Meredith Monk (b. New York, 20 Nov 1942) is a composer, singer, filmmaker, choreographer and director who has been acclaimed by audiences and crities as a major creative force in the performing arts. A pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique". “When the time comes, perhaps a hundred years from now, to tally up achievements in the performing arts during the last third of the present century, one name that seems sure to loom large is that of Meredith Monk. In originality, in scope, in depth, there are few to rival her.” Alan M. Kriegsman, Washington Post, August 30. 1989. Monk has since she graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1964, created more than 80 music/theater/dance and films works. Monk's contributions to the cultural landscape were recognized with the award of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship in 1995. Monk has received numerous awards throughout her career, including two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Brandeis Creative Arts Award, three Obies (including an award for Sustained Achievement), a Bessie for Sustained Creative Achievement, the 1986 National Music Theatre Award, sixteen ASCAP Awards for Musical Composition and the 1992 Dance Magazine Award. Her recordings "Dolmen Music" (ECM New Series) and "Our Lady of Late: The Vanguard Tapes" (Wergo) were honored with the Germans Crities Prize for Best Records of 1981 and 1986. In 1968 Meredith Monk founded The House, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance. She formed Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble in 1978 to perform her unique musical compositions. Monk has made more than a dozen recordings, most of which are on the ECM New Series label, including her full-length opera, "ATLAS: an opera in three parts" which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera in february 1991. "The Politics of Quiet" had its world premiere in july 1996 at Copenhagen's Cultural Capital of Europe Festival. In March 1997, ECM released Monk's CD, "Volcano Songs." November 2002 when Meredith Monk is being 60, ECM released Monk's CD, "Mercy". Quote:
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