On Behalf of Nature

Meredith Monk is the quintessential artistic pioneer, having spent decades exploring the spiritual depths of the human voice. Celebrating the 50th year of that remarkable endeavor, Monk returns to BAM with her nimble vocal ensemble to present this mesmerizing hymn to compassion.

Inspired by the Buddhist conception of oneness and poet Gary Snyder’s idea of the artist as “spokesperson for non-human entities,” On Behalf of Nature reaffirms our indissoluble connection to the natural realm. Moving collectively around a bare stage, eight performers (including Monk) intone a beguiling polyphony of sounds, suggesting a world in which the material, the spiritual, and the human coexist as a harmonious interdependent whole.