Roomful of Teeth is a GRAMMY-winning vocal project dedicated to mining the expressive potential of the human voice. Through study with masters from singing traditions the world over, the eight-voice ensemble has expanded its vocabulary of singing techniques and, through an ongoing commissioning process, forges a new repertoire without borders.
Founded in 2009 by Brad Wells, the group gathers annually at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts, where they’ve studied different traditions that incorporate yodeling, belting, overtone singing, and beyond with some of the world’s top performers and teachers. The tenth residency will be held in August 2019 and the culminating performance will premiere works by three composers selected through the ACF|connect program: Mary Kouyoumdjian, Peter S. Shin, and Mingjia Chen. Other commissioned composers include Rinde Eckert, Judd Greenstein, Caleb Burhans, Merrill Garbus (of tUnE-yArDs), William Brittelle, Fred Hersch, Wally Gunn, Michael Harrison, Sam Amidon, Ambrose Akinmusire, Toby Twining and Ted Hearne, among many others.
Projects in 2018-19 include an extended engagement to perform Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus in France and Germany, presented by the Festivale d’automne in Paris; a collaboration with Bryce Dessner of The National on his new multimedia performance Triptych, an examination of the collected works and life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The group will also release three new digital and vinyl albums: The Ascendant, composed by Wally Gunn; Coloring Book, composed by Ted Hearne, and Constellations, composed by Michael Harrison.
