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Lisa Karrer

composer /director /performance /video artist

(photo:Ed Kirstein)

Lisa Karrer works internationally as a composer, director, vocalist and performance artist, performing her works in Eastern and Western Europe, Israel, Asia, Indonesia, Canada and the U.S. She uses vocal music as her primary form of communication and is especially interested in re-activating world languages in order to explore and interpret transverse lines of contemporary and ancestral world cultures. Lisa has studied voice with Andrea Goodman of the Meredith Monk Ensemble, Richard Armstrong and Kevin Crawford of the Roy Hart Theater in France and Sjabbe Von Selfout of Spain. She is also an accomplished stilt dancer.

Lisa tours, collaborates, records and performs with artists and ensembles such as Tan Dun, David Simons, Douglas Dunn, David First, Thomas Buckner, Margaret Leng Tan, Muna Tseng, Toni Dove, Denman Maroney, Patrick Grant, Theodora Skipitares, Joshua Fried, Jerome Kitzke and Tony Prabowa’s New Jakarta Ensemble; and with Music For Homemade Instruments and Gamelan Son of Lion, for whom she also composes. Lisa produced and contributed to Gamelan Son of Lion’s CD "Bending the Gending" (2002), and Music For Homemade Instruments’ CD "Pick Of the Litter" (2000).

Awards include a '95 ArtsLink Collaborative Projects Grant from the NEA/Soros Foundation and an Arts International Travel Grant to further her collaborative projects in Estonia; a ‘96 Harvestworks Programming Residency; a '97 ArtsLink grant to create "Puhamu", a multi-media music-performance installation in Tallinn, Estonia; and various Meet The Composer Awards. Lisa and collaborator David Simons received grants from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the Jerome Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation and The Aaron Copland Fund to compose, develop and record their chamber opera "The Birth of George", sponsored by Harvestworks and American Opera Projects; released on CD under Harvestworks TELLUS Label. In 2003 Lisa was awarded funding from The Greenwall Foundation and Arts International to support her current work "Woman's Song: The Story of Roro Mendut".

In January 2000: Lisa performed in Bali and Java, in David Simons "Music For Theremin and Gamelan" and as guest vocalist with Javanese composer Tony Prabowo's New Jakarta Ensemble at the Sacred Rhythm Festival; in the U.S. she presented works from "The Simurgh", an opera-in progress with texts by Olive Schreiner and novelist Doris Lessing, at Galapagos' New Music Series in Brooklyn; and the Outer Voices Series in New York City.

In winter/spring '01: Lisa appeared with Jerome Kitzke in the "Great Day in New York" series at Alice Tully Hall; with Gamelan Son of Lion at BAM with the Mark Morris Dance Company, and in Barbara Benary's gamelan opera "Esther" at HERE Theater. In fall '01 Lisa taught master classes at Polli Talu Arts Center in Estonia, with choreographer Douglas Dunn, lighting designer Carol Mullins and co-composer David Simons. In March '02 she was solo vocalist in David First's score for Theodora Skiptares' shadow puppet work "The Rise and Fall of Timur the Lame" at LaMama Annex.

In October '03 Lisa premiered "Woman's Song: The Story of Roro Mendut", at the Kitchen in co-production with World Music Institute. Prior to the premiere, in July, Lisa was awarded Arts International funding to bring "Woman's Song..." to Estonia's Glasperlenspiel Festival. "Woman's Song..." is a multi-arts music theater work based on a 17th Century Javanese legend, composed and directed by Karrer, with shadow puppets by Kate Yourke, video projections by Jenny Lynn McNutt and lighting design by Carol Mullins; featuring Gamelan Son of Lion, Balinese dancer Ayu Armini, Javanese dance and mask performer Deena Burton, martial artist George Crayton and vocalist/stilt dancer Lisa Karrer. In November '03, Lisa traveled to Zagreb with collaborator David Simons, where they created a score and sound installation for Ivana Sajko's "MASS For Election Day Silence", premiered February '04 with BADco ensemble.
In February Õ06 she presented "River Kotekan", a work for gamelan, pianists and vocalists, at Merkin HallÕs Interpretations Series in NYC;

In '07 Lisa presented the workshop premiere of "Schismism: Fractured America", her new multi-arts solo project, at The Flea Theater in NYC; she was also commissioned to create a documentary film for Young Audiences NY, featuring arts programs at Brooklyn School for Career Development.ÊLisa continues to develop multi-arts projects such as "Pythia", a sound and video performance based on Par Lagerkvist's novel The Sybil, and "MaryÕs SITE", a video with accompanying composition for live chamber ensemble, based on the animated sculpture of visual artist Mary Ziegler. Lisa is currently mastering several new recordings of her work for Gamelan Son of Lion's upcoming CD, to be released on Innova Records.

Major Works:

Video works:

    "LIVING AMONG US IN 3010" - Documentary film commissioned by Young Audiences NY, featuring studentsÊfrom Brooklyn School for Career Development

    "THE CREATIVE PROCESS" 2005 Documentary of Music and Instrument Building workshop at Avampato Discovery Museum, Charleston West Virginia

    "WOMAN'S SONG: THE STORY OF RORO MENDUT" 2004 Full performance video at the Kitchen, NYC

    "I PAUSE IN STILLNESS" 2004 Documentary of the late Indonesian dance and mask scholar Deena Burton, NYC

Discography

    2004 PRISMATIC HEARING / David Simons /Tzadik; Featured artist
    2003 THE BIRTH OF GEORGE / TELLUS Chamber opera co-composed with David Simons
    2002 BENDING THE GENDING / Gamelan Son of Lion; CD Producer, composer/ contributor
    2001 IF ONE SHOULD HAPPEN TO FALL / Patrick Grant/Strange Music; Featured vocalist
    2000 PICK OF THE LITTER / Music For Homemade Instruments; CD Producer, composer/ contributor
    1999 THE CHARACTER OF AMERICAN SUNLIGHT / Jerome Kitzke/Koch Classics; Featured vocalist
    CHINA EXCHANGE / Jason Hwang/CRI; Featured artist
    1994 PAPER MUSIC / Tan Dun /Parnassus; Featured vocalist

Other Performances and International Tours:

    2002 THE RISE AND FALL OF TIMUR THE LAME Solo vocalist for Theodora Skipitares and David First’s collaboration LaMAMA Theater Annex, NYC

      33 SWOONINGS Solo stilt performer in Jenny Lynn McNutt’s multi-media performance and video installation; New School NYC

      SEWING SONGS Solo vocalist , co-composer and performer in Jenny Lynn McNutt’s multi-media video installation, New School NYC and Rome Italy

    2001 JEROME KITZKE AND THE MAD COYOTE Vocalist with Jerome Kitzke at Lincoln Center’s "Great Day in New York" series Alice Tully Hall, NYC
      MARK MORRIS DANCE COMPANY Performed with Gamelan Son of Lion for the Mark Morris Dance Company The Brooklyn Academy of Music

      ESTHER PURIMSPIEL Barbara Benary’s gamelan opera; performed as solo vocalist and ensemble member with Gamelan Son of Lion HERE Theater, NYC

    2000 NEW JAKARTA ENSEMBLE Guest soloist performing the work of Javanese composer Tony Prabowo Sacred Rhythm Festival, Bali, and TUK Theater, Jakarta, Indonesia

      MUSIC FOR THEREMIN AND GAMELAN and VIRTUAL PERCUSSION TRIO Featured performer in works by composer David Simons The Sacred Rhythm Festival, Bali, and TUK Theater, Jakarta, Indonesia

    1999 JEROME KITZKE AND THE MAD COYOTE Soloist at WNYC’s ‘New Sounds Live; Merkin Concert Hall NYC

    1998 COCCA MOCCA Collaboration with choreographer Douglas Dunn and Dancers, St. Mark’s Danspace, NYC

    1996 JEROME KITZKE AND THE MAD COYOTE Soloist Roulette, NYC

      SPELL FOR OPENING THE MOUTH OF N Joshua Fried/Douglas Dunns’ collaboration The Kitchen, NYC

      YOGYAKARTA GAMELAN FESTIVAL Java, Indonesia with Gamelan Son of Lion and Music For Homemade Instruments ensembles

    1995 THE MANHATTAN BOOK OF THE DEAD David First’s opera featuring Thomas Buckner LaMama, NYC

    1994 THE PINK With composer Tan Dun and choreographer Muna Tseng , Hong Kong, NYC, Chicago, NYYD Festival, Tallinn, Estonia

      "CAGE II" By Tan Dun (world premiere) Soloist with pianist Margaret Leng Tan and Mongolian director/vocal artist Sheng-yi Chen Lincoln Center , NYC