Partner(s) Daniel Tremblay Name Leyla McCalla Children 1 (Delilah) Role Musician | Instruments VocalsCellist | |
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Occupation Singersongwritercellist Genres Haitian folkLouisiana folkClassicalFolk Music group Carolina Chocolate Drops (Since 2012) Similar People Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, Langston Hughes Profiles | ||
Mimi s conversation with leyla mccalla haitian american singer songwriter cellist
Leyla Sarah McCalla (born October 3, 1985) is an American classical and folk musician. She was a cellist with the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops but left to focus on her solo career.
Contents
- Mimi s conversation with leyla mccalla haitian american singer songwriter cellist
- Folk alley sessions leyla mccalla latibonit
- Background
- First album
- Discography
- References
Folk alley sessions leyla mccalla latibonit
Background
Both of McCalla's parents were born in Haiti. Her father Jocelyn McCalla was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights from 1988 to 2006 and is credited as translator on Vari-Colored Songs. Her mother Régine Dupuy arrived in the United States at age 5, is the daughter of Ben Dupuy who ran Haïti Progrès, a New York based Haitian socialist newspaper. McCalla's mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization.
McCalla was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. She lived in Accra, Ghana for two years as a teen. After a year at Smith College, she transferred to New York University to study cello performance and chamber music. She then moved to New Orleans where she played music on the streets. In addition to cello, she also plays banjo and guitar.
First album
Her critically acclaimed album Vari-Colored Songs is a tribute to Langston Hughes which includes adaptations of his poems, Haitian folk songs sung in Haitian Creole and original compositions. McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was Heart of Gold because it provided "a window into Hughes' thinking". McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says "reading his work made me want to be an artist." McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release. Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album. Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album. The album was financed at least in part through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter which exceeded its goal of $5,000 to raise $20,000.
Discography
