Joan La Barbara

Joan La Barbara is a singer as well as a composer, performer and sound artist. She uses her own experimental vocal techniques to expand the traditional boundaries of singing. Early on, she used techniques from live electronics. La Barbara was born in 1947 in Philadelphia and, following training as a classical singer, came into close contact with the avant-garde as a member in Steve Reich Ensemble in 1971. Since the 1970s she has been celebrated as a virtuoso in the field of contemporary music, with composers such as John Cage and Morton Feldman dedicating works to her.