Marie Francia Sterlin

Marie Francia Sterlin is a vocalist from Haiti. She began singing in her mother's parish choir at a young age. She proceeded to the National School of Arts after finishing her education, but she departed after her first year because the school had closed its doors. She discovered that Santo Domingo offered a Conservatory of Music in June 2017 and chose to enroll. She began studying Lyric Singing at the Conservatory in September 2017. She discovered her love for jazz in April 2017 and attempts to live her life based on her interest for both classical and jazz music. She is now completing her studies at the Conservatory and performs jazz concerts at restaurants and cultural centers in Santo Domingo.
Artist statement
In my country, I am one of the few academic singer-musicians. Being an artist is not a profession in Haiti; it cannot be learned at university, and there is no supervision. When I decided to become a musician, I knew it was more than just a job; it was a life goal. I struggled to find scores of Haitian music during my studies in the Dominican Republic, which put me in a difficult position.
My goal is to carry out this work of memory and recognition in order to pave the way for future generations. I am currently working on a platform that will house my research on the evolution of Haitian music; it will be available in March 2022. I want to spread the word about my country's music so that it can grow and be learned by people from other cultures.
During my research, I had the honor and pleasure of meeting extraordinary musicians and composers, and I believe it is unjust to ignore their contributions to our music. It's also unjust that our music's documentation isn't available to everyone.
As a result, we decided, in collaboration with several musicians, to take up several key and important classical themes and present them to young audiences in order to pique their interest in our musical heritage. Music has always been there for me through my illnesses and depressive episodes... I don't want to deprive others of that. Given the delicate situation in which my country is evolving, art is our
best hope because it allows us to find common ground and compromise for a better country with conscious and consistent citizens.