ROULETTE 2026 GALA

The Roulette 2026 Gala honors The Robert Ashley Band, the composer’s major collaborators on his operas across multiple decades; and Thomas and Kamala Buckner for their immutable contributions to music and dance in New York City and beyond.

Matmos, Members of Varispeed performing Gelsey Bell‘s arrangement of Love is a Good Example, rare archival footage of Robert Ashley’s work, and more to come…

Mimi Johnson
Anthony B. Creamer
Annea Lockwood

Early tickets are on sale. This event will sell out.

All guests enjoy hors d’oeuvres and dessert, an open bar, and champagne toast.
Guests seated at tables enjoy dinner during the performances and beverage service.
Guests seated in the balcony enjoy small bites. 

For questions, special requests, or to make a donation please contact Emily Bookwalter, Director of Development, at emily@roulette.org, 917-267-2440

 

Thomas Buckner
Cas Boumans
Lawrence Brickman
Nacha Mendez aka Marghreta Cordero
Peter Gordon
Tom Hamilton
Jacqueline Humbert
Joan La Barbara
Jill Kroesen
David Moodey
Barbara Mayfield
Amy X Neuberg
Carlota Schoolman
Paul Shorr
David Van Tieghem

…and Robert Ashley, “Blue” Gene Tyranny, and Sam Ashley, in memoriam

Kamala Cesar Buckner, disciple of T. Balasaraswati (Bharata Natyam, South Indian Dance), was born in Brooklyn, NY, and is Native American (Mohawk Tribe) and Filipino. She studied Bharata Natyam (the classical dance of South India) both in the United States and in India, under T. Balasaraswati, Bharata Natyam’s legendary and foremost exponent. She is one of the few American disciples carrying on the style of T. Balasaraswati in this country.

Ms. Cesar has participated in programs sponsored by the American Society for Eastern Arts, the Center for World Music, Asian Traditions, The American Dance Festival, and Wesleyan University. In 1986, she was a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Folk Art Apprenticeship. She has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, and India. Ms. Cesar is the Founder and Artistic Director of Lotus Music & Dance, a not-for-profit organization that since 1989 has been supporting multicultural programs that further the understanding, appreciation, and pres

ervation of traditional arts and the creation of new works that evolve from traditional art forms. She has produced several cross-cultural productions, including: The New York Ramayana; Eagle Spirit- A Tribute to the Mohawk High Steelworkers; Message of Peace- An Excerpt from the Peacemaker’s Journey; World in The City; Dancing Across Cultural Borders; World Dance Passport; and Lotus – the Energy Within. Since 2002, she has produced Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American Festival and Multicultural Celebration, Manhattan’s only open-air Pow Wow celebrating Native American heritage along with world cultures and their traditional dance and drumming.

For decades, baritone Thomas Buckner has dedicated himself to the promotion and performance of new and improvised music, collaborating with a host of new music luminaries including: Robert Ashley, Noah Creshevsky, Tom Hamilton, Earl Howard, Matthias Kaul, Leroy Jenkins, Bun Ching Lam, Annea Lockwood, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Wadada Leo Smith, Chinary Ung, Christian Wolff, and many others.

Buckner has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Herbst Theatre, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Berlin Spring Festival, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Prague Spring Festival, and the Angelica Festival of Bologna. He is featured on over 50 recordings, including 6 solo albums, the most recent being Spontaneous Musical Invention (Recital, 2023), a double album of rarely heard Robert Ashley compositions.

For the past 32 years Thomas Buckner has curated the Interpretations series in New York City, and continues to produce recordings on the Mutable Music label, introducing current artists and repertoire, as well as presenting important historic material, previously unavailable in CD format.