Mary Jane Leach (born 1949) is an American composer/performer based in New York City 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 has played an instrumental role in NYC's pioneering Downtown scene alongside Arthur Russell, Ellen Fullman, Peter Zummo,
Philip Corner and
Arnold Dreyblatt, as well as devoting years to the preservation and reappraisal of
Julius Eastman's work since his death in 1990.
Leach's music has been performed throughout the world in a variety of settings, from concert stage to experimental music forums. 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).
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 Manuel Zurria, 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 Modern Love, Blume,
Die Schachtel, New World, XI, Lovely, Innova, Starkland, Capstone, and Aerial 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.
