conductor focuses on crafting a compelling personal statement, with musical inspiration close at hand.

In America I was exposed to a wider range of distinctive styles in the orchestral repertoire and had the opportunity to see, for the first time in my life, a professional orchestra–the Duluth Superior Symphony. I remember at one of their concerts they performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” and that piece began to speak to me in a way I’d never experienced. I anxiously listened, and at the moment--in the first movement’s recapitulation where the C sharp becomes D flat enharmonically (which Beethoven had revolutionarily written at the end of a main theme in E flat in the opening); everything seemed to open.  From that moment forward, I have wanted to create music such as this. and learn to excel as a conductor.

Aspiring conductor thoughtfully reviews sheet music, preparing a compelling personal statement amidst the harmony of strings in a rehearsal space.

I have maintained a vast array of musical preferences and taken advantage of numerous opportunities for personal development. Since 2016, I’ve been volunteering as a staff member at the Festival Summer Music Camp in Haiti where I coach chamber music and teach music theory, conducting sectionals, and violin lessons. I also had the opportunity to apply my conducting skills and techniques by conducting the intermediate chamber orchestra (Petit Orchestre de Chambre).

This past summer, I was placed in charge of the ensemble, artistically and administratively. Due to my aptitude for choosing the appropriate repertoire and having the ability to adjust musically to such difficult conditions, especially following the devastating earthquake in, 2009, I believe that my experience as a conductor has been enormously beneficial to the music program at Holy Trinity, confirming my dedication to continue studying conducting.

I want to earn my DMA in orchestral conducting so that I can give back to other Haitian musicians. I feel strongly that the University of XXXX's diverse campus and student body and creative and dynamic faculty is a perfect match for my elevated level of motivation. I am highly aware of the superb reputation of your school, and my conversations with several of your alumni have served to deepen my interest in attending. I am looking forward to learning a great deal more about conducting than I already know with Professor XXXX. I hope you will give me the privilege of continuing my studies at your singularly distinguished institution. 

DMA Doctor of Musical Arts Orchestral Conducting Personal Statement