The M6
Meredith Monk Music Third Generation
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. This endeavor culminated in the Meredith Monk Young Artists Concert at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, and included several of her most significant works, including Dolmen Music.
The M6 was formed in 2007 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 within this process in an effort to help document it for future generations. The M6 was featured in a segment about Meredith Monk on NPR's All Things Considered , and their debut performance at Symphony Space in New York was highlighted as a Critic's Pick in Time Out New York.
"When the time comes, perhaps a hundred years from now, to tally up achievements in the performing arts during the last third of the 20th century, one name that seems sure to loom large is that of Meredith Monk. In originality, in scope, in depth, there are few to rival her." —The Washington Post
The M6 was founded by Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Sidney Chen, Emily Eagen, Silvie Jensen, Holly Nadal, and Peter Sciscioli. Click through to our blog for The M6 members' individual bios.
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The M6 at Symphony Space, March 2008
"Hocket" from Facing North
Songs for Unaccompanied Voice from Volcano Songs and Songs from the Hill
Excerpts from Tablet
Excerpts from Dolmen Music
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REVIEWS
"This exceptional show [was] a concert of Meredith Monk compositions performed by The M6, a group of ridiculously talented young singers ... ACB and I exchanged many astounded "did-you-just-fucking-hear-THAT" glances throughout the show ... The tremendous virtuosity on display actually did hit home, in a thrillingly visceral way ... The M6 singers were so committed to the music and so engaged in their roles that it was impossible not to get drawn into the world they were creating. The songs may not have words, but they do tell stories, and The M6 made these imagined narratives absolutely riveting.... if The M6 were to expand beyond their current mandate of representing Meredith Monk's music to include other composers, they have the potential to become the Eighth Blackbird of new vocal music."
— Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
"Tonight I saw virtuosity with intent - musical, dramatic, emotional, intellectual. And it was moving! Exciting! Beautiful! ... These performers were TALKING to each other. Sharing ideas, having arguments, loving and consoling and laughing with each other. And yet not a single “word†was sung or spoken. ... But I saw more true communication between people tonight than I’ve seen on many an opera/theater stage, where there are actual words in actual languages. This incredible openness and communication paired with virtuosity created, as you can imagine, an unparalleled performance. Truly inspiring."
—Anne-Carolyn Bird, The Concert
