Concert
Meredith Monk in Concert
Meredith Monk / Katie Geissinger / Allison Sniffin
Katie Geissinger, Allison Sniffin, Meredith Monk © John Edward Mason
Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, composer/performer Meredith Monk offers one of her rare, more intimate concerts with renowned members of her vocal ensemble, Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin. Monk, the winner of this year’s Berlin Art Prize – Grand Prize, which she will receive at the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) on 18 March 2026, has been hailed as “a magician of the voice” and “one of America’s coolest composers.” The concert reflects Monk’s six decades of innovation and awe-inspiring vocal mastery, mining the depths of the myriad possibilities of the human voice.
“Cooperation, interdependence, and kindness” are the qualities that Meredith Monk emphasizes in her music “as an antidote to the values that are being propagated right now.” Alongside her co-performers Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin, the interdisciplinary artist presents selected pieces from her extensive vocal oeuvre, which ranges from solo works and recordings to concert works and contemporary operas.
Monk is a pioneer of what is now called extended vocal technique and interdisciplinary performance. Emerging as a key figure in the Downtown scene of 1960s and 1970s New York City, she went on to influence composers, singers, and artists such as Yoko Ono, Philip Glass, Kate Bush, Björk, and Rebecca Saunders. The many facets of the human voice have been a point of fascination and exploration since the mid-1960s, and she has developed new approaches to singing, performance, film, site-specific work and music theater that continue to inspire new generations.
Programme
Meredith Monk
Wa-lie-oh, from Songs from the Hill (1975-1976)
Click Song #1, from Light Songs (1988)
Hips Dance, from Volcano Songs: Duets (1993)
Gotham Lullaby (1975)
Choosing Companions, from ATLAS: an opera in three parts (1991)
Selections from Cellular Songs (2018)
Scared Song (1986)
Prayer I, from The Politics of Quiet (1996)
Simple Sorrow (2020)
Panda Chant I, from The Games (1984)
Memory Song, from The Games (1984)
masks, from mercy (2001)
Happy Woman, from Cellular Songs (2018)
With
Meredith Monk – Voice, keyboard
Katie Geissinger – Voice
Allison Sniffin – Voice, violin, keyboard
Joe Levasseur – Lighting design
Eli Walker – Sound design
threeASFOUR – Costumes