Joan La Barbara is famous for her virtuoso vocal skills and her groundbreaking performances within contemporary American music. Hailed as 'the Houdini of New Music', she has developed various experimental vocal techniques. Morton Feldman dedicated his monumental work Three Voices for Joan La Barbara to her. Other collaborators include composers John Cage and Philip Glass as well as choreographer Merce Cunningham. La Barbara appeared at the 2014 Holland Festival in filmmaker Matthew Barney's River of Fundament. She performed a solo concert at the 2012 edition and featured at the 2007 festival in Robert Ashley's opera Celestial Excursions.