Great Expectations

May 16 2006
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Beth Meyers
Beth Meyers

Beth Meyers is an active violist in the field of contemporary music. She is a founding member of the flute/viola/harp trio, "janus", and is committed to broadening the trio repertoire. In addition to her work with janus, Beth is an active soloist and chamber musician within and without of the field of contemporary music. Beth has worked with composers and artists including Meredith Monk, Bill Irwin, Theo Bleckman, Pierre Boulez, Harrison Birtwistle, Helmut Lachenmann, Martin Bresnik, and Steve Reich. A 2001 premiere of Steve Reich’s The Desert Music included Beth in both the premiere performance at Columbia’s Miller Theater as well as the Canteloupe recording. Beth was also a member of Alarm Will Sound for the U.S. premier of Harrison Birtwistle’s Theseus Game at Miller Theater (2003).

As an orchestral violist, Beth has played with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Heidelberg Opera Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. She has performed with ensembles including Anti-Social Music, the Theater of a Two-Headed Calf, Trollstilt, Ensemble Pampelmousse, the Audobon String Quaret, the Axis String Quartet, and the SEM Ensemble.

Beth's study of improvisation has found her at venues such as The Knitting Factory working with artists including Ralph Alessi, Kokayi, and Mark Helias. In 2000, she collaborated with jazz pianist and vocalist, Anna Johnson for her album One More Time In The Air (Oasis). Currently, she is violist and vocalist of "The Reasons", a hip New York band led by vocalist and guitarist, Clare Muldaur Manchon and featuring violinist Olivier Monchon and guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Beth is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where, under the direction of George Taylor and John Graham, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and enjoys teaching pilates and the History of Jazz as part of her well-rounded free-lance career.

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In response to Adam’s questions below , there are a few. As part of the Arts Leadership Program at Eastman we were required to take 3 electives I believe. One was Adrian Daly’s career class (I can’t remember the title) and the other was Ray Ricker’s “Entrepreneurship in Music”. Both of these classes featured guest artists and professionals from all aspects of the business. Not only did it offer intensely valuable perspective but I also made some helpful connections for when I graduated and transitioned into the professional world. I’ll never forget some of the common sense tips that Ray Ricker offered in his classes: always show up on time and look presentable, call back and leave your name and number at the beginning of the message as well as at the end, and “shut up and play” – in reference to studio work. There was also Greg Mertl’s class on “Music and the Media” which focused on the role and identity of classical music in Hollywood and advertising and how we as classical musicians self-perpetuate the view that it is a higher art form, distancing ourselves from the lay-person. This class totally blew me away! Really, any class that offers you a forum for working through any of these issues or hearing the perspective from the outside world will be time well-spent.

Least beneficial: keyboard audits – not that I don’t appreciate all the great theory that we had during those four years. But, for the amount of stress I put on myself to do well during those 4 minutes every week was not so worth it!

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Beth Meyers
Beth Meyers

Beth Meyers is an active violist in the field of contemporary music. She is a founding member of the flute/viola/harp trio, "janus", and is committed to broadening the trio repertoire. In addition to her work with janus, Beth is an active soloist and chamber musician within and without of the field of contemporary music. Beth has worked with composers and artists including Meredith Monk, Bill Irwin, Theo Bleckman, Pierre Boulez, Harrison Birtwistle, Helmut Lachenmann, Martin Bresnik, and Steve Reich. A 2001 premiere of Steve Reich’s The Desert Music included Beth in both the premiere performance at Columbia’s Miller Theater as well as the Canteloupe recording. Beth was also a member of Alarm Will Sound for the U.S. premier of Harrison Birtwistle’s Theseus Game at Miller Theater (2003).

As an orchestral violist, Beth has played with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Heidelberg Opera Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. She has performed with ensembles including Anti-Social Music, the Theater of a Two-Headed Calf, Trollstilt, Ensemble Pampelmousse, the Audobon String Quaret, the Axis String Quartet, and the SEM Ensemble.

Beth's study of improvisation has found her at venues such as The Knitting Factory working with artists including Ralph Alessi, Kokayi, and Mark Helias. In 2000, she collaborated with jazz pianist and vocalist, Anna Johnson for her album One More Time In The Air (Oasis). Currently, she is violist and vocalist of "The Reasons", a hip New York band led by vocalist and guitarist, Clare Muldaur Manchon and featuring violinist Olivier Monchon and guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Beth is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where, under the direction of George Taylor and John Graham, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and enjoys teaching pilates and the History of Jazz as part of her well-rounded free-lance career.

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