Judith Mok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judith Mok (born 6 August 1958, Bergen) is a Dutch soprano, author and poet, who lives in Ireland and has released novels and many articles in English.
[edit] Biography
After graduating from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at a very young age, Mok won French and Dutch State Grants to study in Vienna under Christa Ludwig and her mother Eugenia. In Paris she studied French repertoire with Pierre Bernac and Noemie Perugia. She participated in masterclasses for contemporary music by Cathy Berberian, John Cage, Karl Heinz Stockhausen and Dorothy Dorrow. She was also chosen for masterclasses by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Prizes followed at the international vocalist competitions in Den Bosch and Barcelona.
Her lieder, oratorio and opera repertoire led to appearances at numerous festivals including Salzburg, Edinburgh, Paris and the Holland Festival. She has worked in North and South America and in almost every country in Europe.
Having dedicated part of her career to contemporary music, composers such as Louis Andriessen, Gerardo Gandini, Bob Zimmerman and Jeff Hamburg have written works for her which have been recorded on CD. She was also chosen by the Oscar-nominated Chinese composer Tan Dun to perform his works in several countries. She has worked with contemporary music ensembles like the Nieuw Ensemble, and l'ensemble Contrechamps in Geneve.
She sang the opening of the Musica Festival in Strasbourg (Il Canto Sospeso by Luigi Nono), in addition to creating her own a cappella recital. Irish composer Elaine Agnew wrote a piece 'Snowhole' for her and members of the Irish Chamber which was performed at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. Recently she appeared for the New York openair concerts.
Her love for chamber music led to her singing duos with the mezzo-soprano Susanna Moncayo and the pianist Fernando Perez. Together they have toured in Europe and the Americas. They have recorded two CDs of this unique repertoire. They were also invited to give a gala concert in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as a wedding present for the Dutch crown prince Willem Alkexander and his wife Maxima.
In recent years she has been based in Ireland, where her vocal skills have been widely appreciated by press and public alike. She has also sung and acted in several feature films, including the award-winning Goodnight Vienna!
