Iconic BAM Artists

Meredith Monkis a composer, singer, director/choreographer, and creator of new opera, music theater, films, and installations. During a career spanning more than 40 years she has been acclaimed by audiences and critics as a major creative force in the performing arts. Monk has received numerous awards including the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Award in 1995, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Brandeis Creative Arts Award, three OBIE Awards (including one for Sustained Achievement), two Villager Awards, two Bessie awards for Sustained Creative Achievement, the 1986 National Music Theatre Award, the 1992 Dance Magazine Award, and a 2005 ASCAP Concert Music Award. In 2006 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named a United States Artists Fellow. Her music has been performed by numerous soloists and groups including The Chorus of the San Francisco Symphony, Musica Sacra, The Pacific Mozart Ensemble, Double Edge, Björk, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars, among others. The New York Times dubbed Monk "a high priestess of enchantment … she invites you to bypass the part of your brain that craves logic and understanding and to respond intuitively to the wondrous qualities of her sounds and images." In March 2010, Monk presented the world premiere of a chamber orchestra and chorus work that she composed for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The West Coast premiere took place the following month with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The work was jointly commissioned by Grand Center, Inc. and The Los Angeles Master Chorale with support in part from the National Endowment for the Arts.