contemporary / interactive / ludic / improvisatory / multidisciplinary / theatrical / more

Away From Keyboard is a chamber music collective dedicated to contemporary performance practice, multidisciplinary and technological collaborations, incorporating play structures and game mechanics into performance, and creating dynamic and interactive works for the stage and beyond.

AFK was founded when pianist/violinist Gabrielle Chou and composer/conductor/percussionist Aidan Gold started working together for Chou’s doctoral dissertation, and has been active since 2023. We are currently based in New York City and are comprised of four core musicians–Gabrielle, Aidan, pianist/keyboardist Baron Fenwick, and double bassist/cellist Dominic Law–in addition to a larger roster. All AFK musicians play multiple instruments each and explore a versatile range of repertoire and instrumentation, as well as contribute to creating works for the group. In addition to traditional repertoire, AFK specializes in ludic pieces, which combine play structures and game mechanics with musical forms and presentation. By combining music with aspects of game design, performance art, and theatre, AFK hopes to expand the audience experience through spectatorship and interaction.

In the past year, AFK has performed traditional and ludic pieces, including those by Danny Clay and Kerrith Livengood and several premieres of Gold’s works, at The Juilliard School and The CUNY Graduate Center. This year, AFK has received a grant from the Presser Foundation to sustain the upcoming season, including developing a set of pedagogical piano pieces, commissioning and premiering works by diverse student composers, and hosting, performing at, and documenting educational workshops for college and pre-college music students. Future projects include a “hackathon” festival for young composers to develop and perform their own ludic pieces.