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Meredith Monk
November 20, 1942 -
born in Lima, Peru, composed during the Contemporary period
Biography
Singer, composer, filmmaker, and choreographer Meredith Monk is a pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance." Her early musical training included piano, some music theory, voice, and Dalcroze Eurythmics. The vocal arts have been an important part of her family's history: "I'm the fourth-generation singer in my family. I came from an Eastern European Jewish background, with my mom being a professional radio singer and jingle singer."

In 1964, Monk graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied composition with Ruth Lloyd and Glen Mack, voice with Vicki Starr, and vocal and chamber music with Meyer Kupferman; she also participated in opera workshops directed by Paul Ukena and Bessie Schoenberg. Dance was prominent in her studies as well. After college, Monk found herself neglecting her voice until one evening she sat at a piano and began vocalizing without words; she found the voice had "limitless colors and textures."

Between 1965 and 2000 she composed over 80 works, the apparent influences of which run the gamut of musical expression. "Bartók was someone I loved as a young woman, and also Stravinsky.
Selected Discography