Alumni Spotlight: College Music Major Brad Wells Wins Grammy Award
The 2014 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance went to Brad Wells (C’84, pictured fourth from the left) and Roomful of Teeth, the eight-voice ensemble he founded in 2009. “The idea for this type of project began during my student days as a music major at Principia College,” Wells says. “In particular, my music theory professor, Eliot Glaser (US’74), encouraged me to explore and write music with a very open approach. And Bob (C’53) and Sara Rockabrand gave me a very firm foundation in classical singing and choral music. Close relationships with faculty—both in and out of the classroom—provided a rich and powerful learning environment.”
After graduating from Principia, Wells earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas, Austin, and a doctoral degree in music from Yale University. Now an artist-in-residence in vocal studies and the director of choral activities at Williams College, he devotes his energy to mining the expressive potential of the human voice.
Roomful of Teeth creates new music that incorporates the full range of the singing voice. The ensemble studies non-classical traditions from yodeling to Tuvan throat singing and combines them with western classical (bel canto) techniques to create a multifaceted approach to vocal music. “We take a sort of ‘mixed martial arts approach’ to working with the human voice,” Wells explains. “Many choirs are singing music from cultures around the world. We’re expanding upon this idea by inviting composers to make full use of every singing style in creating new and bold work.”
Roomful of Teeth members study with the world’s top performers and teachers of non-classical traditions, and the group has commissioned pieces from a variety of composers, including Judd Greenstein, Caleb Burhans, and William Brittelle. The ensemble’s highly acclaimed self-titled debut album, Roomful of Teeth, released by New Amsterdam Records topped the classical charts on iTunes and Amazon and broke into the top ten on the Billboard charts. “The group rewrites the vocal rulebook,” declared a music critic. “The album will send an unnameable thrill down your spine,” wrote another.
“Receiving the Grammy Award is such an honor and a validation for the project,” Wells says. “And we’re just getting started. I can’t wait to see what the next round of composers creates with the ensemble.”
Learn more about Brad Wells and Roomful of Teeth.