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

Color of Sound

As a contributor

  • Sheldon Sands – Across Many Oceans (Whirled Villagae Record, 1995)
  • Jeanette Alexander – Open Sky (2002)

References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 3 MacNeil, Jason. "Biography: Beth Quist". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Beth Quist at Coffee Cats". The Taos News. 26 May 2011. pp. Z039. Retrieved 29 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  4. 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.
  5. 1 2 Buckman, John. "Beth Quist". Magnatune. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  6. 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.
  7. "Ishwish". Magnatune.
  8. "ishwish コンセプト". www.ishwish.net. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. "Trey Gunn - Music for Pictures". www.treygunn.com. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  10. "The Motet - new CD "Dig Deep"". Leeway's Homegrown Music Network. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  11. "Nawang Khechog With Special Guest Artist R. Carlos Nakai – Music As Medicine". Discogs. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 Kramer, Ariana (24 March 2011). "Middle Eastern Flavor". The Taos News. pp. Z010. Retrieved 29 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Music". The Bellingham Herald. Bellingham, Washington. 12 May 2016. pp. T23. Retrieved 29 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Dynamic Dances at Santa Fe Playhouse". Albuquerque Journal. 4 May 2014. p. 37. Retrieved 29 November 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Lucidity : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  16. "Shall We Dance : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  17. "Silver : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  18. "New Moon : Beth Quist". magnatune.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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