Caroline Shaw established her presence in classical composition by securing the Pulitzer Prize at an earlier age than any previous recipient. Her catalog encompasses commissions for major performers and groups, while her own activities encompass violin performance and vocal work across multiple ensembles, as well as production contributions to recordings outside the classical domain. In 2024 she returned to the Nonesuch label with the album Rectangles and Circumstance, created in partnership with Sō Percussion.
Born August 1, 1982, in Greenville, North Carolina, Shaw began violin studies at age two under her mother’s guidance and turned to composition at ten, although performance remained her primary concentration. She completed a bachelor’s degree in violin at Rice University and a master’s degree in the same discipline at Yale University before entering the composition doctoral program at Princeton University. During her time at Princeton, the vocal work Partita for 8 Voices (2009–2011), written for the ensemble Roomful of Teeth of which she is a member, received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for composition, establishing her as the youngest composer so honored. The piece appeared on the group’s self-titled 2012 debut recording, which earned a Grammy Award.
Performers who have commissioned Shaw include Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, The Crossing, and Anne Sofie von Otter. For von Otter she composed Cant voi l’aube in 2016; the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra subsequently commissioned Three Songs (2016–2018) for the same singer. Shaw has also supplied scores for the films To Keep the Light (2016) and Madeline’s Madeline (2018). The Attacca Quartet’s 2019 recording of her string-quartet music, titled Orange, received the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. She performs violin with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble and maintains regular associations with Alarm Will Sound and other ensembles.
Shaw first encountered Sō Percussion while both studied at Princeton and has since collaborated repeatedly with the group; their joint album Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part appeared in 2021. In 2022 she and the Attacca Quartet issued Evergreen, comprising five string-quartet pieces and two works for voice and string quartet, with Shaw contributing vocals. The 2024 release Rectangles and Circumstance marked another joint project with Sō Percussion.
Beyond classical circles, Shaw has contributed to projects by Kanye West (The Life of Pablo and Ye), Nas (Nasir), and the National. She serves on the faculty of New York University, holds a creative-associate position at the Juilliard School, and has undertaken residencies at Dumbarton Oaks, the Banff Centre, and additional institutions.
