Ansy Derose

Born in Port-au-Prince on June 3, 1934, Ansy Dérose began his singing career very early under the guidance of Ms. Elisabeth Mahy, Professor of vocal technique, of French nationality. For a whole decade, he only sang the melodies of Frantz Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven. He excelled in the tunes of Lalo, Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. Having obtained a scholarship which allowed him to continue his technical studies in Germany (where he went on November 23, 1963), he did not neglect his talent and his art. This is why he enrolled in the “Musick Hoch Shule” where his teachers recognized in him a great talent as a performer. Subsequently, transferred to Saarbrücken, he took part in an amateur competition programmed by the city's Radio Television, a competition from which he emerged first winner. This is how he began to make traditional Haitian songs known in the country of Goethe and Mozart as well as those, of remarkable quality, that he was already composing himself. On his return from Germany in 1964, invited by relatives for a stay in Chicago, he stayed there for eighteen months and enrolled at the "American Conservatory of Chicago" under the direction of Grand Master G. Moore from which he won the esteem and admiration. His big entry onto the international scene was at the “First World Song Festival” which was held in Mexico City in November 1970, with the biggest names in European and South American music, and conductors and arrangers like Paul Mauriat, Franck Pourcel, Pochio Perez. Of the 70 countries represented, his song “Maria”, one of his very first compositions, arranged by Pochio Perez, won the third trophy. This earned him a column on the first page of the official newspaper "Olimpo" of Mexico where we could read this: "...With Ansy Dérose of Haiti the chain of European triumphants is broken." Despite the numerous offers made to him by European firms, Ansy Dérose, after this experience, understood the urgent need to continue his musical studies. Despite the absence of a Conservatory, he decided to return to his native country. Gifted with an incredible capacity to train and perfect himself, our autodidact chose to devote himself body and soul to the task with implacable determination and locked himself away for three months, working day and night, determined to correct his inadequacies. After thirteen years of teaching at the J.B. Damier Professional School, he became its director. After the departure of the experts, the level of teaching dropped considerably and our new director had to go out of his way to raise it: he worked to recruit qualified teachers and above all to find the essential funds (which were always sorely lacking ) for the proper functioning of the establishment. He also followed courses in Architecture and interior design for three years. In 1972, his first disc “Ansy, his Music and his Poetry” was a delight for music lovers. His second album “Quo Vadis Terra” (1974) enjoyed inexhaustible success. His songs, symbols of hope, love and brotherhood, have made him the most adored singer in the country.