Biography of Eric Whitacre
Eric Whitacre is a renowned American composer and conductor. Despite being a contemporary music composer, Eric is best known for his choral music wind, band compositions, and electronic music. Apart from being a frequently performed composer and famous conductor, Eric’s global appeal is enhanced by his charisma and remarkable public speaking skills.
Eric majors in composing and conducting classical wind band music and classical choral music pieces. Also, he writes music for operas and orchestra. Music continues to evolve with advances in technology. However, Eric has managed to maintain his classical composition skills with trademark chords, unexpected chord progressions, aleatoric elements, finger-snapping by choral singers, and a host of other typically recognizable characteristics (Eric Whitacre.com). Eric’s music stands out because he takes elements from the past and combines with his creation to make contemporary classical music. Thus, Eric still maintains his trademark composition styles even with all the evolution in the music industry.
The highlight of Eric’s career came in 2008 when he got inspired to embark on a journey to create a virtual choir. In 2008, Eric received a video from a young girl, and the video inspired him to start a virtual choir (Eric Whitacre.com). Ideally, Eric wanted to integrate and organize voices from all over the globe to perform on special occasions. Singers record and upload their videos from locations all over the world, and then their voices get synchronized to create a choir piece (Eric Whitacre.com). When the virtual choir project began, Eric featured one hundred and eighty-five singers. However, at present, the membership of the virtual choir has grown from 185 to over 8,000 singers from over120 countries (Eric Whitacre.com). Eric continues to expand the virtual choir population as singers from all over the globe get inspired by his music.
Eric has contributed significantly to contemporary music. The classical style of composing can be traced back to baroque music and composers like Beethoven. Evolution in the music industry had made classical music almost extinct, to the dismay of classical music lovers. However, Eric managed to only maintain classical beats in his composition but also add contemporary elements to create unique pieces. Also, his idea of creating a virtual choir has united singers from all over the world.
The significant works by Eric include his first album called “Light & Gold.” The album won the Grammy award for the best choral recording. His second album, “Water Night,” secured position one in the iTunes and Billboard classical charts. The virtual choir performs in significant events, including the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games.
Eric got influenced to take music as a career when he joined the college choir. According to Eric, the first day he joined the choir was the most transformative moment he ever experienced. Eric wrote a piece for the choir whereby his music got published, and he got encouraged to compose and conduct music. Eric is a great influence for all singers interested in classical music. Singers from all over the world have a chance to showcase their talents via the virtual choir.
In conclusion, Eric is a great influence on contemporary classical music. Despite the evolution in music, Eric has managed to maintain his composition style. The virtual choir, a creation by Eric, is an excellent platform for singers from all over the world to unite and create classical music.
Works Cited
Eric Whitacre.com. Biography. 2019. 30 November 2019 https://ericwhitacre.com/biography/long
Eric Whitcare.com. Whitacre’s Virtual Choir. 2019. 30 November 2019 < https://ericwhitacre.com/the-virtual-choir/about>.