Caroline Shaw: Partita for 8 Voices on Times Square

PROTOTYPE presents its third iteration of Out of Bounds, a platform for new vocal performance pieces taking place in unlikely locations throughout New York. Through the works, public sites will become temporary spaces of contact, exchange, and refreshed social dynamics. Out of Bounds 2019 will feature Partita for 8 Voices, where composer Caroline Shaw’s seminal work meets the vast illuminated canyon of Times Square for its first ever publicly staged performance. Drawing inspiration from the work of artist Sol LeWitt, square dance calls, Inuit-inspired hocketing, and the American folk hymn “Shining Shore”, this Pulitzer Prize-winning piece will be performed in its entirety by Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth. PROTOTYPE: Out of Bounds is curated by Raul Zbengheci.

Partita for 8 Voices
January 7 at 4pm and 7pm, 2019
Broadway b/w 43rd and 44th

Composed by Caroline Shaw
Performed by Roomful of Teeth
Performed by LEIMAY Ensemble
Co-presented by PROTOTYPE and Times Square Arts
Direction by Ximena Garnica
Space Design & Choreography by Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya
Curated by Raul Zbengheci

10 years since beginning to write Partita for 8 Voices, a multi-year process involving extended residencies, vocal training, and walks to Times Square in the middle of the night, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw is joined by the Grammy Award winning ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, to stage the Partita for 8 Voices as an environmental public artwork on Times Square.

Run Time 25 Minutes

Original image by Michael Grimm

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Earlier this month, the Broadway Plazas between 43rd & 44th Sts was brought to life with Caroline Shaw’s (@carolineadelaideshaw) awe-inspiring score ‘Partita for 8 voices’, sung by the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth (@roomfulofteeth). Free and open to the public, the performance was curated by Raul Zbengheci and directed by Ximena Garnica, with dancers from the Leimay Ensemble, as part of Prototype Festival. ‘Partita for 8 voices’ draws inspiration from the work of artist Sol LeWitt, square dance calls, Inuit-inspired hocketing, and the American folk hymn “Shining Shore”. The Pulitzer Prize-winning piece was created as a multi-year process involving extended residencies, vocal training, and walks to Times Square in the middle of the night. Learn more about public art projects in Times Square by following @tsqarts.

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