 meredith jane monk (born november 20, 1942) is an american composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. since the 1960s, monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ecm records.[ allmusic] ==life and work== meredith monk is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wide range of extended techniques, which she first developed in her solo performances prior to forming her own ensemble. in december 1961, she appeared at the actor's playhouse in greenwich village (nyc) as a solo dancer in an off broadway children's musical theater adaptation of charles dickens' "a christmas carol", entitled "scrooge" (music and lyrics by norman curtis; directed and choreographed by patricia taylor curtis). in 1964, monk graduated from sarah lawrence college after studying with beverly schmidt blossom, and in 1968 she founded the house, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance. monk's performances have influenced many artists, including bruce nauman, whom she met in san francisco in 1968. in 1978 monk formed meredith monk and vocal ensemble (modelled after similar ensembles of musical colleagues, such as steve reich and philip glass), to explore new and wider vocal textures and forms, which often were contrasted with minimal instrumental textures. monk began a long-standing relationship with the walker art center of minneapolis, which continues to showcase her work to this day. pieces from this time include dolmen music (1979), which also was recorded for her first album released at manfred eicher's record label ecm in 1981. in the 1980s, monk wrote and directed two films, ellis island (1981), and book of days (1988), which developed from a single idea; "one day during summer of 1984, as i was sweeping the floor of my house in the country, the image of a young girl (in black and white) and a medieval street in the jewish community (also in black and white) came to me." monk tells this account in the
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