picture of Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith (*1942) is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wide range of extended techniques, which she first developed in her solo performances prior to forming her own ensemble. In December 1961, she appeared at the Actor's Playhouse in Greenwich Village (NYC) as a solo dancer in an Off Broadway children's musical theater adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, entitled Scrooge. In 1964, Monk graduated from Sarah Lawrence College after studying with Beverly Schmidt Blossom, and in 1968 she founded The House, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance.
 
Monk's performances have influenced many artists, including Bruce Nauman, whom she met in San Francisco in 1968. In 1978 Monk formed Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble, to explore new and wider vocal textures and forms, which often were contrasted with minimal instrumental textures. Monk began a long-standing relationship with the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, which continues to showcase her work to this day. During this period Monk recorded Dolmen Music, her first album released on Manfred Eicher's record label ECM, in 1981. In the 1980s, Monk wrote and directed two films, Ellis Island (1981), and Book of Days (1988).
 
In the early 1990s, Monk composed an opera called Atlas, which premiered in Houston, Texas, in 1991. She has also written pieces for instrumental ensembles and symphony orchestras. Her first symphonic work was Possible Sky (2003). It was followed by Stringsongs (2004) for string quartet, which was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. In 2005, events were held all over the world in celebration of the 40th anniversary of her career, including a concert in Carnegie Hall featuring Björk, Terry Riley, DJ Spooky (who sampled Monk on his album Drums of Death), Ursula Oppens, Bruce Brubaker, John Zorn, and the new music ensembles Alarm Will Sound and Bang on a Can All-Stars, along with the Pacific Mozart Ensemble. Meredith Monk has been composer in residence for Carnegie Hall, concluding in 2015.
 
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Discography
Key
Increase Records INCS-2008
recorded live July 1970 through January 1971 at Gary Weis' loft in Santa Monica, CA/USA
Meredith Monk, organ, Jew's harp, voice
Mark Monstermaker, voice
Lanny Harrison, voice
Collin Walcott, percussion, voice
Daniel Ira Sverlik, voice
Dick Higgins, voice
Turtle Dreams
ECM New Series ECM 1240
recorded 1983 in New York City/USA and Ludwigsburg/Germany
Meredith Monk, voice, piano, synthesizer, organ
Collin Walcott, didgeridoo
Facing North
ECM New Series ECM 1482
recorded April 1992 in Oslo/Norway
Meredith Monk, piano, organ, pitch pipe, voice
Robert Een, voice, pitch pipe
Beginnings
Tzadik TZ 7721
recorded between 1966 and 1980
Meredith Monk, organ, piano, guitar, bass, Jew's harp, voice
Don Preston, drums, organ
Collin Walcott, percussion
Lanny Harrison, percussion
Daniel Zellman, arp echoplex
Andrea Goodman, voice
Monica Solem, voice
Susan Kampe, voice

 
Sound Samples
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