Caroline Shaw

Caroline Shaw studied at Princeton University, Rice University and Yale University. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Places of work recorded in the authority are New York City. Works named in the authority record are Partita for 8 Voices.

• Name — Caroline Shaw • Birth Name — Caroline Adelaide Shaw • Born — 1 August 1982 • Birthplace — Greenville, North Carolina, U.S. • Occupation — * Composer • violinist • singer • List Of Works — List of compositions • Education — Rice University (BM) Yale University (MM) Princeton University (PhD)

Caroline Adelaide Shaw was born on August 1, 1982, in Greenville, North Carolina. At two years old, Shaw began playing the violin, being initially taught the Suzuki method by her mother Jon, a violinist and singer. Early influences included the choir of her local Episcopal church and the organist there who frequently played Bach. NPR's Elena Saavedra Buckley notes that Shaw's "personal place of worship was in front of her Sony boombox radio. She would call into the classical station and request a piece — a duet from The Magic Flute, say — and get ready to record it on cassette when it came on. If they aired the wrong duet, she would call back and correct them." She began writing music when she was 10 years old, mostly in imitation of the chamber music of Mozart and Brahms. At university, her main focus was on violin performance, aiming to become an orchestral or chamber musician. Shaw received her Bachelor of Music (violin performance) from Rice University in 2004. She received the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 2004/5.[1] After returning from the Watson fellowship, Shaw completed a master's degree (violin) from Yale University in 2007. She entered the PhD program in composition in Princeton University in 2010.

• Illustration — Paolo Petrocelli with Caroline Shaw at Stauffer Center for Strings in Cremona, 2022 Shaw is a composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She is a founding member of the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, which formed in 2009. At 30, Shaw became the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Partita for 8 Voices. The jury citation praised the composition as "a highly polished and inventive a cappella work uniquely embracing speech, whispers, sighs, murmurs, wordless melodies and novel vocal effects."[7] The work comprises four movements inspired by baroque dance forms: Allemande, Sarabande, Courante and Passacaglia. A recording of the work was released by New Amsterdam Records on October 30, 2012, performed by the ensemble Roomful of Teeth (including Shaw). According to Steven Mackey, chair of the Department of Music at Princeton, this is the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a member of the department. (Milton Babbitt was awarded a Pulitzer citation in 1982 for his life's work as a composer.)[8] Shaw appeared as herself in season 4 of the Amazon Prime series Mozart in the Jungle, for a story line that involved a main character seeking to premiere her piece "Hi" in a competition for conductors. The piece was also played live at the series' release party, with Shaw conducting.[9] Shaw is also known as a performing musician. She performs as violinist with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) and as vocalist with Roomful of Teeth. As a performer, she has also worked with the Trinity Wall Street Choir, Alarm Will Sound, Attacca Quartet, So Percussion, Wordless Music Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, AXIOM, The Yehudim, Victoire, Opera Cabal, the Mark Morris Dance Group Ensemble, Hotel Elefant, the Oracle Hysterical, Red Light New Music, and Robert Mealy's Yale Baroque Ensemble.[10] Shaw was the musician in residence at Dumbarton Oaks during the fall of 2014, and was composer in residence with Music on Main in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada through 2016, and she has said that The Evergreen was inspired by a particular tree in Bluffs Park, Galiano Island.[11] Shaw's works have been performed by Roomful of Teeth,[13] Sō Percussion,[14] the Brentano String Quartet,[15] yMusic,[16] and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.[17] Shaw has been a Yale Baroque Ensemble fellow and a Rice University Goliard fellow.[18] In 2016, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra commissioned and premiered Shaw's The Baltimore Bomb as part of the orchestra's centennial celebration.[19]

In 2018, the BBC with Coretet, The Phillips Collection, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the University of Delaware commissioned Shaw to write two works, Second Essay: Echo and Third Essay: Ruby. These received their world premiere, performed by the Calidore String Quartet, at the Cadogan Hall, London on July 16, 2018, in the BBC Proms, where they followed her 2016 work First Essay: Nimrod. According to Shaw, Nimrod was composed while listening to a recording of Marilynne Robinson's book The Givenness of Things and then in the 2016 US presidential election, which she stated accounted for the "disintegration of elements" in the piece. Shaw stated that Echo alluded to the 'echo' function in the PHP programming language, as well as to physical echoes, while Ruby is named for the Ruby programming language as well as for the gemstone.[21] Byron Schenkman & Friends (renamed Sound Salon) commissioned Caroline Shaw's Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings to mark their 10th anniversary season. The work was premiered on March 26, 2023, with Byron Schenkman performing, at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA.[22][23]

In October 2015, rapper Kanye West released a remix of "Say You Will", the opening track from his 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak. The remix, co-produced by Caroline Shaw, features vocals from Shaw similar to her classical compositions.[29] She also features on "Wolves" and contributed vocals to "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2", both from West's seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo.[30] Shaw also contributed vocals to a leaked version of "Only One" that appeared on the internet in February 2016.[31] In the early 2020s, Shaw joined with singer/songwriter Danni Lee to form Ringdown, "an electronic cinematic pop duo".[32][33] Their album Lady on the Bike was released by Nonesuch in 2025.[34] Shaw arranged several tracks on Rosalía's 2025 album Lux.[35][36] Shaw served as vocal arranger for several tracks on Phoebe Bridgers’ 2026 album Lost Weekend.[37]

• Title — Year — Record label • Evergreen — 2022 — Nonesuch Records • The Wheel — 2022 — Alpha Classics • Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part — 2021 — Nonesuch Records • Narrow Sea — 2021 — Nonesuch Records • Orange — 2019 — Nonesuch Records • How to fold the Wind — 2025 — Cantaloupe Music

List of singles as a featured artist • Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Album • US Hot 100 • "Pt. 2" (Kanye West featuring Desiigner and Caroline Shaw) — 2016 — 54 — The Life of Pablo

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name • Title — Year — Other artist(s) — Album • "Say You Will" (remix) — 2015 — Kanye West — Non-album song • "Only One" (original demo) — Non-album song • "FML" — 2016 — Kanye West, The Weeknd — The Life of Pablo • "Wolves" — Kanye West, Vic Mensa, Sia • "Freestyle 4" — Kanye West, Desiigner • "No Mistakes" — 2018 — Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson — Ye • "Everything" — Nas, The-Dream, Kanye West, Tony Williams, 070 Shake — Nasir • "Take Me to the Light" — 2019 — Francis and the Lights, Bon Iver, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper — Take Me to the Light

Caroline Shaw is recorded as having received Pulitzer Prize for Music, Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.