21085: charles: Haitian Times article about the Altino brothers (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: pgcharles@optonline.net

Altino Brothers to take Lincoln Center Stage

JAMAICA, N.Y.- Children whose parents leave them in Haiti with aunts and uncles, or grandmothers and godfathers, usually ask parents to send toys, the latest in fashion, or maybe a favorite food they’ve developed a taste from America. Sending for them is also at the top of the list of many youngsters yearning for their parents’ love and contact.
In Nerva and Robenson Altino’s case, two brothers about to take the Lincoln Center stage next month with their pianos, the request was a bit uncommon. Knowing he was working to reunite the family, the two boys, less than 10 years old in the early 1980’s, asked their father Jean Lecome Altino to have a piano ready for them when they got to America.
"I was obsessed with the piano, but we were poor [in Haiti]; we couldn’t afford lessons," said Nerva, the older, more talkative brother.

Nerva, 30, remembers their arrival into the St. Albans, NY basement apartment clearly: "Our parents slept in the living room, we slept in the kitchen, but somehow, they found room to put a piano," he said, smiling as if to say, "isn’t that incredible?"

During the boys’ first year here, Altino taught them the basic keys, jingles and other rudiments of piano. That prepared them for entering a local music studio, their life-long love of piano and classical music, as well as created their economic livelihood.

"If your love is strong enough, you’ll make it," said Robenson, 28, from the two-story family home, located steps away from a small lake in Jamaica, Queens. "People might say, ‘oh, you’re great,’ but you have to continue your studies."
Both now hold masters’ degrees in music from the Manhattan School of Music, travel for concerts nationwide, released their debut album in 2003, and direct their own gospel choir, The Altino Brothers Chorale.
On April 11, the Altino brothers will perform at the Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully. They say their brand of music is a combination of classical, gospel, and reggae, in certain pieces. At the upcoming show, the brothers plan to play Haitian folk tunes such as "Ti Zwazo," in celebration of the country’s 200-year anniversary.

"We mix it up so that our concerts are enjoyable," Nerva said.
The elder Altino could not be prouder of his sons, especially for recognizing their heritage by incorporating Haitian songs into their repertoire. From the time he watched them dance around in the Seventh Day Adventist Church where he played in Haiti, he has encouraged their interest in music.
Though at one point, he had hoped one would be a pastor, the other a doctor.
"I’m really happy for them. But economically, they’re not there yet," said Altino, 66, a retired hospital maintenance worker.
Altino says when he watched them play at Lincoln Center performance in 2002- to about 900 people- he was amazed. He said his wife, who died of asthma months after that performance, was incredibly proud of the boys for incorporating the Haitian elements in their concerts.
"They were diligent and never shirked what I asked of them," said George M. Davis, the Altinos’ first formal instructor for about eight years. "They’re very keen and very perceptive. [And] they didn’t resent being corrected.

Davis said watching them at the Lincoln Center two years ago, he found Robenson’s rendition of Prokofiev Piano Concerto #3 modern, lyrical and the demands of the piece negotiated well; he thought Nerva’s Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1 was romantic.
The two brothers say their parents sacrificed a lot for them to pursue their love for music. They say some relatives tried to dissuade their father and mother, Rita, but their parents stuck by. They enrolled the boys at the George Davis School of Music, using money budgeted for other things at times to pay for the lessons.

But then again, they say, their father risked his life to give them a better life by boarding a ship headed to the U.S. The story of how the elder Altino went without food for a month and watched people die as they sailed to the Bahamas inspires them.
After their mom left Haiti to join their father here, Nerva and Robenson were left in the care of Nerva’s godfather- a step that a majority of Haitian parents often take in their quest to build a better life for their families.
"We’ve never been so abused in our lives," Nerva said now, remembering the beatings that he feels were unwarranted and being blamed for things they did not do in the household. "That’s normal [in Haiti], as crazy as it sounds."
Though their time was shadowed by mistreatment, the men remember good times in Haiti. "Certain music I play, I could still feel the sun, still see the kids asking for bread and peanut butter," Robenson said, referring to the pupils at the Gesner Anglade School they attended in Port-au-Prince.

In the United States, they faced challenges also. The teasing and name-calling that made Nerva feels, sometimes, like not telling people he was Haitian; Robenson not liking his father’s style of teaching; and their mom’s constant asthma attacks were a few of them.
But the family built a decent life in Queens and they are proud to not only say they are Haitian, but also to broadcast it in their concerts and recordings.
"People could say, ‘you came here on a banana boat," but I could say, "yeah, and look at us now," Nerva said, from behind the wheel of Robenson’s blue two-door Toyota Tercel." "I’m proud to be Haitian" said Nerva, who is single but dates regularly.

As Haitians parents often tell their children, America cares more about one’s brain more than anything else. However debatable that axiom might be, it proved true for the Altinos.
Their aptitude for single and duo piano pieces has garnered many opportunities, enough to stage it at a world-renowned venue, at least. It’s allowed them to make a living out of what they love, which was not even an option back in Haiti because, as Nerva says, the konpa industry- and society’s view of musicians as low-class and fickle- was the main outlet.
Still, Nerva feels they could’ve been where they are now sooner if they had been born here and gotten access to a piano before ages 10 and 8.

As Robenson said, their primary audience is "people who enjoy good music," including the theatre buffs who consume classical albums since they were trained as classical musicians. The hip-hop generation that enjoys modern, urban rhythms has its virtues as well and they must cater to it. Nerva hopes they could go "platinum" someday. After all, Yanni, the Greek pianist, did it.
They want more people to react to their music the way that nuns did at their last Christmas concert- dancing to the reggae beat toward the end of the show. The influence of reggae- from having many Jamaican friends while at school- and gospel- which they played every Sunday as church pianists- are instantly recognized on their two-CD album, "3Piano3, Three Who Dare."
Amazing Grace, Tarentella (from suite #2) Opus 17, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Polonaise in Ab Major, and Wade in the Water are among the pieces on the album. At the Apr.11 concert, the two will offer La Dessalinienne, Haiti Cherie, and other selections.

"We are a part of the community here," said Davis, a Jamaica native, of blacks from the Caribbean. "They are contributing to the melting pot that is New York."


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