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Duke Arts Presents

American Contemporary Music Ensemble (A.C.M.E.)
Chamber Music of Caroline Shaw

Saturday, April 18, 2015 | 8:00 pm

Motorco Music Hall


A.C.M.E. American Contemporary Music Ensemble, “contemporary music dynamos” (NPR), perform a program of chamber music by Caroline Shaw, 2013 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music. A composer, vocalist, violinist, violist, and NC native, Shaw was, at 30 years old, the youngest-ever winner of the Pulitzer for music; she performs as a member of A.C.M.E., as well as the new music vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth.

The centerpiece of this special Duke Performances program is Shaw’s 30-minute Ritornello for string quartet, which is performed alongside a film made by the composer and inspired by architecture, memory, and the tale of Rip Van Winkle. Of Ritornello, Shaw says, “[it] evokes the notion of time folding in on itself, repeating and forgetting and unfolding again.” The program also includes Entr’acte, which Shaw wrote for the Brentano Quartet, as well By & By, which features settings and lyrics from old gospel tunes with vocals by Shaw.