Roulette’s 45th Anniversary Gala

For the first time in Roulette’s history, Roulette’s Board of Directors, co-founders, staff, and community invite you to join us in honoring James S. Staley for his 45 years of visionary leadership at Roulette. The evening commemorates an incredible milestone, as Staley will be stepping down from his post as Artistic Director at the end of the season. Come celebrate him with us on this special day.

In the spirit of celebration, incoming Artistic Director Matt Mehlan has brought together an extraordinary cohort of talent for Roulette’s 45th Anniversary Gala, including Yuka Honda and Nels Cline, Immanuel Wilkins and Joel Ross, Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori, Holland Andrews and yuniya edi kwon, and John Zorn and Jim Staley.

6:30pm | cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
7:30pm | dinner, performances, and celebration
9:00pm | dessert and party

All guests enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres and dessert from Bartleby and Sage, an open bar, and champagne toast. Guests seated at tables enjoy dinner during the performances and beverage service.

Tickets and More Information

All proceeds from the evening support the next chapter of groundbreaking experimental work at Roulette.
Can’t make it, but still want to support?

Jim Staley has become an iconic staple in shaping and forever changing the experimental music scene of New York City. But what many don’t realize is that Roulette’s origins began well before its founding in his Tribeca loft. Staley enlisted in the U.S Army soon after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his service, he spent three years playing trombone in military bands where he was inspired by the collectivist, envelope-pushing spirit of the German avant-garde music scene, which he experienced first-hand while stationed in Berlin from 1971 to 1973. Slide Hampton had a particular influence on Staley, while he played in Hampton’s band abroad.

After his service period, he returned to Champaign-Urbana, where he was charged with caretaking for a family property, which he immediately turned into a space where artists and students could live, create, and experiment at little to no cost — affectionately coined “Staley Manor” — and where he met Roulette’s co-founders before moving to New York in in 1978 and establishing Roulette. In 1991, Staley founded Einstein Records.

Since those early days, Roulette has not only survived, but modernized and thrived under Staley’s care. What began as a small experiment in his home has evolved into an internationally recognized venue, presenter, and producer of experimental work by some of today’s most extraordinary minds.

He received the 2005 Susan E. Kennedy Memorial Award, the 2012 ASCAP award, and was named a 2018 Champion of New Music by the American Composers’ Forum for his years in support of artists. And yet, he has never been honored here, at his home, by the people he’s amassed around him over the past 45 years. Now is that time. As Roulette looks to the future, we invite you to join us in honoring the man behind it all.

photo credit: Lona Foote

For questions or more information, please contact Emily Bookwalter, Director of Development, at emily@roulette.org, 917.267.2440