Meredith Monk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meredith Monk
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Monk in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Meredith Jane Monk |
| Born | November 20, 1942 New York City, New York, US |
| Genres | Avant-garde |
| Years active | 1968–present |
Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an amazing American artist. She is a composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Meredith Monk has created special art pieces. These works mix music, theatre, and dance together. She has made many recordings for ECM Records. Her music has even been used in movies by famous directors like the Coen Brothers and Jean-Luc Godard. In 2015, she received a very important award, the National Medal of Arts, from President Barack Obama.
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Early Life and Discovering Movement
Meredith Monk was born in New York City, New York. Her mother, Audrey Lois Monk, was a professional singer. Her grandparents were also musicians. This shows that music was a big part of her family!
When Meredith was three years old, she started a special program called Dalcroze eurhythmics. This program teaches music through movement. Monk says this training influenced everything she does. It helped her see how dance, movement, and film can be connected to music. She even says it's why she sees music in a very visual way. She later earned a degree from Sarah Lawrence College. There, she studied how to compose music.
A Unique Career in Music and Art
Meredith Monk is best known for her unique vocal style. She uses many different sounds and techniques with her voice. She first developed these sounds in her solo performances. Later, she started her own group called The Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble in 1978. With this group, she explored even more vocal sounds. They often used simple instrument sounds to go with the voices.
Monk has created many different types of art. In the 1980s, she wrote and directed two films: Ellis Island (1981) and Book of Days (1988). She also composed an opera called Atlas, which first showed in Houston, Texas, in 1991. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung.
She has also written music for orchestras and smaller groups of instruments. Her first big orchestral piece was Possible Sky in 2003. She also wrote Stringsongs for a string quartet, which is a group of four string instruments.
Meredith Monk has worked with many other artists. She was a special composer for Carnegie Hall until 2015. She has also said that she enjoys listening to Brazilian music, jazz, and classical music by composers like Bartók.
Awards and Influence
Meredith Monk has received many important awards for her work. She won a MacArthur Fellowship, which is a special award given to talented people. She also received the Creative Capital Award for performing arts. She has been given honorary degrees from several colleges and universities.
In 1985, she won an Obie Award for her amazing contributions to off-Broadway theater. In 2007, she received an award in Italy for her musical experiments. On September 10, 2015, President Barack Obama gave her the National Medal of Arts. This is the highest honor for artists in the United States. In 2017, she received The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.
Her music has been used in many films, including The Big Lebowski and True Stories. The hip hop artist DJ Shadow used a part of Monk's song "Dolmen Music" in his song "Midnight in a Perfect World". A French singer named Camille even wrote a song called "The Monk" as a tribute to Meredith Monk. Her music was also featured in the TV series True Detective in 2014.
Selected Works
Meredith Monk has created a huge number of musical pieces. Here are a few examples of her different types of works:
Instrumental Music
- Paris for solo piano (1972)
- Possible Sky for orchestra and voices (2003)
- Stringsongs for string quartet (2004)
Vocal Music
- Juice: A Theater Cantata for 85 voices (1969)
- Our Lady of Late for solo voice and wine glass (1972)
- Dolmen Music for 6 voices, cello, and percussion (1979)
- Atlas: An Opera in Three Parts for 18 voices and many instruments (1991)
- Songs of Ascension for vocal group, woodwinds, percussion, and string quartet (2006)
Albums
Meredith Monk has released many albums throughout her career. Some of her well-known albums include:
- Dolmen Music (1981)
- Turtle Dreams (1983)
- Book of Days (1990)
- Atlas: An Opera in Three Parts (1993)
- Songs of Ascension (2011)
- Piano Songs (2014)
Films Featuring Her Work
Meredith Monk has also been involved in films, either directing them or having her music featured.
- 1989 — Book of Days. She directed and co-wrote this film.
- 1993 — The Sensual Nature of Sound: 4 Composers. This documentary featured her work.
- 2020 — ECM50 | 1981 – Meredith Monk: "Dolmen Music", a short film about her music for ECM Records.
See also
In Spanish: Meredith Monk para niños
