Virtuoso vocalist Joan La Barbara has explored the possibilities of voice and extended techniques such as multiphonics and glottal clicks since the '70s. She has performed with orchestras all over the world, from the New York Philharmonic to the Orchestra of the Hague, and has premiered operas including Robert Ashley's Now Eleanor's Idea and Jacob's Room by Morton Subotnick, with whom La Barbara cowrote The Misfortune of the Immortals. This piece (also co-written by Mark Coniglio) is an example of her work melding electronics and technology into performance. Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, and James Tenney are among the American composers who have written works specifically for her. Read more.

Media Files:
"Only" by Morton Feldman features a gorgeous soprano solo by Joan La Barbara. La Barbara, both a friend and student of Feldman, first performed the piece at a memorial concert given for Feldman after his death in 1987.

"The Waves" is a longer work by Charles Dodge that uses both the soprano voice of Joan La Barbara and synthesized and enhanced sounds to a subtle and creepy effect.

Listen to "73 poems" by Kenneth Goldsmith + Joan La Barbara.