Eric Whitacre (1970- )
Eric
Whitacre is quickly becoming one of the most popular composers and
conductors of his generation, inspiring and motivating a new generation
of singers and musicians. The “unearthly beauty and imagination” (Los
Angeles Times) and “emotional directness and intensity” (American
Record Guide) of Whitacre’s music create a visceral, impassioned
response in audiences and performers. In 2008, the all-Whitacre choral
CD Cloudburst (released by the British ensemble Polyphony on Hyperion
Records) became an unexpected international best-seller, topping the
classical charts and earning a Grammy nomination. 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.” Eric Whitacre began singing with his college
choir at the age of 18, and the experience changed his life forever. He
wrote his setting of Go, Lovely, Rose for that same choir three years
later. Eric went on to earn his Master’s degree in composition at the
Juilliard School, where he studied with John Corigliano. Since then,
Whitacre has received numerous commissioning awards and honors. His
work has received thousands of performances, with sheet music sales of
over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. His cutting edge musical Paradise
Lost: Shadows and Wings, which combines influences including trance,
electronica, and anime with choral, cinematic, and operatic traditions,
won the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award, the Richard Rogers award, and 10
Ovation Award nominations. He is currently completing his first
full-length oratorio for chorus, soprano soloist, and orchestra; a
commission for the Berlin Rundfunkchor; and a major commission for the
London Symphony Chorus which will be performed with the London Symphony
Orchestra in October 2010. A true innovator, Whitacre writes music that
incorporates contemporary sounds and influences while demanding the
highest standards of precision, intonation, and ensemble. Eric Whitacre
divides his time between conducting and teaching throughout the world
and the ever-increasing demands of his composing. He lives in Los
Angeles with his wife, soprano Hila Plitmann, and their son.- Chester Novello
COMPOSITIONS Whitacre Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Works Alphabetical by Title ~ ~ ~ Whitacre on Whitacre
Three Flower Songs, chorus (1991)
Cloudburst, chorus, piano and percussion (1992; pub. 1995) [text: Octavio Paz]
- Cloudburst, band (1992) [arr. 2002 from original work for chorus]
She Weeps Over Rahoon, female chorus, English horn and piano (1993) [text: James Joyce]
Water Night, chorus (1995) [text: Octavio Paz]
- Water Night, string orchesta (1995) [arr. 1997 from original work for chorus]
Ghost Train Triptych, band (1995)
Five Hebrew Love Songs, chorus (or female chorus; or soprano), violin and piano; or chorus & str qt (1996) [text: Hila Plitmann]
Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!, band (1996)
little tree, chorus and piano (1997) [text: e. e. cummings]
Three Songs of Faith, chorus (1999) [text: e. e. cummings]
When David Heard, chorus (1999) [text: from II Samuel 18:33]
Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold/Light of Gold), chorus (or male chorus) (2000) [text: Edward Esch]
- Lux Aurumque, orchesta or band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
Sleep, chorus (2000) [text: Silvestri; originally a setting Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods..."; changed due to copyright reasons]
- Sleep, band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
Winter, chorus, sitar and string orchestra (2000) [text: Edward Esch]
- Winter, band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
What If, chorus and percussion (2000) [text: David Noroña and Eric Whitacre] [for film "Alligator Alley", 2000]
October, band (Grade 3) (2000) [also arr. for orchestra]
Equus, band (2000)
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, chorus and percussion (2001) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
Little Birds, chorus and piano (pub. 2001) [text: Octavio Paz]
A Boy and A Girl, chorus (2002) [text: Octavio Paz]
- A Boy and a Girl, string orchesta (2002) [from original work for chorus]
Her Sacred Spirit Soars (Her Spirit Soars), double chorus (2002) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
Noisy Wheels of Joy, band (2002)
This Marriage, chorus (2004) [text: Jalal al-Din Rumi]
Animal Crackers, Volume 1 (3 pieces), chorus and piano (2005) [text: Ogden Nash]
The Seal Lullaby, chorus (or female chorus; or male chorus) and piano (2007) [text: Rudyard Kipling]
- The Seal Lullaby, band and piano (2007) [from original work for chorus]
Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, opera electronica in 2 acts (fp. 2007)
- Sleep, My Child, chorus (2008) [from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
- Libertas Imperio, band and electronics (2007) [arr. 2008 for band, from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
The Stolen Child, 6 solo voices and chorus (2008) [text: William Butler Yeats]
Animal Crackers, Volume 2 (3 pieces), chorus and chorus (fp. 2009) [text: Ogden Nash]
Nox Aurumque, chorus (2009) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
The City and the Sea (5 pieces), chorus and piano; or baritone and piano (pub. 2009-10) [text: e. e. cummings]
Songs of Immortality (2 pieces), chorus, harp, celeste and string orchestra (fp. 2010)
WORKS BY GENRE Whitacre Links ~ ~ ~ Works Alphabetical by Title ~ ~ ~ Whitacre on Whitacre ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, opera electronica in 2 acts (fp. 2007)
Orchestra
Water Night, string orchesta (1995) [arr. 1997 from original work for chorus]
Lux Aurumque, orchesta (2000) [from original work for chorus]
October, band (Grade 3) (2000) [also arr. for orchestra]
A Boy and a Girl, string orchesta (2002) [from original work for chorus]
Band
Cloudburst, band (1992) [arr. 2002 from original work for chorus]
Ghost Train Triptych, band (1995)
- Ghost Train
- At the Station
- Motive Revolution
Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!, band (1996)
Equus, band (2000)
Lux Aurumque, band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
October, band (Grade 3) (2000) [also arr. for orchestra]
Sleep, band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
Winter, band (2000) [from original work for chorus]
Noisy Wheels of Joy, band (2002)
The Seal Lullaby, band and piano (2007) [from original work for chorus]
Libertas Imperio, band and electronics (2007) [arr. 2008 for band, from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
Chorus w/Orchestra
Winter, chorus, sitar and string orchestra (2000) [text: Edward Esch]
Songs of Immortality, chorus, harp, celeste and string orchestra (fp. 2010)
- Lie still, sleep becalmed [text: Dylan Thomas]
- After Great Pain [text: Emily Dickinson]
Choral
Three Flower Songs, chorus (1991)
- I Hide Myself [text: Emily Dickinson]
- With a Lily in Your Hand [text: Federico García Lorca]
- Go, Lovely Rose [text: Edmund Waller]
Cloudburst, chorus, piano and percussion (1992; pub. 1995) [text: Octavio Paz]
She Weeps Over Rahoon, female chorus, English horn and piano (1993) [text: James Joyce]
Water Night, chorus (1995) [text: Octavio Paz]
Five Hebrew Love Songs, chorus (or female chorus), violin and piano; or chorus and string quartet (1996) [text: Hila Plitmann]
- Temuná
- Kalá kallá (Light Bride)
- Lárov (Mostly)
- Éyze shéleg! (What snow!)
- Rakút (Tenderness)
little tree, chorus and piano (1997) [text: e. e. cummings]
Three Songs of Faith, chorus (1999) [text: e. e. cummings]
- i will wade out (1999)
- hope, faith, life, love (1999)
- i thank You God for most this amazing day (1999)
When David Heard, chorus (1999) [text: from II Samuel 18:33]
Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold/Light of Gold), chorus (or male chorus) (2000) [text: Edward Esch]
Sleep, chorus (2000) [text: Silvestri; originally a setting Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods..."; changed due to copyright reasons]
What If, chorus and percussion (2000) [text: David Noroña and Eric Whitacre] [for film "Alligator Alley", 2000]
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, chorus and percussion (2001) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
Little Birds, chorus and piano (pub. 2001) [text: Octavio Paz]
A Boy and A Girl, chorus (2002) [text: Octavio Paz]
Her Sacred Spirit Soars (Her Spirit Soars), double chorus (2002) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
This Marriage, chorus (2004) [text: Jalal al-Din Rumi]
Animal Crackers, Volume 1, chorus and piano (2005) [text: Ogden Nash]
- The Panther
- The Cow
- The Firefly
The Seal Lullaby, chorus (or female chorus; or male chorus) and piano (2007) [text: Rudyard Kipling]
Sleep, My Child, chorus (2008) [from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
The Stolen Child, 6 solo voices and chorus (2008) [text: William Butler Yeats]
Animal Crackers, Volume 2, chorus and chorus (fp. 2009) [text: Ogden Nash]
- The Canary
- The Eel
- The Kangaroo
Nox Aurumque, chorus (2009) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
The City and the Sea, chorus and piano; or baritone and piano (pub. 2009-10) [text: e. e. cummings]
- i walked the boulevard (2009)
- the moon is hiding in her hair (2010)
- maggie and millie and molly and may
- as is the sea marvelous (2010)
- little man in a hurry (2010)
Vocal
The City and the Sea, chorus and piano; or baritone and piano (pub. 2009-10) [text: e. e. cummings]
- i walked the boulevard (2009)
- the moon is hiding in her hair (2010)
- maggie and millie and molly and may
- as is the sea marvelous (2010)
- little man in a hurry (2010)
Five Hebrew Love Songs, soprano, violin and piano (1996) [text: Hila Plitmann] [aka: Rak HaHatchala (Only the Beginning)]
- Temuná
- Kalá kallá (Light Bride)
- Lárov (Mostly)
- Éyze shéleg! (What snow!)
- Rakút (Tenderness)
WHITACRE LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Works Alphabetical by Title ~ ~ ~ Whitacre on Whitacre ~ top of page ~
An Analysis of Three Choral Transcriptions for Winds by Eric Whitacre (Daniel James Grassi, San Jose State University)
The Choral Music of Eric Whitacre (doctoc.com)
Composer Eric Whitacre on Why British Choirs Are Best (Gramophone)
Eric Whitacre Dreams of His Virtual Choir Machine (Amelia Northrup, Technology in the Arts)
Eric Whitacre: Sounds That Haunted Cyberspace (Adam Sweeting, The Telegraph)
Interview: Eric Whitacre, Virtual Choirmaster (Adam Sweeting, The Arts Desk)
Paradise Lost: Opera Electronica (thescreamonline.com)
Random Truths About... Eric Whitacre (identitytheory.com)
Whitacre's Way (Adam Baer, UNLV Magazine)
Composer's website . . . contact Eric Whitacre: here
Whitacre @ Wikipedia
Whitacre @ Answers.com
Whitacre @ ASCAP 2011 "I Create Music" EXPO
Whitacre @ choralart.org
Whitacre @ CitySpecific
Whitacre @ Classic Cat
Whitacre @ Classical Archives
Whitacre @ Classical Composers Database
Whitacre @ Classical Net (via google)
Whitacre @ ClassicsToday
Whitacre @ composition:today
Whitacre @ Copy Cat Music Licensing, LLC
Whitacre @ Distinguished Concerts International
Whitacre @ Facebook
Whitacre @ Facebook/Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
Whitacre @ Festival of Contemporary Art Music, Washington State University
Whitacre @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Whitacre @ InstantEncore
Whitacre @ MusicWeb International
Whitacre @ MySpaceMusic
Whitacre @ Naxos
Whitacre @ The New York Times
Whitacre @ NPRmusic also here
Whitacre @ On an Overgrown Path
Whitacre @ Open . . .
Whitacre @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Whitacre @ Santa Barbara Music Publishing
Whitacre @ Singers.com
Whitacre @ SoundUnwound
Whitacre @ TED
Whitacre @ Twitter
Whitacre @ Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
Whitacre @ VocalEssence
Whitacre @ Walton Music
Whitacre @ York College, Nebraska
Publisher
Whitacre @ Composer's website
Whitacre @ Chester Novello
Whitacre @ Santa Barbara Music Publishing
Whitacre @ Walton Music
Streaming Audio
Whitacre @ Composer's website
Whitacre @ Classical Archives
Whitacre @ The Independent/podcast
Whitacre @ last.fm
Whitacre @ Minnesota Public Radio
Whitacre @ MySpaceMusic
Whitacre @ NPRmusic also here also here
Whitacre @ Rhapsody.com
Whitacre @ SoundCloud
Whitacre @ WNYC/Soundcheck
Recordings
Whitacre @ ArkivMusic
Whitacre @ ClassicsOnline
Whitacre @ Discogs
Video
Whitacre @ YouTube
Whitacre @ Google Video
Whitacre @ Vimeo
~ top of page ~
Whitacre on Whitacre: Interview/The Independent (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
Whitacre on Whitacre: On the Whitacre Extravaganza/MPR (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
Whitacre on Whitacre: Soundcheck/WNYC (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
Whitacre Works - Alphabetical by Title
A Boy and A Girl, chorus (2002) [text: Octavio Paz] [also for string orchesta]
After Great Pain [text: Emily Dickinson] [from "Songs of Immortality", fp. 2010]
Animal Crackers, Volume 1, chorus and piano (2005) [text: Ogden Nash]
Animal Crackers, Volume 2, chorus and chorus (fp. 2009) [text: Ogden Nash]
as is the sea marvelous (2010) [from "The City and the Sea", 2010]
At the Station [from "Ghost Train Triptych", band, 1995]
A Boy and A Girl, chorus (2002) [text: Octavio Paz] [also for string orchesta]
The Canary [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 2, 2009]
The City and the Sea, chorus and piano; or baritone and piano (pub. 2009-10) [text: e. e. cummings]
Cloudburst, chorus, piano and percussion (1992; pub. 1995) [text: Octavio Paz] [also for band]
The Cow [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 1, 2005]
The Eel [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 2, 2009]
Equus, band (2000)
Eyze Sheleg! (What snow!) [from "Five Hebrew Love Songs", 1996]
The Firefly [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 1, 2005]
Five Hebrew Love Songs, chorus (or female chorus), violin and piano; or chorus and string quartet (1996)
Ghost Train [from "Ghost Train Triptych", band, 1995]
Ghost Train Triptych, band (1995)
Go, Lovely Rose (1991) [text: Edmund Waller] [from "Three Flower Songs", 1991]
Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!, band (1996)
Her Sacred Spirit Soars (Her Spirit Soars), double chorus (2002) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
hope, faith, life, love (1999) [from "Three Songs of Faith", 1999]
I Hide Myself (1991) [text: Emily Dickinson] [from "Three Flower Songs", 1991]
i thank You God for most this amazing day (1999) [from "Three Songs of Faith", 1999]
i walked the boulevard (2009) [from "The City and the Sea", 2010]
i will wade out (1999) [from "Three Songs of Faith", 1999]
Kala Kalla (Light Bride) [from "Five Hebrew Love Songs", 1996]
The Kangaroo [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 2, 2009]
Larov (Mostly) [from "Five Hebrew Love Songs", 1996]
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, chorus and percussion (2001) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
Libertas Imperio, band & electronics (2007) [arr. 2008 for band, from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
Lie still, sleep becalmed [text: Dylan Thomas] [from "Songs of Immortality", fp. 2010]
Little Birds, chorus and piano (pub. 2001) [text: Octavio Paz]
little man in a hurry (2010) [from "The City and the Sea", 2010]
little tree, chorus and piano (1997) [text: e. e. cummings]
Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold/Light of Gold), chorus (or male chorus) (2000) [text: Edward Esch] [also for band or orchestra]
maggie and millie and molly and may [from "The City and the Sea", 2010]
the moon is hiding in her hair (2010) [from "The City and the Sea", 2010]
Motive Revolution [from "Ghost Train Triptych", band, 1995]
Noisy Wheels of Joy, band (2002)
Nox Aurumque, chorus (2009) [text: Charles Anthony Silvestri]
October, band (Grade 3) (2000) [also arr. for orchestra]
The Panther [from "Animal Crackers, Volume 1, 2005]
Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, music theater piece in 2 acts (fp. 2007)
Rak HaHatchala (Only the Beginning) [see "Five Hebrew Love Songs"]
Rakut (Tenderness) [from "Five Hebrew Love Songs", 1996]
The Seal Lullaby, chorus (or female chorus; or male chorus) and piano (2007) [text: Rudyard Kipling] [also for band and piano]
She Weeps Over Rahoon, female chorus, English horn and piano (1993) [text: James Joyce]
Sleep, chorus (2000) [text: Silvestri; originally a setting Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods..."] [also for band]
Sleep, My Child, chorus (2008) [from "Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings"]
Songs of Immortality, chorus, harp, celeste and string orchestra (fp. 2010)
The Stolen Child, 6 solo voices and chorus (2008) [text: William Butler Yeats]
Temuna [from "Five Hebrew Love Songs", 1996]
This Marriage, chorus (2004) [text: Jalal al-Din Rumi]
Three Flower Songs, chorus (1991)
Three Songs of Faith, chorus (1999) [text: e. e. cummings]
Water Night, chorus (1995) [text: Octavio Paz] [also for string orchestra]
What If, chorus and percussion (2000) [text: David Noroña and Eric Whitacre] [for film "Alligator Alley", 2000]
When David Heard, chorus (1999) [text: from II Samuel 18:33]
Winter, chorus, sitar and string orchestra (2000) [text: Edward Esch] [also for band]
With a Lily in Your Hand [text: Federico García Lorca] [from "Three Flower Songs", 1991]
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