MARY JANE LEACH
is a composer/performer whose work reveals a fascination with the
physicality of sound, its acoustic properties and how they interact
with space. In many of her works Leach creates an other-worldly sound
environment using difference, combination, and interference tones;
these are tones not actually sounded by the performers, but acoustic
phenomena arising from her deft manipulation of intonation and timbral
qualities. The result is striking music which has a powerful effect
on listeners.
Critics have commented on her ability to "offer
a spiritual recharge without the banalities of the new mysticism"
(Detroit Free Press), evoking "a visionary quest for inner peace"
(Vice Versa Magazine), and "an irridescent lingering sense of suspended
time." (Musicworks Magazine)
Leach's music has been performed throughout
the world in a variety of settings, from concert stage to experimental
music forums. In recent years Leach has received considerable acclaim
for her choral music. Drawing on inspirations as diverse as Monteverdi,
Bruckner, and 14th century Ars Nova, these pieces "enliven a choral
repertoire starved for good contemporary work." (Village Voice). Several
are published by C.F. Peters.
Leach has been commissioned by many notable ensembles, including Fondazione
ICO Tito Schipa, Relâche, The Downtown Ensemble, Newband, and
the New York Treble Singers, and by soloists such as Emanuele Arciulli,
Sarah Cahill, Guy Klucevsek, Shannon Peet, and Libby Van Cleve. She
has received commissioning awards from the NEA, Mary Flagler Cary
Charitable Trust, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, and many other funders.
Recordings of
her work are on the New World, XI, Lovely, and Aerial compact disc
labels. Writing about her work has appeared in: American Music
in the Twentieth Century by Kyle Gann, La musica minimalista
by Paolo Coteni and Giovanni Antognozzi, The New Generation of
Mystery/Kunstler des XXI Jahrhunderts by Maria De Alvear, and
Het Tweede Thema of de Verwaarloosde Geschiedenis van de Componerende
Vrouw by Simonne Claeys.
In 1995 Leach was selected for a prestigious grant from the Foundation
for Contemporary Performance Arts, which was established by Jasper
Johns and John Cage to support innovative artists in the performing
arts. She has recently moved out of New York City to upstate New York
where she has bought an old church (with
good acoustics), where she lives and presents concerts. "People
say that Leach's music is hard to listen to. Well, Beethoven's music
is hard to listen to - at first." —Otto Luening
