Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians’s (AACM) New York City Chapter hosts a two-night celebration of their 61st anniversary, with Richarda Abrams as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Night two features:

SET 1
David Virelles solo piano

SET 2
Thurman Barker & Noah Barker Duo   
Thurman Barker drums, percussion, bells
Noah Barker piano (AACM New York City Chapter Inc.’s 2025 Emerging Artist)

SET 3
Thurman Barker solo percussion

SET 4
Thurman Barker’s new string quartet plays a world premiere of ROCK CITY (Zion National Park) 
The Rhythm Method
Leah Asher violin
Marina Kifferstein violin
Carrie Frey viola
Meaghan Burke cello

This evening is presented by AACM New York City Chapter, Inc. in Partnership with Roulette.

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a non-profit tax-exempt arts organization co-founded in 1965 by Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, Jodie Christian, Kelan Phil Cohran, and Steve McCall, is one of the oldest musicians associations in the United States. Since its founding in Chicago, Illinois in 1965, the organization’s members have developed a body of work that encompasses the spectrum of traditional and contemporary music.

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians New York City Chapter, Inc. a non-profit tax-exempt entity was established in 1983 by AACM members who moved to New York. The AACM is significantly unique in that it has nurtured and brought to fruition so many accomplished composers and performers. The organization’s artists have developed a body of work that has achieved lasting significance across borders of music genres and geography to play a critical role in the ever evolving process of music creation and its vital influence throughout the world. AACM members who have been featured in our programs include: Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Threadgill, Thurman Barker, Adegoke Steve Colson, Iqua Colson, Chico Freeman, Amina Claudine Myers, George Lewis, Reggie Nicholson, Peggy Abrams, Richarda Abrams, Laroy Wallace McMillan and posthumously Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, Leonard E. Jones, Frank Gordon, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Kalaparusha Ahra Difda, Lester Bowie, Steve McCall, Fred Anderson, John Stubblefield and Fred Hopkins. AACM New York City Chapter, Inc. continues to produce concerts annually in New York. Our members have received degrees from top Universities and have expertise in many areas ie. artists, painters, and novelists. Because of the AACM New York City Chapter, Inc. our members have gained international recognition as accomplished musicians and composers, many of whom have been invited by renowned orchestras throughout the USA and Europe to perform their music. Our members are master musician composers and have taught in major universities all over the world.

David Virelles is a pianist and composer who grew up in a musical family in Santiago de Cuba, immersed in both the Afro – Caribbean diaspora’s music and Western classical traditions. While he considers his work “a hundred percent traditional,” drawing from a synthesis of traditions, he creates a unique, syncretic personal music rather than merely mixing elements or recreating existing styles. This vision was showcased in Virelles’ world premiere of his interdisciplinary piece ORO, commissioned by Carnegie Hall, and at the premiere of Vaivén, commissioned by the Pierre Boulez Saal. In addition to his solo work, Virelles has performed/ collaborated with Henry Threadgill, Ravi Coltrane, Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman, Tomasz Stańko, Bill Frisell, Román Díaz, Milford Graves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Marcus Gilmore, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Tom Harrell, Paul Motian, José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, Stanley Cowell, Hermeto Pascoal, Chucho Valdés, and Juan Pablo Torres. Virelles’ 2012 album Continuum appeared on many “Best of the Year” lists, being selected as the #1 album by The New York Times.

Thurman Barker is a celebrated percussionist who built his career on innovation. As a professional musician, composer and college professor, he brings endless passion and decades of experience together to entertain, educate, and expand the horizons of his art. His career has spanned decades, and his talent encompasses and crosses over into many musical genres. From jazz and blues to contemporary, classical and beyond, his sound blurs traditionally rigid lines to the delight of his audiences. Barker’s wealth of knowledge was built through countless incredible collaborators. Most notable musical experiences have been with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. A charter member of the group, Thurman first appeared in AACM productions with Joseph Jarman’s pioneering ensembles. He then went on to record and play with many members, including Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Meyers, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill. After moving to New York in the late 70s, Barker worked and recorded with Sam Rivers and Cecil Taylor. Since creating UPTEE RECORDS in the early 80s, Barker has released eight recordings as a leader. In 2016, Barker began writing for Chamber Orchestra. His first, entitled South Side Suite, premiered at Bard College in the fall of 2017. S.S.S. had its New York premiere at Roulette 2019. His second score PANDEMIC FEVER had its premiere at DePaul University in Chicago October 1,2021. His recent score entitled MR. SPEED-STR will have its premiere Fall 2022. Thurman Barker is a recipient of a 2022 NYSCA award for composition.

Noah Barker is a contemporary pianist whose work spans two decades of performing, recording, and scoring. His professional work includes scoring the documentary Beekeeper, which aired as part of PBS’s Films BYkids series. Barker has released three albums of original music: Meditations (2025) on Tableaux Records, and Subtle Frequencies (2024) and Instrumental Memory (2022) on FPE Records. He has also self-released a number of projects as a solo artist and through his experimental project Noisebody. Barker holds a master’s degree in jazz piano performance from SUNY Purchase and serves on the faculty at Rhodes School of Music. He is currently based in Los Angeles, where he continues to perform and produce music while writing a book of piano etudes.

The Rhythm Method is praised as “fierce, fearless, and virtuosic… unapologetically stylistically omnivorous and versatile” (New Music Box) and “trailblazing…skillful composer-performers” (The New Yorker), The Rhythm Method strives to reimagine the string quartet in a contemporary, feminist context. The four performer-composers of The Rhythm Method continually expand their sonic and expressive palette through the use of improvisation, vocalization, graphic notation, songwriting, and theater. The Rhythm Method has given performances at Roulette, Joe’s Pub, The Stone, the Met Museum, the Americas Society, and the Noguchi Museum, and has been featured at the Lucerne Festival Forward, MATA Festival, the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, American Composers Orchestra’s Sonic Festival, Music Mondays, and TriBeCa New Music, among others. The quartet tours regularly both in the US and abroad, and has performed internationally in France, Austria, and Switzerland. The Rhythm Method’s ongoing activities include the Hidden Mothers Project, a programming initiative that highlights works by historical women composers, and Broad Statements, an annual mini-festival celebrating creative music-making by women, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people in a wide array of artistic styles.