By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Roomful of Teeth is an ensemble of eight voices that creates world of sound.
They were pulled together in 2009 by choral conductor and composer Brad Wells who was interested in expanding the potential of the human voice, said mezzo-soprano Virginia Warnken. After auditions in New York City, the eight singers convened at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, in North Adams, Massachusetts, where they delved into a range of vocal techniques – yodeling, Broadway belting, and throat singing, both Mongolian and Inuit, to name a few.
They have worked those techniques into a distinctive sound that inspired a Pulitzer Prize winning composition, “Partita for 8 Voices” by ensemble member Caroline Shaw and been captured on a Grammy-winning album.
Roomful of Teeth will bring their globally influenced sound to Bowling Green State University Feb. 22 and 23 as the Hansen Musical Arts Series featured artist. The ensemble’s residency will culminate in a free concert Thursday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall. The ensemble will also present a voice master class, Feb. 22 from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Conrad Choral Room at the Wolfe Center for the Arts and discuss writing for the voice with student composers that evening from 7:30-9 p.m. in Kobacker. The members will participate in a panel discussion Feb. 23 from 10:30-11:30 p.m. also in Kobacker.
Having incorporated these disparate techniques along with traditional Western chorale sounds, the ensemble then commissioned composers to write pieces for them. “It was really exciting. None of us knew what would happened,” Warnken said.
What happened was Roomful of Teeth established itself as one of the premier new music ensembles in the world. “I don’t think any of us thought it would become this big.”
Most of what they perform is the result of a close collaboration with the composer, she said. Seldom do they simply receive a finished score that the singers have not seen in draft form. That’s essential given the mix of sounds the ensemble commands. “We’re definitely one of a kind.”
That distinctive tonal palette is the result of intense study including the regular residencies at Mass MOCA. They don’t just go onto YouTube and look at a video or two to learn these techniques, Warnken said. They study with the masters of the genres.
Like athletes learning a new sport, they find themselves exercising vocal muscles they hadn’t used before. “It’s physically demanding.”
The singers do use microphones to allow them to employ all these sounds without injuring their voices.
Hearing those sounds also pulls the composers in new directions, she said. Sometimes they are inspired by the folk styles, other times the references are more obscure. “They’ll become inspired by one tiny detail in song and transform it. … The influence is still there. It’s interesting to see how creative some of our composers get in extrapolating some of these styles.”
The resulting compositions are wedded to Roomful of Teeth. Warnken said the ensemble doesn’t think of itself as a chorale or vocal ensemble, they think of themselves as a band, and they have a band’s proprietary connection to the music they perform.
Occasionally another ensemble may perform a piece originally penned for Roomful of Teeth. “It becomes something else. … They can sing them and can sound beautiful, but it’s not quite the same,” Warnken said.
The compositions are so tailored to their voices that rather than voice designations on the parts, they are designated to individual singers.
The members each bring a distinctive range of skills. Not all their careers revolve around singing. Shaw is a violinist as well as a composer. Eric Dudley has an active conducting career, and Avery Griffin is a sound engineer. All perform in a variety of styles – opera, early music and sacred choral works.
Being flexible is a key to a successful career, Warnken said. Young musicians should be “embracing flexibility with a sense of adventure” They should expose themselves to as many different styles as they can, opening up their ears to the whole world of music.
