Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, and creator of new opera and music-theater works. A pioneer in what is now called extended vocal technique, Monk has been hailed as “a magician of the voice” and “one of America’s coolest composers.” During a career that spans more than 40 years, she has received numerous awards including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, sixteen ASCAP Awards for Musical Composition, the 2005 ASCAP Concert Music Award and the Demetrio Stratos International Award in 2007. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named a United States Artists Fellow in 2006. In 1965, Monk began her innovative exploration of the voice as a multi-faceted instrument and subsequently composed and performed many solo pieces for unaccompanied voice and voice/keyboard. In 1978, she formed Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble to further expand her musical textures and forms. She has since been commissioned to write for Michael Tilson Thomas’ New World Symphony, the Kronos Quartet and others. In 2000, the Lincoln Center Festival celebrated her music with a three-concert retrospective, and in 2004, a four and a half hour marathon was presented at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. In 2009, Monk’s work was honored with performances at both the Whitey and Guggenheim museums. Monk’s most recent CD, impermanence, was recorded on the ECM label and nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award. Her newest music theater work, Songs of Ascension, premiered in October 2008 and is currently touring.