Caroline Shaw Essentials

Caroline Shaw is a modern breed of composer/performer, utilizing established forms yet dismantling archaic limitations. She's a superb singer and violinist, but her compositional work cemented her reputation when she became the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2013, for Partita for 8 Voices. She wrote it for the brilliant vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth—in which she sings—enfolding bits of spoken word, whispers, and other unconventional elements. While her excellence at composing for vocal groups like The Crossing (To the Hands) is clear, her instrumental pieces, such as the moody cello solo “In manus tuas,” are equally inspired.