Composers

Praised by the Miami Herald for their “impressive maturity and striking melodic distinction”, Sydney Guillaume’s compositions are known to be intricate, challenging and yet highly spirited. They promote human values and are full of heart and passion. Many of his choral works, most with original poetry by his father Gabriel T. Guillaume, have fostered an awareness of the beautiful Haitian culture and continue to serve as an ambassador for his native country. In 2016, he was inducted into the 1804 List of Haitian-American Change Makers, a prestigious list named in honor of Haiti’s year of independence that “recognizes Haitian-Americans in the United States who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success in their profession and proven themselves to be forces for change in their communities.” In 2017, he was honored by the top music school in Haiti for his “great contribution in the expansion and the promotion of the music and culture of Haiti around the world.”

Guillaume’s compositions have been featured at numerous conferences and international festivals like the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the World Choir Games and Ireland’s Cork International Choral Festival.

Nearly all of his choral compositions have been commissioned works. He’s written for renowned choirs such as the Grammy-award nominated Seraphic Fire, the Westminster Chorus, the University of Miami Frost Chorale, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, the Illinois Wesleyan University Collegiate Choir, the Saint Louis Chamber Singers and the Miami Children’s Chorus.

Guillaume also writes film music, having written original film and documentary scores for the Los Angeles based company Loyola Productions.

He is an active member of the choral community as a composer, singer, clinician and conductor. In 2013, he conducted the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 12 Honor Choir and, more recently, the 2017 Connecticut Southern Region Honor Choir. He has also presented at several symposiums and conferences, both domestically and abroad. Most recently, he presented at the 2016 West Virginia ACDA Conference and the FORO CORAL AMERICANO in Argentina.

Since 2013 he has been the conductor of Imbroglio Sextet, a group of musicians from Haiti, Spain, and the United States. The group met in Haiti at the École de Musique St. Trinité summer camp, where they all volunteer as music teachers. As the director of the sextet he has toured through Texas, Louisiana, Armenia, Great Britain and Spain.

His recent activities as conductor also include the 2024 ACDA Southern Region Conference Advanced SATB Honor Choir, the 2022 Georgia All-State Senior Treble Choir, the 2019 Florida All-State Middle School Treble Chorus, the 34th annual Idaho State University Choral Invitational Festival, the 2018 Maine All-State High School Mixed Chorus, an all-Guillaume concert at New York City’s Lincoln Center, the 2018 Virginia District 12 High School Mixed Chorus, and concerts with the Imbroglio Sextet at Carnegie Hall and at the 2018 ISME World Conference in Azerbaijan.

Sydney Guillaume graduated from the University of Miami in 2004, where his works were performed by the Miami University Chorale conducted by Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe. Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where he frequently workshops his music with university and high school choirs throughout North America.