about - imbroglio sextet
The Story
The Imbroglio Sextet consists of professional musicians who met while volunteering as teachers in Haiti in 2013. Despite differences of language and nationality, they realized they enjoyed each other’s company and making music together. They decided to form a group to play, record, and tour together.
The Instrumentation
The Imbroglio Sextet combines a string quartet with trumpet and clarinet to produce a sound reflective of its members’ classical training and multi-national origins.
The Members and Instrument List
The Imbroglio Sextet’s membership has always come from multiple countries: Spain, Haiti, the United States, Germany, Bolivia, and Mexico. They assemble at most once or twice a year in Europe, the U.S., or Haiti. 2024’s Scandinavia Tour lineup will include:
Sydney Guillaume: Conductor/Composer (Haiti/United States)
Salva Contreras: Clarinet (Spain)
Victoria Joseph: Violin (Haiti)
Katherine Baloff: Violin (United States)
Javier Navascués: Cello (Spain)
Lucia Nuín: Viola (Spain)
Cara Pollard: Trumpet (United States)
The Name
Conductor Sydney Guillaume’s father suggested the name of the ensemble, with the idea that an “imbroglio” means a tricky situation but one from which good can come if handled the right way. It reflects that despite having to overcome natural disasters and poverty, Haitians can still find joy through music and a group like this one can come together through their shared philanthropic endeavors. In addition, the word “imbroglio” is similar across multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French.
The Cause
The Imbroglio Sextet’s endeavors each include a component to benefit music in Haiti through Blume Haiti and the École de Musique Sainte Trinité, the school that runs the Haitian music camp where the group’s members met.
Recordings
The sextet has released two full-length albums: Imbroglio Haitiano, recorded in Pamplona, Spain in 2017, and Greetings from Gran Hostal El Chiscon, recorded in Madrid, Spain in 2019. (available on Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube).
Tours
The group’s summer 2023 tour through Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia was its first live performances since 2018, as pandemic-related restrictions forced the cancellation of planned excursions to Scandinavia in 2020 and Australia in 2022.
Previous tours
Spain/Great Britain (2014)
Texas/Louisiana (2015)
Spain (2016 and 2017)
New York (2016) – including Carnegie Hall
Texas/New Mexico (2018)
Armenia/Azerbaijan (2018) ISME Performance
Spain (2019)
Chosen to perform virtually in the 2022 ISME Conference
Pacific Northwest – US and Canada (2023)
Norway/Finland/Netherlands (2024)
2024 ISME Conference performance in Finland
Bulgaria (2025)