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LA Master Chorale’s Presents Meredith Monk West Coast Premiere
The Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Grant Gershon, creates a rich choral soundscape with the West Coast premiere of WEAVE for two voices, chamber orchestra and choir by “visionary” Grammy-nominated interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk and Arvo Pärt’s spare but powerful Miserere on Sunday, April 11, 2010, 7:00 p.m., at Disney Hall. Other works include Night and selections from Songs of Ascension by Monk, a one-of-a-kind vocalist who has been called a "magician of the voice" and "one of America’s coolest composers." She performs with the choir. Her new work was co-commissioned by the Chorale and the Saint Louis Symphony, which gave the world premiere on March 13, 2010, just one month prior to the Chorale’s performance.
The Chorale hosts a pre-concert talk “Listen Up!” with Gershon and KUSC’s Alan Chapman at 6:00 p.m.
“Meredith Monk and Arvo Pärt are both introspective composers who have very personal and timeless soundscapes that rely on the purity of the human voice,” Gershon says. “It’s an honor for the Chorale to co-commission a piece from Meredith and to work with her again after our rewarding partnership two years ago.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says of WEAVE, the 40-voice choir and 32-member chamber orchestra act “as warp and woof on the sonic loom of Monk’s creation. It builds, then tapers, in a moment, with fascination that holds the audience suspended.” Weave begins with a solo male voice, then a woman joins him, followed by the chorus. The solo voices are mezzo-soprano Katie Geissinger and baritone Theo Bleckmann, members of Monk’s vocal ensemble.
Monk – widely known as a pioneer in what is now called extended vocal technique and interdisciplinary performance, in effect, discovering and weaving together new modes of perception – said, “The new work is a continuous, woven form in which layers that seem part of the texture are gradually revealed, take on their own life, and then are modified by the next layer that appears.”
Night, with its tragic and ominous sound, is “a musical tour de force” written by Monk in 1996 in reaction to the Balkan conflict. It pairs four of Monk’s ensemble – soprano Allison Sniffin, Geissinger, tenor Tom Bogdan and Bleckmann – with four members of the Chorale, soprano Emily Lin, mezzo-soprano Adriana Manfredi, tenor Matthew Brown and baritone Melvir Ausente.
Monk, recipient of the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award, composed Songs of Ascension in 2008 for eight voices, string quartet, percussion, woodwinds, Shruti and chorus. Regarding Songs of Ascension, the Los Angeles Times notes, “the piece moves from dead silence to borderline cacophony…(it) embodies the cross-religious tradition of worship songs and, in that way, is one of Monk's many manifestations of ‘art as spiritual practice.’”
In 2006, the Chorale performed Monk’s hauntingly beautiful and intricate Invisible Light, the a cappella conclusion from her opera Atlas, which is loosely based on the travel writings of a Victoria adventurer and follows the journey of an everywoman whose passion for spiritual self-discovery takes her to the ends of the earth and beyond. One critic noted, “It was the most human musical performance I have attended.”
Five soloists from the Master Chorale will be featured in Pärt’s Miserere: Claire Fedoruk, soprano; Kim Switzer, alto; Michael Lichtenauer, tenor; Shawn Kirchner, tenor; and Scott Graff, bass.
The concert is made possible, in part, by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts.
Concert tickets to range from $19 to $124. Student Rush seats are $10 and are available at the box office two hours before the performance. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets can no longer be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.) The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles. # # # ABOUT THE ARTISTS The Grammy-nominated LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE, currently celebrating its 46th season, has been cited as a national leader for its innovative and dynamic programming. Los Angeles Times states the Chorale “has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon.” Since its founding in 1964, LAMC has presented more than 500 concerts, including choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. In 2003 the Chorale became one of two resident companies in Walt Disney Concert Hall, launching a period of incredible artistic and organizational growth. The Chorale has premiered 61 new works - 41 world premieres and 25 works commissioned by or through the LAMC ¬- and has recorded 6 CDs. The Chorale's most recent recording with Gershon, Daniel Variations, was released on Nonesuch in spring 2008. LAMC performs a season of seven concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, plus two performances of the Messiah Sing-Along; and the family-friendly Holiday Wonders concert in December; and also performs regularly with the L.A. Philharmonic. The Los Angeles Master Chorale has more than 1,000 subscribers, serves over 40,000 audience members of all ages, and provides education outreach to approximately 13,000 children each year. In 2008,one of the Chorale's highly successful outreach programs, “Voices Within,” earned the coveted Chorus America Education Outreach Award.
Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director GRANT GERSHON is equally at home with symphonic and choral music, opera, and musical theater. He was named Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2001, and also serves as LA Opera Associate Conductor/Chorus Master. During his tenure with the Chorale, he has led over 60 programs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Gershon has also expanded the choir's repertoire considerably, conducting dozens of world, U.S., West Coast and Los Angeles premieres. His Nonesuch recording with the Chorale of Steve Reich's You Are (Variations) was honored with the WQXR Gramophone America Award in 2006. The New York Times, Washington Post and Newsday, among others, selected it as one of the top ten classical recordings of 2005. In 2002 he made his first CD with the Master Chorale, featuring the world premiere recording of Esa-Pekka Salonen's first choral work as well as Philip Glass's Itaipú (RCM 12004). Gershon has also served as chorus master on two Grammy Award-nominated CD's, Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti's Grand Macabre (Sony Classical). He has appeared on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center leading the LA Master Chorale, and on the Making Music Series at Zankel Hall. Gershon conducted the Minnesota Opera's world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's acclaimed opera The Grapes of Wrath, led subsequent performances of the work with the Utah Symphony and also conducted the cast recording released in 2008 on P.S. Classics. In May 2009 he made his highly acclaimed Los Angeles Opera debut leading eight performances of Verdi's La Traviata. Gershon received his bachelor of music degree cum laude in piano performance from USC, and currently serves on the USC Thornton School of Music Board of Advisors.
MEREDITH MONK is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music theater works, films and installations. A pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance," Monk creates works that thrive at the intersection of music and movement, image and object, light and sound in an effort to discover and weave together new modes of perception. Her groundbreaking exploration of the voice as an instrument, as an eloquent language in and of itself, expands the boundaries of musical composition, creating landscapes of sound that unearth feelings, energies, and memories for which we have no words. In a career that spans more than 35 years, she has earned acclaim by audiences and critics as a major creative force in the performing arts. The Washington Post proclaims, “In originality, in scope, in depth, there are few to rival (Monk).” She has received numerous awards including the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award in 1995, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Brandeis Creative Arts Award, three “Obies” (including an award for Sustained Achievement), two Villager Awards, two “Bessie” awards for Sustained Creative Achievement, the 1986 National Music Theatre Award, the 1992 Dance Magazine Award, and a 2005 ASCAP Concert Music Award. In 2006 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named a United States Artists Fellow. In 2007 she received the Demetrio Stratos International Award for musical experimentation, and in 2008, the premio Arlecchino d'Oro from the Mantova Festival in Italy. Monk holds honorary Doctor of Arts degrees from Bard College, the University of the Arts, The Juilliard School, the San Francisco Art Institute and the Boston Conservatory.
The Chorale hosts a pre-concert talk “Listen Up!” with Gershon and KUSC’s Alan Chapman at 6:00 p.m.
“Meredith Monk and Arvo Pärt are both introspective composers who have very personal and timeless soundscapes that rely on the purity of the human voice,” Gershon says. “It’s an honor for the Chorale to co-commission a piece from Meredith and to work with her again after our rewarding partnership two years ago.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says of WEAVE, the 40-voice choir and 32-member chamber orchestra act “as warp and woof on the sonic loom of Monk’s creation. It builds, then tapers, in a moment, with fascination that holds the audience suspended.” Weave begins with a solo male voice, then a woman joins him, followed by the chorus. The solo voices are mezzo-soprano Katie Geissinger and baritone Theo Bleckmann, members of Monk’s vocal ensemble.
Monk – widely known as a pioneer in what is now called extended vocal technique and interdisciplinary performance, in effect, discovering and weaving together new modes of perception – said, “The new work is a continuous, woven form in which layers that seem part of the texture are gradually revealed, take on their own life, and then are modified by the next layer that appears.”
Night, with its tragic and ominous sound, is “a musical tour de force” written by Monk in 1996 in reaction to the Balkan conflict. It pairs four of Monk’s ensemble – soprano Allison Sniffin, Geissinger, tenor Tom Bogdan and Bleckmann – with four members of the Chorale, soprano Emily Lin, mezzo-soprano Adriana Manfredi, tenor Matthew Brown and baritone Melvir Ausente.
Monk, recipient of the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award, composed Songs of Ascension in 2008 for eight voices, string quartet, percussion, woodwinds, Shruti and chorus. Regarding Songs of Ascension, the Los Angeles Times notes, “the piece moves from dead silence to borderline cacophony…(it) embodies the cross-religious tradition of worship songs and, in that way, is one of Monk's many manifestations of ‘art as spiritual practice.’”
In 2006, the Chorale performed Monk’s hauntingly beautiful and intricate Invisible Light, the a cappella conclusion from her opera Atlas, which is loosely based on the travel writings of a Victoria adventurer and follows the journey of an everywoman whose passion for spiritual self-discovery takes her to the ends of the earth and beyond. One critic noted, “It was the most human musical performance I have attended.”
Five soloists from the Master Chorale will be featured in Pärt’s Miserere: Claire Fedoruk, soprano; Kim Switzer, alto; Michael Lichtenauer, tenor; Shawn Kirchner, tenor; and Scott Graff, bass.
The concert is made possible, in part, by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts.
Concert tickets to range from $19 to $124. Student Rush seats are $10 and are available at the box office two hours before the performance. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets can no longer be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.) The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles. # # # ABOUT THE ARTISTS The Grammy-nominated LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE, currently celebrating its 46th season, has been cited as a national leader for its innovative and dynamic programming. Los Angeles Times states the Chorale “has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon.” Since its founding in 1964, LAMC has presented more than 500 concerts, including choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. In 2003 the Chorale became one of two resident companies in Walt Disney Concert Hall, launching a period of incredible artistic and organizational growth. The Chorale has premiered 61 new works - 41 world premieres and 25 works commissioned by or through the LAMC ¬- and has recorded 6 CDs. The Chorale's most recent recording with Gershon, Daniel Variations, was released on Nonesuch in spring 2008. LAMC performs a season of seven concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, plus two performances of the Messiah Sing-Along; and the family-friendly Holiday Wonders concert in December; and also performs regularly with the L.A. Philharmonic. The Los Angeles Master Chorale has more than 1,000 subscribers, serves over 40,000 audience members of all ages, and provides education outreach to approximately 13,000 children each year. In 2008,one of the Chorale's highly successful outreach programs, “Voices Within,” earned the coveted Chorus America Education Outreach Award.
Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director GRANT GERSHON is equally at home with symphonic and choral music, opera, and musical theater. He was named Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2001, and also serves as LA Opera Associate Conductor/Chorus Master. During his tenure with the Chorale, he has led over 60 programs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Gershon has also expanded the choir's repertoire considerably, conducting dozens of world, U.S., West Coast and Los Angeles premieres. His Nonesuch recording with the Chorale of Steve Reich's You Are (Variations) was honored with the WQXR Gramophone America Award in 2006. The New York Times, Washington Post and Newsday, among others, selected it as one of the top ten classical recordings of 2005. In 2002 he made his first CD with the Master Chorale, featuring the world premiere recording of Esa-Pekka Salonen's first choral work as well as Philip Glass's Itaipú (RCM 12004). Gershon has also served as chorus master on two Grammy Award-nominated CD's, Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti's Grand Macabre (Sony Classical). He has appeared on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center leading the LA Master Chorale, and on the Making Music Series at Zankel Hall. Gershon conducted the Minnesota Opera's world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's acclaimed opera The Grapes of Wrath, led subsequent performances of the work with the Utah Symphony and also conducted the cast recording released in 2008 on P.S. Classics. In May 2009 he made his highly acclaimed Los Angeles Opera debut leading eight performances of Verdi's La Traviata. Gershon received his bachelor of music degree cum laude in piano performance from USC, and currently serves on the USC Thornton School of Music Board of Advisors.
MEREDITH MONK is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music theater works, films and installations. A pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance," Monk creates works that thrive at the intersection of music and movement, image and object, light and sound in an effort to discover and weave together new modes of perception. Her groundbreaking exploration of the voice as an instrument, as an eloquent language in and of itself, expands the boundaries of musical composition, creating landscapes of sound that unearth feelings, energies, and memories for which we have no words. In a career that spans more than 35 years, she has earned acclaim by audiences and critics as a major creative force in the performing arts. The Washington Post proclaims, “In originality, in scope, in depth, there are few to rival (Monk).” She has received numerous awards including the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award in 1995, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Brandeis Creative Arts Award, three “Obies” (including an award for Sustained Achievement), two Villager Awards, two “Bessie” awards for Sustained Creative Achievement, the 1986 National Music Theatre Award, the 1992 Dance Magazine Award, and a 2005 ASCAP Concert Music Award. In 2006 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named a United States Artists Fellow. In 2007 she received the Demetrio Stratos International Award for musical experimentation, and in 2008, the premio Arlecchino d'Oro from the Mantova Festival in Italy. Monk holds honorary Doctor of Arts degrees from Bard College, the University of the Arts, The Juilliard School, the San Francisco Art Institute and the Boston Conservatory.
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