Joan La Barbara facts for kids

Joan Linda La Barbara (born June 8, 1947) is an American singer and composer. She is famous for exploring new and unusual ways to use her voice. People see her as a vocal expert in modern music. She helped create many new vocal sounds. These include special trills, whispers, cries, sighs, and even singing more than one note at the same time (called multiphonics).

About Joan La Barbara

Joan La Barbara was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a very important person in experimental music. She trained as a classical singer. She studied at Syracuse University and the Juilliard School in New York.

In the early 1970s, Joan loved to experiment with her voice. She treated her voice like a raw sound material. She explored different sounds on one note. She also used "circular breathing," like horn players, to sing for a long time without stopping. She also practiced multiphonics, which is singing two or more notes at once. In the mid-1970s, she started creating more structured music. Some of these pieces included electronics and layered voice sounds.

Joan has performed many vocal works by famous composers. These include pieces written especially for her voice. She has worked with John Cage, Philip Glass, and her husband Morton Subotnick. She also collaborated with choreographer Merce Cunningham and poet Kenneth Goldsmith. In 2004, she won a Guggenheim Fellowship for music composition. She also received the John Cage Award in 2016.

La Barbara also teaches as a guest instructor at HB Studio.

Other Creative Work

Joan La Barbara has also worked in acting and composing for TV, movies, and dance. She created and performed music for the Signing Alphabet segment on Sesame Street. This music used electronics and her voice. She has also composed music for orchestras, choirs, and smaller groups of instruments. She appeared in Matthew Barney’s 2014 film River of Fundament.

Currently, La Barbara teaches music composition at New York University Steinhardt School. She also teaches at Mannes/The New School/College of Performing Arts.

Music Albums

Joan La Barbara has released many albums of her own music. She has also been featured on albums by other composers.

Albums by Joan La Barbara

• Voice Is the Original Instrument (2016)
• io: atmos (2009)
• Voice Is the Original Instrument: Early Works (2003)
• Shamansong (1998)
• Sound Paintings (1991)
• The Art of Joan La Barbara (1985)
• Tapesongs (1978)

Featured on Albums by Other Composers

• Johann Johannsson Arrival (Original Soundtrack) (2016)
• Robert Ashley Now Eleanor's Idea (2007)
• John Cage John Cage at Summerstage with Joan La Barbara, William Winant and Leonard Stein (1995)
• Morton Subotnick All my hummingbirds have alibis (1993)
• Philip Glass Music in 12 Parts (1990)
• Morton Feldman Three Voices for Joan La Barbara (1989)
• Steve Reich Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1974)
• Jim Hall Commitment (1976)

See also

In Spanish: Joan La Barbara para niños

• David Tudor