Meredith Monk Fall Season: Lincoln Center's White Light Festival, Gish Prize, Hirshhorn Honor + More

Meredith Monk's robust Fall 2017 season ramps up with new performances, public talks and notable accolades. See below for information on upcoming events and highlights.

Monk was recently named the recipient of the 24th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; the award-established in 1994 through the will of stage and screen actress Lillian Gish, known as the First Lady of Cinema-is given to an individual who has "made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life." The prize will be presented to Monk at a private ceremony on October 26 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Monk joins a list of honorees that has included Elizabeth LeCompte, Suzan-Lori Parks, Maya Lin, Anna Deavere Smith, Spike Lee, Trisha Brown, Laurie Anderson, Frank Gehry, Peter Sellars and Bob Dylan, among others.

"I am humbled and grateful to receive the Gish Prize," says Monk. "It's exceptional for being a prize that a great artist decided to give to other artists, and even more special for the values that Lillian Gish expressed when she said it should recognize contributions to 'the beauty of the world.' I believe, as she did, that art can be a healing force, a source of light during dark times."

For three performances only, Monk and her Vocal Ensemble will share the stage with the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) at Lincoln Center's White Light Festival in an evening-length program entitled Dancing Voices on Friday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 21 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. See HERE for tickets and more information.

Dancing Voices surveys nearly five decades of Monk's music in an exploration of the human voice as an instrument-from solo to ensemble singing and work with instrumentalists. The program opens with 21 YPC choristers alongside Ms. Monk and Vocal Ensemble members Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin in selections from ATLAS: an opera in three parts, Book of Days, and The Games, among other works, in a performance that blends music with choreography and theatrical lighting. The second part of the program is conducted by YPC Artistic Director and Founder Francisco J. Núñez, with 50 girls from the chorus, in the world-premiere complete performance of Ms. Monk's Three Heavens and Hells in its YPC-commissioned choral version, followed by "ascent" from Songs of Ascension, in which the girls are joined by 25 boys, three YPC soloists, Ms. Monk and her Vocal Ensemble, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Ben Russell, violin; Laura Lutzke, violin; Caleb Burhans, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello), percussionist David Cossin and wind player Bohdan Hilash.

Along with pioneer of integrative medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil, Monk is slated to give a talk at The Rubin Museum of Art in New York. Entitled "Sound and Healing" the afternoon event takes place on October 23 focusing on an exploration of how sound affects our bodies, encourages healing, and re-tunes us to our environment. See HERE for tickets and more information.

On November 6, Ms. Monk will also be honored at this year's Hirshhorn Gala in New York. Taking place at Lincoln Center, Monk is among the 31 international female artists being recognized for transforming public perceptions of contemporary art and expanding cultural dialogue around the most important current issues. The group represents some of the most significant artists working today, featuring trailblazers who pioneered new forms of art making.

As part of her November 7-12 residency at Wesleyan University, Monk will also be giving a talk on November 9 with Danspace Project's Judy Hussie-Taylor followed by a work-in-progress performance with her Vocal Ensemble of Cellular Songs on November 12 at Crowell Concert Hall. Information on these two events can be found HERE and HERE, respectively.

ABOUT MEREDITH MONK: Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films and installations. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance." Celebrated internationally, Monk's work has been presented by BAM, Lincoln Center Festival, Houston Grand Opera, London's Barbican Centre and at major venues around the world. She has made more than a dozen recordings, most of which are on the ECM New Series label, including the 2008 Grammy-nominated impermanence and the highly acclaimed Songs of Ascension (2011), Piano Songs (2014) and On Behalf of Nature (2016).

In 2015 Monk received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, and over the course of six decades has received numerous other honors including the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, three "Obies" (including an award for Sustained Achievement), two "Bessie" awards for Sustained Creative Achievement, a Doris Duke Artist Award and a Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts. She has also been named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France, one of NPR's 50 Great Voices and Musical America's 2012 Composer of the Year. In conjunction with her 50th Season of creating and performing, she was appointed the 2014-15 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall.

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