Meredith Monk
1942–
Introduction
Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records. In 1991, Monk composed Atlas, an opera, commissioned and produced by the Houston Opera and the American Music Theater Festival. Her music has been used in films by the Coen Brothers (The Big Lebowski, 1998) and Jean-Luc Godard (Nouvelle Vague, 1990 and Notre musique, 2004). Trip hop musician DJ Shadow sampled Monk's "Dolmen Music" on the song "Midnight in a Perfect World". In 2015, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama.
Wikidata identifier
Q267170
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed July 20, 2025.
Introduction
A pioneer of interdisciplinary art, Meredith Monk has explored the concept of the voice as instrument, using diverse modes of perception and expression for over five decades. Known for her trademark three-octave vocal range, Monk often combines her musical compositions with movement and theatrical expression, creating landscapes of sound full of kinetic, textural, and emotive capacity.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, choreographer, cinematographer, composer, director, performance artist
ULAN identifier
500331433
Names
Meredith Monk
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed July 20, 2025.
