Joan La Barbara

Program 3 in the Airworks series

Joan La Barbara is a composer, performer, experimental vocalist, sound artist and actor who has performed her work throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. Her compositions are unusual because she works almost exclusively with the human voice, along with other instruments and electronics. Many of the sounds she makes go well beyond singing. Through extended vocal techniques she uses her voice to create the kinds of textures associated with orchestral music. She talks about her philosophy and work in an interview held in Riverside Park. This is followed by her piece, "Berlin Dreaming (Berliner Traueme)," one of a series of works La Barbara refers to as "sound paintings". This one, uncharacteristically, includes words (in this case in German) which are a reflection of her experiences living in Berlin, influences from Inuit throat-singing and the rhythm of the train which passed not far from her apartment.

Airworks is a series of world premiere performances created for radio. Airworks presents new pieces by artists who work in different fields and styles. The one thing they have in common is that their work is meant to be listened to. The works are made for radio.

In 1980 Ray Gallon joined with Julia Lee Prospero and Brian Flahive to form The Airworks Group. Together, they produced innovative documentary and radio art programmes for NPR in the U.S. and for independent public radio distribution, most notably the Airworks series of original commissioned works for radio in different disciplines.

WNYC archives id: 151962