David Virelles
“[He] looks set to make big differences in contemporary music for years to come.” – The Guardian
New York based pianist/composer David Virelles grew up in a musical family in Santiago de Cuba, steeped in the music of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora and Western classical music. Having been invited to Canada by Jane Bunnett in 2001, Virelles relocated to Toronto where he graduated from Humber College, where he eventually taught. During this time Virelles worked extensively across Canada with his own groups and as a sideman. Moving to the United States in 2009, David organically brings together Cuban folkloric and New York improvisational worlds, an interest that started when he was fourteen. While he views his work as “a hundred percent traditional,” drawing from multiple traditions, in practice, he is creating a syncretic new personal music, rather than a mixture of elements or a recreation. Besides his solo work, he has also worked with Henry Threadgill, Ravi Coltrane, Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman, Oliver Lake, and Bill Frisell, among others. Virelles latest album is Nuna (2022), an exploration of the solo piano setting. It was named one of the best albums of the year by multiple publications, including The New York Times and NPR, and also won the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award.
