Violist JESSICA MEYER Celebrates Release of 'Sounds of Being' Album

Known as an extraordinary chamber musician and forceful advocate of new music, Jessica Meyer makes her debut as a daring, sophisticated composer and virtuosic soloist. InSounds of Being, she evokes a vibrant and visceral energy from the viola while using traditional and extended techniques inspired by her varied experiences as a contemporary and period instrumentalist.

Turning her viola into an entire orchestra of emotion, Sounds of Being showcases seven works each embodying a different state of being: joy, anxiety, anger, bliss, torment, loneliness and passion. 'When composing this album, I presented myself with the questions 'How can music take a listener on a journey?' More specifically, 'How can certain sounds convey a specific emotional experience?' says Meyer. Her own compositional journey began as a child but was only recently rekindled by the birth of her son. As she struggled to balance career, motherhood and marriage, all while trying to maintain (or attempting to find) her own sense of self, she was driven to composition as both a creative and emotional outlet.

Inspired by everything from Bach, Brahms and Blues to Flamenco, Indian Raga, and Appalachian fiddling, Sounds of Being expands the colors of the instrument while developing brand new ones through fragile timbres, wailing gestures, and percussive grooves. To get the sounds she wants, Meyer goes beyond the conventional means of performing with her instrument: she drums on her viola, sings with it, turns the tuning pegs while performing, and draws the bow on many different places on the instrument - even on her microphone. Her creativity is also showcased through her unique orchestral use of a loop pedal, which is vastly different than how most musicians use it to layer sounds.

About Jessica Meyer:
Hailed for her 'polish, focus, and excitement' (The New York Times), Jessica Meyer is a versatile violist whose musicianship radiates accessibility, generosity, fun and clarity. As a soloist, Jessica has premiered pieces for solo viola around the country, and is committed to expanding the repertoire for viola by commissioning new works while also composing her own. Last season included premieres at the DiMenna Center, the Firehouse New Music Series, Spectrum NYC, the Tribeca New Music Festival, and at ETHEL's Met Balcony Bar series. In August 2014, she was featured on Q2′s marathon of Emerging Women Composers and was recently awarded a grant from the Jerome Fund for New Music to write a new work for cello, piano and countertenor. Upcoming premieres include performances at Cornelia Street Café, SubCulture, and The Cell in NYC, the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and Sunset Sunside in Paris.

Meyer is the co-founder of the award-winning and critically-acclaimed contemporary music collective counter)induction. Equally at home with many other styles of music, Jessica can regularly be seen performing on Baroque viola, improvising with jazz musicians, or collaborating with other performer/composers. This past spring, projects on baroque viola include collaborations with the Gotham Chamber Opera at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. In October 2014, she returned to the Met for the premiere of her new ensemble 'The Pipeline Collective' where fellow soloists perform music they compose themselves.