November 20, birthday of Meredith Monk (b. 1942)

Since July, I have been concentrating solely on female composers.  You can read about that in my post from July 19.  If I can’t find one born on the calendar day, I won’t post.  On with today’s composer.

Meredith Monk is a singer, director, performance artist and composer. She formed an ensemble in the 1960s as her contemporaries Phillip Glass and Steven Reich. Please take a look at “Ascension” which was composed and performed in Ann Hamilton’s Tower, an installation at Oliver Ranch (sculpture park) 70 miles north of San Francisco. It has two helix stair cases. One is for performers and the other is for the audience. As you can hear, the acoustics must make it a really special place and perfect for Monk’s work. Here’s a description of the tower.

Dolmen Music
16 millimeter earrings	Song of Ascension