Roomful of Teeth

Cutting edge, grammy award winning, unconventional, adventurous, and distinctive are among the many ways this unusual vocal band has been described. Their experimentation with vocal range, tone, and quality is nothing less than extraordinary. As a group they are renowned for their dedication to experimentation and this concert provides an extraordinary example of their work.

The program included a range of compositions: Missy Mazzoli’s Vesper Sparrow, Leilehua Lanzilotti’s On Stochastic Wave Behaviour, Caroline Shaw’s The Isle, Gabriel Kahane’s 'Speaking in Tongues’ from Elevator Songs, Angélica Negrón’s Math, the one which is sweet and William Brittelle’s Psychedelics. Each piece explores vocals in relation to other dimensions such as space, psyche, or landscape. This gives the group permission to create performances that produce beautifully relaxing and meditative choral music that is akin to creating not only a unique musical experience but also a three-dimensional soundscape. The music is sometimes exquisitely soothing, exhilarating or exciting but always unexpected.

The outstanding vocals of each of the performers is exhibited in the incredible range of sounds and notes that they reach in order to take their voices to new and different heights. The members of Roomful of Teeth performing in this concert include Estelí Gomez, Mingjia Chen, Tynan Davis, Virginia Kelsey, Jodie Landau, Steven Bradshaw, Thann Scoggin, Cameron Beauchamp, and Randall Squires (Sound Engineer). The group brings together musicians from diverse traditions such as opera, rock, jazz as well as choral, choir, classical and chamber music and these varying traditions inform their explorations of vocal sound. 

The inventive and dynamic collaborations of this group produce a unique musical experience that brings the human voice to the forefront, stretches the imagination and breaks physical boundaries. 

Patricia Di Risio 

Photographer: Anja Schutz