about me
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about me
Haiti's hidden treasure, Dernst Emile, is a multi-instrumentalist,
producer, and arranger who is truly a vanguard of his time. His
approach to crafting musical stories is rooted in a deep respect
for the science and art of music. He draws influence from his
homeland and masters of the craft from across the world. But his
greatest inspiration is the music itself.The son of Haitian
impressionist painter Denis Emile, Dernst was consistently exposed
to art and music at the highest level. After watching a friend of
his father play accordion, he was amazed at the skill it took and
picked up the instrument himself at the tender age of six.
Music continued to integrate itself into his life as he found
himself enraptured with the works of Ferdinando Carulli and
Francisco Tárrega. Inspired, he picked up a guitar at 13. By the
time he was 16, Jazz music had entered into his musical vocabulary
by way of Nat King Cole, Count Basie, and Wes Montgomery. From
then on, he spent his teens and twenties reading music book after
music book, aiming to master the art.
Affectionately known to his students as Maestro, he has spent the
past 49 years teaching music in New York from his private studio.
His influence is evident through his students and his children's
work. Dernst continues to teach, perform, and record with his most
recent arrangement heard on Lucky Daye's Grammy award-nominated
album Candy Drip. To this day, he continues to study music operating
under the belief that the more you know, the more you find out you
don't know. His debut album Caribbean Sunshine was released in 2023.