About
Goussy Célestin's personal mission is to stir up all her musical influences into a moving experience, incorporating Jazz elements, and dance influences. She has studied/performed music and dance for the last two decades with such esteemed names as Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, C. Scoby Stroman, Max Roach, Donald Byrd, Barry Harris, and Sheila Jordan as a jazz pianist-vocalist, while studying with Pat Hall, Jean Leon Destiné, and Camille Yarbrough, as a dancer.
Ms. Célestin currently performs throughout the NYC-Tri state area as a musician and dancer. She is an alum of ASE Dance Theater Collective, a neo-folklore ensemble dedicated to the traditional/contemporary arts of the African Diaspora filtered through Haitian music and dance. She is also a member of ¡Retumba!, an all-female multi-ethnic music-dance ensemble dedicated to the traditions of the Caribbean and Latin-America, in addition to serving as lead vocalist for Charanga Soleil. Ms. Célestin's wide range of interests and versatility, has led her to study classical piano, Jazz and Latin music. While in Cuba, she had the honor of performing with members of the Buena Vista Social Club, as well as performing/mentoring with members of Grupo AfroCuba de Matanzas, Yoruba Andabo and Clave Y Guaguanco. She has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Del Terzo Studio at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, SOB's, the Knitting Factory, NJPAC, Tilles Center, Newark Symphony Space, Joe's Pub, as well as various jazz clubs in NYC. A highlight of Ms. Célestin's jazz career is a duo piano performance with renowned jazz pianist John Hicks. Her musical travels include Cuba, England, Wales, Japan, Haiti, as well as touring parts of the US.
Affiliations
Ms. Célestin's versatility has been valued by many, leading to tenures in many groups in New York City. Comfortably weaving between the roles of pianist, composer, arranger, vocalist, and dancer, she has received favorable reviews in a variety of publications, including the NEW YORK TIMES, where she was called a "renaissance woman". In addition to wearing the many hats of a performing artist, Ms. Célestin teaches music and dance in various programs in NYC, including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Education Department, where she serves as a WeBop instructor and faculty member of the Middle School Jazz Academy.
Goussy is a mother to two young boys, whom she sites as her "greatest creative compositions". Her recent awards include, Laundromat Project: Create Change Fellow, 2017, Queens Council on the Arts: NEW WORKS GRANT, 2017, Gardarev Resident Fellow, 2016, Field Leadership Artist Fellow, 2015 - 2017. Recently Goussy lead her workshops, “Community Ring Shout” and “Circle Sing Shout”, as part of Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Songs retreat at The Omega Institute, as well as in collaboration with The Mile Long Opera
Goussy was a featured vocalist for the workshop of SAINT VINCENT'S PROJECT: NOVENAS FOR A LOST HOSPITAL in 2018, and is honored to be returning for its full premiere in the fall of 2019!
In this interview with GRIT.tv's Laura Flanders, Ms. Célestin talks about Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010, and sings a prayer for the land and the people.
In this short by Phillis Kwentoh, Ms. Célestin talks about the meaningful experience of expressing her creativity while pregnant when participating in the D.O.M.E experience; and the wholistic connection between life, family, art, and sustainability.