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One Week Left!

Posted on January 24, 2012 at 7:34 pm

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3: Water Night‎

911 videos from 45 different countries thus far. ONE WEEK LEFT TO JOIN THE VIRTUAL CHOIR. MAKE HISTORY WITH US.

Soaring Leap: Columbus; May 3rd, 2012

Posted on January 23, 2012 at 9:13 pm

It’s official: Soaring Leap: Columbus, Ohio; Thursday, May 3rd. We’ll spend the day at Capital University, singing and exploring the music together. Join us!

Photo by Nhick Ramiro.

The European Premiere of The Chelsea Carol, Jan. 25, 2012

Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:09 pm

Wednesday night, Jan. 25th, I’ll be conducting the European premiere of my new work for choir and organ, The Chelsea Carol. 6:45 Vespers service in the Sidney Sussex chapel, Cambridge. (And you’ll get to hear a mountain of other beautiful music performed by Dr. David Skinner and The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, including Super flumina Babylonis (Palestrina) and Magnificat Primi Toni (De Rore). Join us!

Join The Commissioning Consortium: Goodnight Moon for SATB Choir and Piano

Posted on January 19, 2012 at 2:30 pm

Over the past six years I must have read Goodnight Moon to my son a thousand times, maybe more. Somewhere around reading number 500 I began hearing little musical fragments as I read, and over time those fragments began to blossom into a simple, sweet lullaby. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked my manager, Claire Long, to contact HarperCollins and see if they would allow the text to be set to music. To my surprise and delight they agreed – the first time they had ever allowed Goodnight Moon to be used in such a way.

I composed the piece relatively quickly, setting the text for harp, string orchestra, and my wife, soprano Hila Plitmann. (It will appear on the new Decca album, out this Spring).

Now I would like to adapt Goodnight Moon for mixed chorus and piano, and I would like to extend the invitation to choirs, ensembles and conductors to join a commissioning consortium. Members of the consortium will be granted exclusive performing rights from August 1st, 2012 to January 1st, 2013, and the name of the school or ensemble and their musical director will appear in the score, to be published by Chester Music. A single ‘lead commissioner’ will be granted the very first performance, the opportunity to give the piece its world premiere.

Like so many other parents, Goodnight Moon is so close to my heart. Thank you for helping me bring this piece into the world.

Click here for all the details.

Please, Don’t Wait

Posted on January 18, 2012 at 11:38 pm

This is a timeline showing the precise dates when singers submitted their Virtual Choir 2.0 videos. I am genuinely concerned that we are going to crash the servers if everyone waits until the last day. YOU CAN DO THIS. I BELIEVE IN YOU.

View more posts →

    Soaring Leap: Columbus; May 3rd, 2012

  • Noah: FLIPPING OUT! LUV U SO MUCH! Hope to see u there!

    • The European Premiere of The Chelsea Carol, Jan. 25, 2012

  • Richard Anderson: Hello Mr. Whitacre, I have been a fan of your music since hearing Ghost Train in 2001 but have been unable to attend a live performance of your work until this evening's service at Sidney Sussex. You were too inundated with other well-wishers to shake your hand afterwards, but I wanted to extend my congratulations
  • Val Lanagan: I was in Sydney Sussex chapel this evening especially to listen to the Chelsea Carol. I found it very sombre and moving as well as beautifully sung. I would like to know where I could find the words.

    • Join The Commissioning Consortium: Goodnight Moon for SATB Choir and Piano

  • Jessica: I'm excited to hear it! This is one of my brother's favorite books so it will be pretty cool to have a song to go along with it :)
  • Eric: Stephen, I'd love to do a version like that!
  • Stephen: Is there any chance of a unison (or two-part) version for elementary schools or children's choirs?
  • Mike Scionti: Oh, how delightful! My 18month old will love to hear the results, as will I!!

    • Please, Don’t Wait

  • Zach Ritter: But at the same time, the more time we take, the more practice we have, so we shouldn't just submit our videos before we're ready, either, right?

    • Defending John Williams

  • David Johnson: What I like bout this is the fact you stood up and spoke to JW's defense in a surefire solid way. In this case it really did take one to know one. The way you wrote that did not attack any of the people who criticized him, just firmly stated your view. Nicely done.
  • Derrick: Too right! John Williams is a beast and a giant of the industry in whose shadow the rest of us wake.
  • Olivier: Criticizing is easy.... composing is not ! Quoting the famous end scene to the animated 'Ratatouille' : "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun
  • Leanne Veitch: Yep. In Australia and New Zealand we call it "tall poppy syndrome" - the willingness of people to cut down and abuse anyone who is doing well in their field. While I don't think Williams is in the league of Gershwin and Bernstein, and others of the last hundred years I could name, he is excellent
  • Jon Fisher: Thank you for writing this! ^_^ And it's so true... I could never compose like John Williams and I don't understand why there are so many criticizers out there. He is the man. I've been listening to him since I was practically an infant.
  • MaestroKneebone: Eric, I read your original post about Williams' scores and decided not to get myself involved in the feeding frenzy of naysayers... Your reply was spot on. His music has allowed those films to have the strong emotional impact that they do. Furthermore, since he draws on stylistic elements from other great composers, I'm willing
  • Joseph Spence: John Williams is easily the greatest film composer of all time. Not simply because he writes amazing memorable themes and complicated music. The mastery that he has is creating music that emotionally and psychologically penetrates the core of every frame of the movie. Be it the theme of a character, or a dramatic cue, the

    • Virtual Choir 3: Water Night

  • Jacob: You can record right on here, has your part and everything.

    • Virtual Choir 3

  • singa: Can I find Eric conducting the VC3 song on youtube already?

    • E.E. Cummings Reads His "i thank You God for most this amazing day"

  • Lisa Downey: I am in the middle of a series of paintings based on e.e. cummings poems. I paint the words on top of an abstract picture. It's wonderful to hear the words that I've been focusing on -- and in such incredibly beautiful music! Congratulations!!

    • Two New E.E. Cummings Settings (With Recording!)

  • Eric: Andrea, I'm afraid it hasn't been recorded. But there are some youtube videos I like, me performing them live in Hamburg. Cheers!
  • Andrea Bonamico: Working on this set with two of my groups right now and I would love a recommendation on recordings to purchase if available. Thank you, Andrea Bonamico