Beth Quist, an American vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has a 4-octave soprano voice and was previously the lead soprano for Cirque du Soleil.
Early life
Quist is from Boulder, Colorado.[1] She began playing piano at the age of two years and wrote her first song when she was eight years old.[2]
Career
Quist performs as a solo artist and with several bands.[3] She has a 4-octave soprano voice and plays dumbek, guitar, flute, keyboards, the piano, the santour or hammered dulcimer.[1][4] Her music combines combines her Western upbringing with influences from the Balkans, India, and the Middle East.[1] She is signed to the label Magnatune, an independent record label that was formed by John Buckman to release and help promote her music.[5][4] She released her first solo album, Lucidity, in 1995.[2]
In 1997, she became a member of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra and has performed on his solo albums Circlesongs (1997) and VOCAbuLarieS (2010).[3][2] She has also worked with the Grammy Award-winning new age musician Kitarō and has recorded with Roger Fisher, the fouding guitar player of the band Heart.[6][4] She has also collaborated and recorded with Ishwish (Christopher Currell), Delerium, The Motet, Nawang Khechog, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and Trey Gunn.[7][8][4][9][10][11]
Quist is a member of the Sherefé, a Balkan Middle Eastern music band formed in Boulder, Colorado in the mid-1990s.[12] She provides vocals and plays the hammered dulcimer and riq in Sherefé.[12][1] She was a member of the Seattle band Children of the Revolution and was an original member of The Guarneri Underground (now known as the Geoffrey Castle Band).[13][4]
In 2012, Quist joined Cirque du Soleil's KA show in Las Vegas as its lead soprano and as a writer and instrumentalist.[3][4][1] When she left the show, its music had to be changed; the score had been written around her skills and Cirque du Soleil was unable to find another artist who could sing and play the required array of instruments.[5]
She has composed more than fifty scores for dance, film, and other media. She contributed music to The Two Escobars, a documentary that was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2011.[3] In 2014, she composed music for dancer Brette Adams' "Nightshade" performance.[14] Quist also teaches music workshops.[1]
Discography
Solo artist
Sherefe
- Opium (2000)
- Sala Sala (CD Baby, 2010)
Children of the Revolution
- Keep Holding On (World Music 2000, 2001)
The Guarneri Underground
- Wander this World (Twisted Fiddle, 2002)
Ishwish
- Remember (Magnatune, 2007)
Color of Sound
- Color of Sound (Museum of Outdoor Arts/Sterling Circle Records, 2011)
As a contributor
- Sheldon Sands – Across Many Oceans (Whirled Villagae Record, 1995)
- Bobby McFerrin – Circlesongs (Sony Classical, 1997)
- Dave Beegle – A Year Closer (Hapi Skratch Record, 2000)
- Delerium – Poem (Nettwerk America, 2001)
- Jeanette Alexander – Open Sky (2002)
- Nawang Khechog – Music As Medicine (Sounds True, 2004)
- Kirsty Hawkshaw – Meta-Message (Nettwerk, 2005)
- Trey Gunn – Music for Pictures (7d Media, 2008)
- The Motet – Dig Deep (2009)
- Bobby McFerrin – VOCAbuLarieS (EmArcy, 2010)
- Ariana Saraha – Live at Immersive Studios (2011)
- Roger Fisher – Rog & The Tribe Live (2015)
- Roger Fisher & The Human Tribe – As Told (2016)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "4-Octave Sorano to Sing at FireWorks". Corvallis Gazette-Times. 18 December 2009. p. 40. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- 1 2 3 MacNeil, Jason. "Biography: Beth Quist". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 "Beth Quist at Coffee Cats". The Taos News. 26 May 2011. pp. Z039. Retrieved 29 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stewart, Anita (2 February 2021). "Beth Quist, Songstress Extraordinaire Breathes New Life Into the Song 'Mad World' by Tears for Fears". Rock at Night. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- 1 2 Buckman, John. "Beth Quist". Magnatune. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ↑ Roth, Greg (13 December 2011). "Roger Fisher and Friends keep "Love Alive" during the holiday season (Video)". SMI (Seattle Music Insider). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ↑ "Ishwish". Magnatune.
- ↑ "ishwish コンセプト". www.ishwish.net. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ↑ "Trey Gunn - Music for Pictures". www.treygunn.com. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ↑ "The Motet - new CD "Dig Deep"". Leeway's Homegrown Music Network. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ↑ "Nawang Khechog With Special Guest Artist R. Carlos Nakai – Music As Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- 1 2 Kramer, Ariana (24 March 2011). "Middle Eastern Flavor". The Taos News. pp. Z010. Retrieved 29 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Music". The Bellingham Herald. Bellingham, Washington. 12 May 2016. pp. T23. Retrieved 29 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Dynamic Dances at Santa Fe Playhouse". Albuquerque Journal. 4 May 2014. p. 37. Retrieved 29 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Lucidity : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "Shall We Dance : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "Silver : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "New Moon : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.