8 singers on brown stage with music stands

Roomful of Teeth in performance at UNCG’s Tew Recital Hall. Photo credit: Mike Micciche

GREENSBORO, NC – Roomful of Teeth is a two-time Grammy®-Award-winning vocal band “dedicated to reimagining the expressive potential of the human voice.” That press release sounds innocent enough, but the resultant sounds of that “potential” are absolutely amazing. Founded in 2009 by Brad Wells, the band was incubated at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts. The concert given to the large crowd in Tew Hall at UNCG School of Music on Friday night will be one none in the audience will forget.

For those who are unfamiliar with this ensemble, their press release states” the boundaries of the human voice are never what them seem, . . .rules can be bent, and broken and perhaps they should be.” The concert was proof of the pudding: sometimes the singers worked together as an ensemble, but often different voices competed for the audience’s attention. Utilizing an astounding array of vocal techniques including, but certainly not limited to humming, vocal sounds, growls, yodeling, and throat singing (defined as “two or more distinct musical notes while the singer is producing a single vocalization”).

Take the first piece performed, Allemande by North Carolina native and founding member Caroline Shaw from Partita for Eight Voices. It begins with individuals saying, “To the side,” which becomes spoken by a number of ensemble members with more words following. Syncopated throughout, and breaking into singing in intervals of fifths and fourths on the syllable “ah.” This was later joined by stratospheric sounds from a solo soprano and very low sounds from a solo bass. Much of the words are gobbledygook, unintelligible, but dramatically right on. Throughout the concert, the ensemble moved in and out of consonant chords through quartertones and other dissonances.

The vocalists that made up the octet of unaccompanied singers included four men and four women: Steven Bradshaw, Thann Scoggin, Thomas McCargar, Cameron Beauchamp (who served as emcee, announcing each piece the group sang), and Estelí Gomez, Martha Cluver, Elisa Sutherland, and Virginia Warnken Kelsey. All sang using microphones, with Randall Squires expertly controlling the sound and acoustical effects from the back of the hall.

“Runaway” by Judd Greenstein started with oohs and aahs from the men, joined by a gentle solo female voice. Later, what could be described as birdcalls are heard as well. “Road to Montmartre,” also by Greenstein, contained hints of yodeling. Rinde Eckert‘s “Cesca’s View,” written for treble voices, began with Estelí Gomez yodeling with octave leaps. Tuning here and through the concert was impeccable.

2 men singing in front of music stands with microphones

Tenor Steven Bradshaw and Bass Cameron Beauchamp from Roomful of Teeth. Photo credit: Mike Micciche

The men returned to join the women for the fourth movement (“GaNaDaRaMaBaSaAJaChaKaTaPaHa”) from the six-movement Bits Torn from Words by Peter Shin. This tour-de-force of vocalizations with extreme echo was a stunning conclusion to the first half of the program.

Peter Shin’s sixth movement “If _____ did happen, how bad would it be? (outro)” from the same work started the second half. Again, dazzling wordless lines and harmonies that sometimes sounded “orchestral” filled the hall.

Tenor Steven Bradshaw was the featured soloist in Gabriel Kahane‘s “Speaking in Tongues” from Elevator Songs. The work, which is comprised of things that might be heard in a hotel, included the phrase “the ice machine was speaking in tongues,” as well as sounds from neighbors’ rooms.

woman in blue velvet shirt with brown hair singing

Soprano Marta Claver singing with Roomful of Teeth. Photo credit: Mike Micciche

Up next was the “On Stochastic Wave Behavior” by Leilehua Lanzilotti. Sung in Hawaiian, Beauchamp described the work as “meditative.” Indeed, perfectly in tune microtone harmonies and repeated echoey vocables created an other-worldly (other-oceanly?) effect. Shaw’s Sarabande from the Partita brought back some of the sounds from the opening number.

The official program ended with “Vesper Sparrow” by Missy Mazzoli, another dazzling vocal display, including some body movements by the singers to help keep their individual distinct rhythms. A rousing standing ovation brought the group back for an encore.

“Fall into Me” by Alev Lenz from the TV series Black Mirror is haunting with spooky throat singing accompaniment; it was the perfect ending to an evening of superb singing from Roomful of Teeth.