15 hours ago
Choral Composer Eric Whitacre
Classic Drive's Vanessa Hughes speaks with choral composer and conductor Eric Whitacre about his unexpected journey into the world of choirs, sparked by a reluctant teenage encounter with a Mozart piece that ultimately transformed him into a self-proclaimed choir obsessive. Though he hadn't originally planned to write for choirs, that experience set the course for his career—and now, having seen his Virtual Choir go viral (ten years before pandemic lockdowns made virtual group performances widespread), he is one of the most commissioned and performed choral composers in the world.
Whitacre also spills the beans on which section of a standard choir truly reigns supreme—who's the cleverest, the most overlooked: the basses, altos, sopranos, or tenors?
Eric Whitacre will conduct the Australian premiere of his new work Eternity in an Hour at the Sydney Opera House with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' VOX chorus on Friday 27 June.
