Eric Whitacre

Biography

Whitacre is that rare thing, a modern composer who is both popular and original

— The Daily Telegraph, London

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians. A graduate of The Juilliard School (New York), his works are programmed worldwide, and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united well over 100,000 singers from more than 145 countries. Among his accolades and awards, in recent years Eric received the Richard D. Colburn Award from the Colburn School and an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Chapman University (CA).

Eric served consecutive terms as Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and currently holds the position of Visiting Composer at Pembroke College, Cambridge University (UK). He’s also an Ambassador for the Royal College of Music in London (UK) and is proud to be a Yamaha artist.

A long-term relationship with Universal/Decca Classics has produced several no.1 albums which have enduring success. New works include Eternity in an Hour which will receive its premiere in 2024 at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall (London) followed by performances in Belgium, Australia and the USA. In 2025, Murmur, commissioned by revered violinist, Anne Akiko Meyers, will receive its premiere performed by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Insatiably curious and a lover of all types of music, Eric has worked with legendary Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, as well as British pop icons Laura Mvula, Imogen Heap and Annie Lennox.

A widely respected conductor, Eric has worked with the world’s leading choirs and orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2024, he conducted Mozart Requiem alongside his own pieces with The Louisville Orchestra. His collaboration with Spitfire Audio resulted in a trail-blazing vocal sample library which became an instant best-seller and is used by composers the world-over.

His composition, Deep Field, was inspired by the achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope and became the foundation for a pioneering collaboration with NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and film-makers 59 Productions. His long-form work The Sacred Veil, a profound meditation on love, life and loss, was premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by the composer, and released on Signum Records. In 2021, Eric launched the Virtual School with its first course “The Beautiful Mess: Masterclass in Composition and Creativity”.

A charismatic speaker, Eric Whitacre has given keynote addresses for many Fortune 500 companies, in education and global institutions from Apple and Google to the World Economic Forum in Davos and the United Nations Speaker’s Program. His mainstage talks at the influential TED conference in Long Beach CA received standing ovations.