Monk Continues to Explore Video-Chat Medium

Meredith Monk and John Hollenbeck (photographs by Christine Alicino and Mercedes Jelinek, respectively, courtesy of Sacks & Co.)

Readers may recall last month’s account of the cyberspace-based performance of Meredith Monk’s “Anthem.” Monk conceived this composition explicitly for performance through a video-chat medium; and a video was created based on how windows were deployed for all of the participating performers. At the end of this month, Monk will unveil her latest exploration of this medium motivated by shelter-in-place conditions.

The title of her new composition is Duet Behavior 2020. This will be a suite of duets that she will perform with percussionist John Hollenbeck. The two of them will expand and improvise on pieces selected from the full extent of Monk’s catalog, which covers over 50 years. The result will be a collection of new arrangements of Monk’s compositions, many of which have become iconic among performers of new music.

Those arrangements will arise out of social distancing taken to an extreme. Monk is currently based in upstate New York, while Hollenbeck will be in Montreal. Their performance will be based on two software tools: Zoom for the visuals and Jamulus, which facilitates real-time coordination of Internet musical performances. The resulting performance will then be given its debut performance, jointly produced by Bang on a Can and the Noguchi Museum and followed by an Internet-based Q&A with the artists.

This performance will begin at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, October 28. The Noguchi Museum has created a Web page, which will provide the hyperlink for the live video stream. This connection will be free of charge and available for all to experience. No advance registration will be required. The post-performance Q&A will be hosted by Zoom and moderated by Noguchi Museum Director Brett Littman.