An accomplished composer, conductor and lecturer, Eric Whitacre has quickly become one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation. The Los Angeles Times has praised his compositions as "works of unearthly beauty and imagination, (with) electric, chilling harmonies"; while the BBC raves that "what hits you straight between the eyes is the honesty, optimism and sheer belief that passes any pretension. This is music that can actually make you smile.”
Though he had received no formal training before the age of 18, his first experiences singing in college choir changed his life, and he completed his first concert work, Go, Lovely, Rose, at the age of 21. Eric went on to the Juilliard School, earning his Master of Music degree and studying with Pulitzer Prize- and Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano.
Many of Whitacre’s works have entered the standard choral and symphonic repertories and have become the subject of several recent scholarly works and doctoral dissertations. His works Water Night, Cloudburst, Sleep, Lux Aurumque and A Boy and a Girl are among the most popular choral works of the last decade, and his Ghost Train, Godzilla Eats Las Vegas, and October have achieved equal success in the symphonic wind community. To date, Whitacre’s published works have received thousands of performances and have sold well over 750,000 copies worldwide. He has received composition awards from the Barlow International Composition Competition, the American Choral Directors Association and the American Composers Forum. In 2001, Whitacre became the youngest recipient ever awarded the coveted Raymond C. Brock commission by the American Choral Directors Association.
As a conductor, Whitacre has appeared with hundreds of professional and educational ensembles throughout the world. In the last ten years he has conducted concerts of his choral and symphonic music in Japan, Australia, China, Singapore, South America and much of Europe, as well as dozens of American universities and colleges where he regularly conducts seminars and lectures with young musicians. Over the past few years, these loyal fans and supporters have moved online, spreading Eric’s popularity to an ever-expanding worldwide audience. Upcoming commissions include works for The King’s Singers with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and an oratorio - featuring full orchestra, choir, and soloists – celebrating the opening of the new Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, TX.
His music has been featured on dozens of commercial and independent recordings. His first recording, The Music of Eric Whitacre, was hailed by The American Record Guide as one of the top ten classical albums of 1997. In 2006, a full collection of his a cappella music, Cloudburst and Other Choral Works, was released on the renowned British classical label Hyperion Records. The album quickly became an international best seller, appearing in the top ten of both Billboard’s and iTune’s Top Classical Albums charts. Two years after its debut, the critically acclaimed release continues to be a top-seller. The collection earned a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Choral Performance.
Most recently, Whitacre has received acclaim for Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, a cutting edge musical combining trance, ambient and techno electronica with choral, cinematic, and operatic traditions. Winner of the ASCAP Harold Arlen award, this musical also gained Whitacre the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award for most promising musical theater composer. Following its sold-out run, the most recent production earned 10 nominations at the 2007 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards, including one for Best World Premiere Musical.
Mr. Whitacre lives in Los Angeles with his wife, celebrated soprano Hila Plitmann, and their son.
hello mr. witicare... I..m Sebastian an this is such funny for me... some comments before "Amy" wrote you... I..m also a student of this school (Landesgymnasium für Musik, Wernigerode), where our choir (Rundfunk Jugendchor) also sing your beyond all description "lux aurumqe"... I like to tell you something... Our choir want..s to go to a interantional choir competition in south korea... this festival was canceled 1 day before cause H1N1. our wish was to sing lux aurumqe there. It has so much power and emotion. Everytime we are singing it the people stops to breathe... me too light is not touchable, also tones but with your music and the voices of people is light just for a moment touchable (In you song "Lux aurumqe")
I don..t know what I could say more than a simple word for all my feelings conecting with your music:
thank you
I also hope, that I one time could see you... And maybe you could give me a sign, that you read that piece of lines from me ;)
Mr. Whitacre, thank you for the AWESOME experience of being able to sing with you last Sunday night. I was with the Waukesha North choir, and we were all so grateful for the experience. Everyone loves your music and every time we heard in class we were doing a piece of yours, we all kind of flipped out. in a good way, of course. so again, thanks =] Rande Hagen
i would absolutley love to be conducted by you or at least meet you because you are such an inspiration and a wonderful composer. i listen to your music all the time, and my choir has performed some of your songs. i am actually living in los angeles and attending cal state northridge in the fall. i would love to meet you!
As an instrumentalist, I had not had the opportunity to experience your music as an audience member, nor performed in its original form (for choir). Last nights performance at the Lincoln Center was quite the experience. I thank you for that.
Dear Eric, i come from germany and i am singer of an famous choir in germany and we sing your "lux aurumque",too! I have to say, that it is so great to hear your music, but to sing and feel this music directly is a lot better!I hope to see you directly,one time! I like your music a lot... kind regards, amy
I just posted the world premiere recording of one of my favorite choral pieces that I've written, entitled "Brisk." It's only a little over two minutes. I was wondering if there's any chance you could listen and let me know what you think? You've always been my biggest inspiration in the choral world.
By the way I'll be attending Rowan this fall, and I was wondering if you'll still be doing a residency there? Dr. Stroope was the one who told me about it, but he accepted a job in Oklahoma :(
My favorite composer out of them all. I deeply admire your music and the motion you put in to it. I already ordered your tickets to the Disney hall performance in August, and I cannot wait to see you work.
hey eric! i read a interview with you the other day and in it you said something about 4 measures in A Boy and a Girl that you think are "perfect". So the question i have is, which 4 measures? thanks! -shelby
Singing your choral masterpieces with my Chamber, Womens choir, and Symphonic choir, has changed my life.
Our Symphonic AA Choir sang "Sleep", (it was the first time that our school had went AA) and we learned so much about ourselves, and about singing in the legato style after singing that piece. We cried every single time. I wish that I could personally thank you for "5 Hebrew Love Songs" which was a beautiful piece to sing. And especially, "A Boy and a Girl". Our Chamber Choir had sung all over the community, and at competitions and so on and so on, and we begged and begged to sing "A Boy and A Girl" all year, so we pulled the song together in a couple of days, for our final Spring Concert, and it was beautiful. I am so glad we have music like that your's sing for people. . .for me, a musician, singer, and songwriter, you're like a hero to me. Never stop doing what you're doing :] You're such an inspiration.
I admire you so much. I wanted to let you know just how much your music has touched my high school choir. We absolutely love your music, and we love performing it. Thank you so much, your music has reached out to many people not only in our choir, but in our comunity.
Eric thank you for your work on all of these songs i just have one question? What inspired you to be so noble and compose great music the way you do? You seem to separate yourself from all the other composers of our time. Im seriously in awe whenever i sing a piece of yours or listen to one. Thanks again.
Hey there! My name's Nick... Once upon a time, I wanted to be some kind of rock star- sing in a band, get rich, have all the little teenagers talking about how they either love me or hate me, and make a bang... But then I entered high school and I took a music theory class... I learned more in one year of that class than I've ever learned anywhere else... I was around a few new people receiving instruction in something that was completely foreign to me... we listened to a few things and talked about a few people... and your name came up an awful lot... I must admit, I didn't like your music at first... it took me awhile to come around to it. But after learning only basic counterpoint, hearing your music inspired me to learn what else is out there. Now I know that someday I'm going to be a composer, too, and hopefully I'll be able to inspire somebody the way you and some of your contemporaries have inspired me. The music you make is fluid and intense- like sunlight that pricks your finger... Chilling, electric, inventive. I can't say that I know of anything quite like it. So tell me, if you will: what advice would you give someone with ambitions to make living, breathing, moving music?
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