What: The M6, an ensemble dedicated to interpreting the works of Meredith Monk, the contemporary American composer, singer and director/choreographer, will perform as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Trinity/La MaMa Urban Arts Semester in New York City. The concert is open to the public. General admission tickets are $15; $10 for seniors and non-Trinity students with an ID; and free for Trinity students with an ID.
When: Friday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Austin Arts Center on the Trinity campus, 300 Summit Street, Hartford.
Background: The concert will feature “Tablet,” a composition written in 1976 for three female voices, piano and two soprano recorders, and “Dolmen Music,” written in 1979 for six voices, cello and percussion. The M6 will also perform selections from “Book of Days (1985); “Facing North” (1990); and “ATLAS” (1991).
The M6 can be heard on Monk’s latest CD, “Songs of Ascension,” released on the ECM label in 2011. The group has been featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” and was described as “particularly striking” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker.
Monk, 69, was named “Composer of the Year 2012” by Musical America, the oldest American magazine on classical music. As a pioneer of “extended vocal technique,” exploring new and broader sounds, tones, and textures of the voice in wordless song, Monk combines the technical virtuosity of classical music, the poignancy and directness of folk music, the freedom and flexibility of jazz, and the excitement of rock and roll.
For most of Monk’s career, she has composed works for her own ensemble. But she has also received important commissions from the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Kronos Quartet, Michael Tilson Thomas for his New World Symphony in Miami, and the Houston Grand Opera. Her music is featured in the movies: La Nouvelle Value by Jean Luc Godard, The Big Lebowski by Joel and Ethan Coen, and True Stories by David Byrne.
Much of Monk’s music is created and taught in the oral tradition. The six members of The M6 were among 19 singers selected for a professional workshop offered by Monk and The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall in January 2006. Since then, The M6 has been learning Monk’s repertoire from the composer and from past and present members of her ensemble. To preserve her repertoire and working methods, The M6 is transcribing and documenting them on video.
The M6 concert is presented by the Austin Arts Center Guest Artist Series. The M6 consists of Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Sidney Chen, Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal, Toby Newman, and Peter Sciscioli, with guest cellist Brian Snow. Sciscioli is an alumnus of Trinity/La MaMa ’95, and has been the voice teacher for the program since 2010.
Tickets may be purchased at the Austin Arts Center box office or by calling 860-297-2100. For directions and a map of the Trinity campus, please visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/Admissions/campusvisit/Pages/map.aspx.