Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...

's first artist-in-residence at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

Early life

Whitacre was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, to Ross and Roxanne Whitacre. He studied piano intermittently as a child and joined a junior high marching band under band leader Jim Burnett. Later Whitacre played a synthesizer in a techno-pop band, dreaming of being a rock star. Although he initially resisted joining choir while attending college, Whitacre was eventually convinced. He described his own experience with his first choral rehearsal as a turning point in his life, saying, "In my entire life I had seen in black and white, and suddenly everything was in shocking Technicolor. It was the most transformative experience I've ever had—in that single moment, hearing dissonance and harmony, and people singing...". Though he was unable to read music at the time, Whitacre began his full musical Nevada, Las Vegas, eventually earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Music Composition.

Career

Whitacre studied composition with Ukrainian composer Virko Baley and choral conducting with David Weiller, completing his bachelor's degree in 1995. Whitacre credits Weiller with the inspiration that put the young composer on the musical path. At 21, he wrote his setting of "Go, Lovely Rose" for his college choir and presented the composition as a gift to David Weiller. Whitacre went on to earn his master's degree in Composition at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, where he studied with John Corigliano and David Diamond.''Composers On Composing For Band'', Volume 2. Ed. Mark Camphouse, GIA Publications, 2004, pp. 253–262 At the age of 23 he completed his first piece for Wind Orchestra, "Ghost Train", which has now been recorded more than 40 times. Tom Leslie contributed to his interest in writing for wind ensembles. While at Juilliard he met his future wife, soprano Hila Plitmann, and two of his closest friends, composers Steven Bryant and Jonathan Newman. He lived in Nevada until he was 25. He graduated in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles, and following the success of "Ghost Train" he decided to become a full-time professional composer. Whitacre's first album as both composer and conductor on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, ''Light& Gold'', won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2012, and became the No.1 classical album in the US and UK charts within a week of release. Whitacre's second album, ''Water Night'', was released on Decca in April2012 and featured performances from his professional choir the Eric Whitacre Singers, the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

and Hila Plitmann. Around January 25, 2011, Eric Whitacre began working with legendary film composer

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

on the music for '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''. Whitacre co-composed the "Mermaid Theme" with Zimmer as well as conducting some of the choral sessions at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

. His wife, Hila Plitmann, sang the solo material in the theme, having also invented the language the mermaids were singing in the film, a combination of Latin, Hebrew, and as she says, 'Elvish.' Geek. Whitacre enjoyed working with Zimmer, saying that he was a brilliant composer and a generous collaborator. Whitacre later collaborated with Zimmer for the 2016 film, '' Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice''. Whitacre has written for the

and

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, the

, Chanticleer,

and the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

the Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers. They specialise in performing ''a cappella'' sacred vocal music. History The group was formed ...

the King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

Dallas Winds The Dallas Winds (also known as the Dallas Wind Symphony or DWS) is a professional concert band based in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Winds was founded in 1985 by Kim Campbell and Southern Methodist University music professor Howard Dunn. It was ori ...

, the Berlin Rundfunkchor, and the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

, among others. His work of music theater, '' Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings'',''Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings''
ericwhitacre.com won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Harold Arlen Award and the Richard Rodgers Award, and earned 10 nominations at the Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. In 2011, he conducted the winning entries of the Abbey Road 80th Anniversary Anthem Competition, recording the London Symphony Orchestra and the Eric Whitacre Singers, in the Abbey Road Studio1. Whitacre's Soaring Leap initiative is a dynamic one-day workshop where singers, conductors, and composers read, rehearse and perform several of his works. From October to December2010, Whitacre was a visiting Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, during Michaelmas (Autumn) Term. He composed a piece for the

Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge is a Cambridge collegiate choir, under the direction of the musicologist and conductor David Skinner, with Senior Organ Scholar Emily Evans and Junior Organ Scholar Luca Myers. The composer Eric Whit ...

, and worked with students in masterclasses and workshops. From 2011 to 2016, he was Composer in Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. In 2016, Whitacre was appointed artist in residence with the

. In July 2017, he co-presented the

Eurovision Choir of the Year Eurovision Choir (formerly Eurovision Choir of the Year) is choral competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the and modeled after the latter's World Choir Games. Participation is open to member broadcasters of the ...

Personal life

From 1998 to 2017, Whitacre was married to Israeli singer Hila Plitmann. Whitacre married Belgian opera singer Laurence Servaes in

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, Hawaii, in March 2019.

Style

A trademark of Whitacre's pieces is the use of

aleatoric Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez, but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from "action ...

and indeterminate sections, as well as unusual score instructions involving, in some cases, hand actions or props. His work has been described as "weightless" and as the "sort of music

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

might have composed in the Cambridge branch of Dunkin' Donuts".

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...

described Whitacre's "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" in 2005 as "full of sound effects, portentous harmony and fractured riffs", writing that "the music was rather hokey, like a choral equivalent of a blatant film score." Other critics, however, have described his style as "full of shimmering, shuddering, shifting harmonies that awaken the ear to a contemporary yet accessible voice". Whitacre's style, similar to

Morten Lauridsen Morten Johannes Lauridsen (born February 27, 1943) is an American composer. A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007), he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994 to 2001, and is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus ...

's, has also been characterized as "neo-

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

Projects

Virtual Choir

Whitacre's Virtual Choir projects were inspired by a video sent to him of a young girl named Britlin Losee from Glen Cove, New York, singing one of his choral pieces. Singers record and upload their videos from locations all over the world. Each one of the videos is then synchronised and combined into one single performance to create the Virtual Choir. Whitacre began with a test run of ''

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

'', then ''

Lux Aurumque ''Lux Aurumque'' ("Light and Gold", sometimes "Light of Gold") is a choral composition in one movement by Eric Whitacre. It is a Christmas piece based on a Latin poem of the same name, which translates as "Light, warm and heavy as pure gold, and ...

'' in 2009 and then ''Sleep'' again in 2010. Whitacre's Virtual Choir performance of ''Lux Aurumque'', has received almost 6.5million views (as of July2020), featuring 185 singers from 12 countries. Whitacre's Virtual Choir2.0, "Sleep", was released in April2011 and involved more than 2,000 voices from 58 countries. Virtual Choir 3, '' Water Night'', written in 1995, combined 3,746 submissions from 73 countries and was released in April2012. By the entry close date of February1, 2012, 3,746 videos had been uploaded by 2,945 people in 73 countries, singing one or more parts of "Water Night". On April 15, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'', the "Water Night" Virtual Choir video was shown in the new

Titanic Belfast ''Titanic'' Belfast is a visitor attraction opened in 2012, a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS ''Titanic'' was built. It tells the stories o ...

commemorative building. Virtual Choir4, "Fly to Paradise", contains 8,409 videos from 5,905 people from 101 countries. It launched at the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace/BBC1 on July11, 2013. The virtual World of Color Honor Choir was put together in 2013 by Eric Whitacre and Disney. The song, ''Glow'', was written for the event. The final product included singers from all over the United States, totaling 1,473 singers. The Virtual Youth Choir, in association with UNICEF, launched at the Glasgow

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

opening ceremony. It featured 2,292 singers aged 18 and under from more than 80 countries. On May 4, 2018, Whitacre announced that Virtual Choir 5 would be his 2015 piece ''Deep Field''. Other Virtual Choir projects include 'Glow' written for the Winter Dreams holiday show at Disneyland Adventure Park, California. To date, the Virtual Choirs have registered more than 60 million views. On May 2, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Whitacre announced that the sixth iteration of Virtual Choir would be an original song entitled ''Sing Gently''. It featured 17,572 singers from 129 countries, including 16 performers using Sign Language, and had its world premiere on YouTube on July 19, 2020. In December 2020, ''Sing as One'', an album of Whitacre's virtual choirs, was released. The album contains recordings of all eight virtual choirs listed above.

''Deep Field''

''Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of the Universe'' is a 4k film for

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

, cinema, projection in concert with live orchestra and for screenings at arts and science events. It is an audiovisual collaboration between Eric Whitacre,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

, the

Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for th ...

, Music Productions and

59 Productions 59 Productions is a Scottish design studio and production company that creates original story-telling experiences for audiences of all kinds. The offices of the company are located in London and New York City. Origins 59 Productions was fou ...

. It premiered at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

(Florida) in 2018 and has since been at Smithsonian Air & Space Museum,

Dolby Theatre The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Si ...

, the

World Science Festival The World Science Festival is an annual science festival produced by the World Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City. There is also an Asia-Pacific event held in Brisbane, Australia. The foun ...

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...

, the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

Annual Meeting and in concert halls. The film is part of several

STEAM education STEAM fields are the areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. STEAM is designed to integrate STEM subjects with arts subjects into various relevant education disciplines. These programs aim to teach students innovation, ...

programs in North America, Europe and elsewhere. The film is inspired by the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

, and its greatest discovery, the

Deep Field Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), C ...

image. The soundtrack composed by Whitacre features the Virtual Choir 5, representing 120 countries: more than 8,000 voices aged four to 87, alongside the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

and Eric Whitacre Singers.

Eric Whitacre Singers

The choir performs music from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

through to the current day, including Lauridsen,

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, and the work of their founder and conductor. The Eric Whitacre Singers made their

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

debut in 2012 in a program that included a collaboration with singer/songwriter

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...

. The choir also sang at the Templeton Prize Laureate Ceremony for

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

alongside

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

, and the London African Gospel Choir. They work regularly with British soul artist Laura Mvula, and featured at the iTunes Festival, broadcast to 119 countries, performing with

, and at an experiential installation for

Anya Hindmarch Anya Susannah Hindmarch, (; born 1968) is an English fashion accessories designer who founded an eponymous company. Career Hindmarch was born into an entrepreneurial family and attended New Hall School, an independent school in Chelmsford, E ...

in 2018.

Recording projects

Whitacre's first album with Decca, ''Light& Gold'', was released in October2010. This album won the Grammy for Best Choral Performance in 2012. Whitacre's second Decca album, ''Water Night'', was released in April2012 in the United States. Since 2013, Whitacre has been releasing on his own independent label, UNQUIET, established as a joint venture with his managers at Music Productions. Feature releases on UNQUIET include ''Deep Field'', ''Goodnight Moon'' and a 10-inch gatefold vinyl featuring Whitacre's choral cover of

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

’s "Hurt" and his setting of

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

' "i carry your heart".

Performance projects

On October24, 2010, Whitacre conducted an all-American program with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the Barbican London in a performance that featured his commission for the

London Symphony Chorus The London Symphony Chorus (abbreviated to LSC) is a large symphonic concert choir based in London, UK, consisting of over 150 amateur singers, and is one of the major symphony choruses of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1966 as the ''L ...

entitled ''Songs of Immortality''. In December2010, Whitacre conducted the I Vocalisti choir in Hamburg, and was a guest conductor of the Christmas performance of the Berlin Rundfunkchor. In November2010, Whitacre conducted Côrdydd, a Cardiff-based mixed choir, and friends in a concert of his work at the BBC Hoddinott Hall in the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

. He continued to develop his work of music theater, '' Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings''. A concert version was given at Carnegie Hall in 2010. Whitacre is a founding member of BCM International, a quartet of composers consisting of himself, Steven Bryant, Jonathan Newman, and James Bonney, which aspires to "enrich the wind ensemble repertoire with music unbound by traditional thought or idiomatic cliché." Whitacre made his BBC Proms debut with a late-night Prom in 2012. In 2015, he returned to the Proms to conduct a program of all-American music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Singers, and BBC Chorus. In 2015, Whitacre wrote ''Deep Field'' for orchestra, chorus, and mobile app; the piece was inspired by the

Hubble Deep Field The Hubble Deep Field (HDF) is an image of a small region in the constellation Ursa Major, constructed from a series of observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. It covers an area about 2.6 arcminutes on a side, about one 24-millionth of the ...

images and audience members play electronica from their smartphone apps. In June 2014, Whitacre gave a live webcast from the Kennedy Center and subsequently conducted a massed choir of 400 singers on the Mall, Washington D.C., to mark Flag Day and the bicentenary of "The Star-Spangled Banner".

''The Sacred Veil''

Composed in 2018, ''The Sacred Veil'' is a 12-movement work from Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri. Silvestri's wife, Julie, died of ovarian cancer at age 36 in 2005, leaving two young children. His texts (written collaboratively with Whitacre) and the score tell a story of courtship, love, loss and the search for solace. The ''Los Angeles Times'' described the work as "memorably elebratingthe precarious beauty of life, offering the welcome consolation of art and a momentary stay against our collective fate." The work was premiered at

, Los Angeles, in February 2019, and recordings released in late August 2020.

Awards and honors

Whitacre has won awards from the Barlow international composition competition,

American Choral Directors Association The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music. Its membership comprises approximately 22,000 c ...

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minn ...

and in 2001 became the recipient of The Raymond W. Brock Commission given by the American Choral Directors Association., Retrieved March 2016 His work of music theater ''Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings'' earned him a Richard Rodgers Award and received 10 nominations at the 2007 Los Angeles Stage Alliance

Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

. The album '' Cloudburst and Other Choral Works'' received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination in 2007 for Best Choral Performance. Later, his album "Light& Gold" won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance in 2012.

Works

Wind ensemble

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

(choral transcription) *

(transcription of the choral work, transposed a semitone lower from C-sharp minor to C minor) *

Cloudburst A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of prec ...

(choral transcription) * Libertas Imperio (From '' Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings'') * Ghost Train * Equus * Noisy Wheels of Joy * The Seal Lullaby (choral transcription) * Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!

Choral

* A Boy and a Girl (poem by

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

) * Alleluia (adapted from his ''

'') *Animal Crackers Volume 1 *Animal Crackers Volume 2 *Child of Wonder *

(poem by Octavio Paz) *Deep Field *

Enjoy the Silence "Enjoy the Silence" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. Recorded in 1989, it was released as the second single from their seventh studio album, '' Violator'' (1990), on 5 February 1990. The single is certified Gold in the ...

(arrangement of

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist an ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

song of the same name) *Five Hebrew Love Songs *Fly to Paradise (Virtual Choir 4) *Glow (Commissioned by

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

for

World of Color ''World of Color'' is a nighttime show at Disney California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Conceived by Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, and designed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, th ...

Winter Dreams; lyrics by Edward Esch) *

Goodnight Moon ''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story. This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...

(arrangement of the children's book, initially for soprano, subsequently SSA and SATB) *Her Sacred Spirit Soars (poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri) *Higher, Faster, Stronger (written for the BBC Proms in 2012) * Hurt (arrangement of

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

song of the same name) *i carry your heart (poem by

) *Little Birds * Little Tree *

(poem by Edward Esch; translated into Latin by Charles Anthony Silvestri) (also set for male chorus) *Lux Nova (text by Edward Esch; translated into Latin by Charles Anthony Silvestri) * Nox Aurumque (poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri) *Oculi Omnium *Psalm 137: By the Waters of Babylon (written originally for The Choir of Sidney Sussex, Cambridge and Dr. David Skinner, not yet published) *Sainte-Chapelle (commissioned by the Tallis Scholars to commemorate their 40th anniversary) * The Seal Lullaby (poem by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

) * She Weeps Over Rahoon (poem by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

) * Sing Gently (Virtual Choir 6) *

(originally a setting of

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...

's poem, "

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem by Robert Frost, written in 1922, and published in 1923 in his ''New Hampshire'' volume. Imagery, personification, and repetition are prominent in the work. In a letter to Louis Untermeyer, Fros ...

"; for copyright reasons the published version uses a specially-written text by Charles Anthony Silvestri) * Sleep, My Child (Choral transcription from '' Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings,'' also written for Concert Band) *Songs of Immortality *# Lie still, sleep becalmed (text from

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

's '' Deaths and Entrances'') *#Do not go gentle into that good night (text from Dylan Thomas's poem of that name) *#After great pain (text by

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

) *The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus (for SATB chorus, Children's chorus and piano, text by Ogden Nash) *The Chelsea Carol (commissioned by the Choirs of Birmingham-Southern College and Lester Seigel, text by Charles Anthony Silvestri) *The City and the Sea (setting of five poems by E. E. Cummings) *# i walked the boulevard *#the moon is hiding in her hair *#maggie and milly and molly and may *# as is the sea marvelous *# little man in a hurry * The Sacred Veil (lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri) *The Star-Spangled Banner (text by Francis Scott Key) *The Stolen Child (for SATB choir & six solo voices or chamber choir, joint commission by the

National Youth Choir of Great Britain The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) is the family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 750 young people between the ages ...

and the

King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1 ...

) *This Marriage *Three Flower Songs *# I Hide Myself (poem by Emily Dickinson) *# With a Lily in Your Hand (poem by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

) *# Go, Lovely Rose (poem by

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, FRS (3 March 1606 – 21 October 1687) was an English poet and politician who was Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. So ...

) * Three Songs of Faith (poems by E. E. Cummings) *# i will wade out *# hope faith life love *# i thank You God for most this amazing day * Very Soon * Water Night (poem by Octavio Paz; translated by

Muriel Rukeyser Muriel Rukeyser (December 15, 1913 – February 12, 1980) was an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism. Kenneth Rexroth said that she was the greatest poet of her "ex ...

) *When David Heard

Other choral works

* Alone (poem by Edgar Allan Poe, for male voice sextet) * Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine (poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri, for SSATB & percussion)

Orchestra

* Deep Field * Godzilla Eats Las Vegas *

The River Cam ''The River Cam'' is a work for cello and strings by the composer Eric Whitacre composed for the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber’s sixtieth birthday which he premiered on 14 April 2011 at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre London with the Ph ...

* Water Night * Winter

Music theatre

* '' Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings'', music theater

Other arrangements

* Five Hebrew Love Songs; for soprano voice, solo violin, piano * Goodnight Moon; for soprano voice and string orchestra

Film and television

* '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'', co-composer (with

) of the Mermaid Theme and choral segments * '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', Choirmaster. Vocalists: Hila Plitmann,

Dominic Lewis Dominic Alexander Charles Lewis (born January 29, 1985) is a British film and television composer. He first worked on various music departments for film projects before transitioning into more solo work starting with ''Free Birds''. His other cr ...

, Tory Letzler. Eric Whitacre Singers used in choral segments * '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', with composer John Powell. Eric Whitacre Singers used in choral segments *''Trigger,'' stock music *''

Kung Fu Panda 3 ''Kung Fu Panda 3'' is a 2016 computer-animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third installment in the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise and the sequel to ''Kung Fu Panda 2' ...

'', Conductor and vocal arrangements *''Alligator Alley'', stock music *''The Great American Songs'', composer *''Enjoy the Silence'', composer

References

External links

*
Biography on Hyperion Records

at

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

about the virtual choir
Classical Archives interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitacre, Eric 1970 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni Juilliard School alumni Pupils of David Diamond (composer) 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians

Early life

Career

Personal life

Style

Projects

Virtual Choir

''Deep Field''

Eric Whitacre Singers

Recording projects

Performance projects

''The Sacred Veil''

Awards and honors

Works

Wind ensemble

Choral

Other choral works

Orchestra

Music theatre

Other arrangements

Film and television

References

Further reading

External links