On Friday, May 30 at 7pm the New Museum will present THE VOICE OF TOBY NEWMAN: JOINED BY THE M6 VOCAL ENSEMBLE as part of a series of musical events exploring the possibilities of the operatic voice by placing it in nontraditional contexts.
Toby Newman is joined by members of The M6 (Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal and Sidney Chen) for a special concert of music by Meredith Monk, including Three Heavens and Hells (1992), a work scored for four female voices based on a text by Tennessee Reed, the 11 year-old daughter of author Ishmael Reed, and Tablet (1974/1976), the first piece Monk created that allowed her to fully extend her discoveries of the voice into a group situation. (Watch the video above of excerpts of The M6 performing Tablet in 2008).
"I’ve been trying to extend the voice in as many ways as possible, utilizing as many resonating chambers, different kinds of syllables, positions in the mouth, the inside of the mouth, the tongue, the lips and breathing techniques….I’ve been trying to find a language for the voice that’s intrinsic to the voice." –Meredith Monk
The M6 is a vocal ensemble dedicated to continuing the legacy of legendary composer/singer/director Meredith Monk. The members of the group were among 19 singers chosen from around the world to participate in a professional training workshop offered by Monk and the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall in January 2006, culminating in the Meredith Monk Young Artists Concert at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. In 2007, The M6 formed out of the desire to continue learning Monk’s work through direct coachings with the composer herself, as well as with past and present members of her Vocal Ensemble. Since the majority of Monk’s work is created and taught in the oral tradition, the group is devoted to immersion in this process and believes it is vital in order to assure that her extraordinary work lives on. Individual members are also working to transcribe more of Monk’s work in an effort to help document it for future generations.
Mezzo-soprano Toby Newman’s work spans the operatic, concert, and new music repertoire. Beyond her opera career in works of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Holst, and Bernstein, she works regularly with Meredith Monk, singing with her on multiple recordings and in concert at Carnegie Hall as well as many other venues. She has also appeared in the world premiere of Robert Een’s opera The Escape Artist at Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
Video: Excerpts from Meredith Monk’s Tablet (1976), performed by members of The M6—Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal, and Silvie Jensen (L to R)—at Symphony Space in New York (March 2008).
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