Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2018 | Page 283

Ti
Orkest
shared with Mélange . . .
About the band’s birth
Ti Orkest was established in December of 2010,
following multiple dialogues among family
members, friends and co-workers, on starting a
group that would impact people's lives. We as
aspiring musicians, felt passionate about making
a difference in our society and the world, by
extension.
We did not start with all the present members
of today, but time shaped the band into this
wonderful group of individuals that we currently
present. Since the inception however, this
common interest has been one of the major
factors fueling our inspiration and dedication to
the set cause.
About the band members
The band comprises of seven members:
Creig Henry, the band manager and live
performance sound engineer, is also a drummer
and has worked as a musician with Carnival
Cruise Lines.
Dexter Ulysses is the bass guitarist and band
leader. Dexter also plays keys in his community
church. He has been involved with music for
almost 25 years, having been part of another
band before Ti Orkest. He is also actively involved
in Spanish Dancing. Dexter is one of the main
composers and producers of Ti Orkest's Music.
Carlos Williams is a male vocalist and one of
our songwriters. He has worked with Dexter in
a previous band as well. Bilingual, he writes and
sings in English and French Creole. He is also
now starting to cater to a career as a solo artist.
Bernett Serrant, and Gerrant Guiste are our
Keyboardists. Of totally different playing styles,
they compliment each other perfectly during
our studio recordings and live performances.
Bernett is also behind the composition and
production of the band's music, very good with
the recording programs and computers. Gerant
started in church as well and has worked most
of his life in music, and though still actively a
member of the band, he is currently employed
on cruise ships.
Melinda Ulysses and Shalina Samuel, our female
vocalists are both handfuls. They are both solo
artists besides being in the band, both are
models, both took part in the National Queen
Beauty Pageant in 2013 and 2014 respectively
and have both worked with other bands, in
Dominica and overseas. Shalina still performs
and records with the "Red Hot Flames" on the
island of Antigua and sometimes in the US, and
Melinda performed with two bands when she
worked on cruise ships, and has her own backing
band for live performances (of which Dexter
is the bassist and Carlos, a back up vocalist)
in the French territories where her solo career
is exploding. Mel has travelled to Martinique,
Guadeloupe, St.Martin, France, Réunion Island,
and French Guyana to perform her hit single
"Touch Me Remix" quickly approaching 10 million
You Tube views.