Eric Whitacre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric Whitacre
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Whitacre conducting in 2007
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| Born | January 2, 1970 Reno, Nevada, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Nevada, Las Vegas Juilliard School |
| Occupation | Composer, conductor, speaker |
| Spouse(s) |
Hila Plitmann
(m. 1998; div. 2017)Laurence Servaes
(m. 2019) |
| Children | 1 (with Plitmann) 1 (with Servaes, b. 2020) |
Eric Edward Whitacre (born January 2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker. He is especially famous for his beautiful choral music.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Journey
Eric Whitacre was born in Reno, Nevada. As a child, he learned to play the piano sometimes and joined a marching band in junior high. Later, he played a synthesizer in a techno-pop band, hoping to become a rock star.
When he started college, Eric didn't want to join the choir. But he was convinced to try it. His first choir rehearsal changed his life! He said it was like seeing the world in "shocking Technicolor" after seeing it in black and white. He loved hearing different musical sounds blend together. Even though he couldn't read music then, he started his full music training at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He earned a degree in Music Composition.
Career Highlights
Eric Whitacre continued his music studies, learning composition and conducting. He wrote his first piece for his college choir when he was 21. He then earned a master's degree at the Juilliard School, a famous music school. At 23, he wrote "Ghost Train," a piece for wind orchestra that has been recorded many times.
His first album, Light & Gold, won a Grammy Award in 2012. It quickly became the number one classical album in the US and UK. His second album, Water Night, was released in 2012. It featured his own professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers.
Working in Film
Eric Whitacre also worked on music for movies. Around 2011, he teamed up with film composer Hans Zimmer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Eric helped compose the "Mermaid Theme" and conducted some of the choir parts. His wife, Hila Plitmann, sang the solo parts and even created the mermaid language for the film! Eric enjoyed working with Hans Zimmer. He later collaborated with Zimmer again for the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Collaborations and Workshops
Eric Whitacre has written music for many famous groups, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. His musical play, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, won important awards.
He also created the "Soaring Leap" program. This is a special one-day workshop where singers, conductors, and composers can learn, practice, and perform some of his music.
In 2011, he composed "The River Cam" for cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. The piece was inspired by the River Cam that flows through Cambridge University, where Eric was a visiting fellow. He spent time at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, composing and working with students. From 2011 to 2016, he was the composer in residence there.
Personal Life
Eric Whitacre was married to Israeli singer Hila Plitmann from 1998 to 2017. They have a son named Esh Edward, born in 2005.
In March 2019, Eric married Belgian opera singer Laurence Servaes in Hawaii. They have a son named Julian, born in 2020.
Musical Style
Eric Whitacre's music often uses special techniques like aleatoric sections. This means some parts of the music are left to chance or the performers' choice. His music has been described as "weightless" and "shimmering." Some critics say his style is like "neo-impressionistic" music, which means it creates a mood or atmosphere rather than a clear story.
Exciting Projects
Virtual Choir
Eric Whitacre is famous for his Virtual Choir projects. These projects started when a young girl sent him a video of herself singing one of his songs. He realized that singers from all over the world could record themselves and combine their videos into one big performance.
- His first Virtual Choir, Lux Aurumque, was released in 2009. It featured 185 singers from 12 countries.
- Virtual Choir 2.0, "Sleep," was released in 2011 with over 2,000 voices from 58 countries.
- Virtual Choir 3, Water Night, released in 2012, combined 3,746 videos from 73 countries.
- Virtual Choir 4, "Fly to Paradise," launched in 2013. It included 8,409 videos from 5,905 people in 101 countries.
- In 2013, he also created the virtual World of Color Honor Choir with Disney, featuring 1,473 singers.
- The Virtual Youth Choir, with UNICEF, launched at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It had 2,292 singers aged 18 and under from over 80 countries.
- Virtual Choir 5, Deep Field, was announced in 2018.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Eric announced Virtual Choir 6, an original song called "Sing Gently." It featured an amazing 17,572 singers from 129 countries! This included 16 performers using Sign Language.
- In December 2020, an album called Sing as One was released, featuring recordings of all eight virtual choirs.
These virtual choirs have been viewed over 60 million times!
Deep Field Film
Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of the Universe is a special film project. It's a collaboration between Eric Whitacre, NASA, and other groups. This 4K film can be shown in IMAX theaters or with a live orchestra.
The film was inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope and its famous Deep Field image, which shows thousands of galaxies. The music for the film was composed by Eric Whitacre and features Virtual Choir 5, with over 8,000 voices from 120 countries. It also includes the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The film premiered in 2018 and has been shown at many science and arts events.
Eric Whitacre Singers
The Eric Whitacre Singers is a professional choir that performs music from different time periods, including works by Eric Whitacre himself. The choir made its debut at the BBC Proms in 2012. They have performed with famous artists like Imogen Heap and Annie Lennox.
Recording Projects
Eric Whitacre's first album, Light & Gold, was released in 2010 and won a Grammy Award in 2012. His second album, Water Night, came out in 2012.
Since 2013, Eric has released music on his own record label called UNQUIET. Some of his releases on this label include Deep Field and Goodnight Moon.
Performance Projects
Eric Whitacre has conducted many concerts around the world. In 2010, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He also continued to develop his musical play, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings.
He is a founding member of BCM International, a group of four composers who want to create new and exciting music for wind ensembles. Eric has conducted at the BBC Proms multiple times, performing American music with famous orchestras and choirs. In 2015, he wrote Deep Field for orchestra, chorus, and a mobile app. Audience members could play electronic sounds from their phones during the performance!
In 2014, Eric conducted a large choir of 400 singers in Washington D.C. to celebrate Flag Day and the 200th anniversary of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The Sacred Veil
The Sacred Veil is a 12-part musical work composed by Eric Whitacre in 2018, with words by poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. The music tells a story of love, loss, and finding comfort after a difficult time. It was inspired by the true story of Silvestri's wife, who passed away at a young age. The Los Angeles Times described the work as a beautiful celebration of life. It premiered in Los Angeles in 2019.
Awards and Honors
Eric Whitacre has received many awards for his compositions. He won awards from the Barlow international composition competition and the American Choral Directors Association. His musical play Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings earned him a Richard Rodgers Award. His album Cloudburst and Other Choral Works was nominated for a Grammy in 2007, and his album Light & Gold won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance in 2012.
Musical Works
Wind Ensemble Pieces
- October
- Sleep (choral version)
- Lux Aurumque (choral version)
- Cloudburst (choral version)
- Libertas Imperio (from Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings)
- Ghost Train
- Equus
- Noisy Wheels of Joy
- The Seal Lullaby (choral version)
- Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!
Choral Pieces
- A Boy and a Girl
- Alleluia
- Animal Crackers Volume 1
- Animal Crackers Volume 2
- Child of Wonder
- Cloudburst
- Deep Field
- Enjoy the Silence (arrangement of a Depeche Mode song)
- Five Hebrew Love Songs
- Fly to Paradise (Virtual Choir 4)
- Glow (for Disneyland's World of Color Winter Dreams)
- Goodnight Moon (based on the children's book)
- Her Sacred Spirit Soars
- Higher, Faster, Stronger (for the BBC Proms)
- Home, 2023 (with Voces8)
- i carry your heart
- Little Birds
- Little Tree
- Lux Aurumque
- Lux Nova
- Nox Aurumque
- Oculi Omnium
- Psalm 137: By the Waters of Babylon
- Sainte-Chapelle
- The Seal Lullaby
- She Weeps Over Rahoon
- Sing Gently (Virtual Choir 6)
- Sleep
- Sleep, My Child (from Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings)
- Songs of Immortality
- The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus
- The Chelsea Carol
- The City and the Sea (five poems by E. E. Cummings)
- The Sacred Veil
- The Star-Spangled Banner
- The Stolen Child
- This Marriage
- Three Flower Songs
- Three Songs of Faith
- Very Soon
- Water Night
- When David Heard
Other Choral Works
- Alone
- Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine
Orchestra Pieces
- Deep Field
- Godzilla Eats Las Vegas
- October
- The River Cam
- Water Night
- Winter
Music Theater
- Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings
Other Arrangements
- Five Hebrew Love Songs; for soprano voice, solo violin, piano
- Goodnight Moon; for soprano voice and string orchestra
Film and Television Music
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, co-composer of the Mermaid Theme and choral parts
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Choirmaster
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, choral parts
- Trigger, stock music
- Kung Fu Panda 3, Conductor and vocal arrangements
- Alligator Alley, stock music
- The Great American Songs, composer
- Enjoy the Silence, composer
Images for kids
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Whitacre conducting students in 2009
See also
In Spanish: Eric Whitacre para niños
