ERIC WHITACRE

An accomplished composer, conductor and lecturer, Eric Whitacre is one of the bright stars in contemporary concert music. Regularly commissioned and published, Whitacre has received composition awards from ASCAP, the Barlow International Composition Competition, the American Choral Directors Association, the American Composers Forum, and in 2001 was honored with his first Grammy nomination (contemporary classical crossover). This year, with Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, he became the youngest recipient ever awarded the coveted Raymond C. Brock commission by the American Choral Directors Association; commercially he has worked with such luminaries as Barbra Streisand and Marvin Hamlisch.
 
Born in 1970, Whitacre has already achieved substantial critical and popular acclaim. The American Record Guide named his first recording, "The Music of Eric Whitacre," one of the top ten classical albums in 1997, and The Los Angeles Times praised his music as "electric, chilling harmonies; works of unearthly beauty and imagination." His Water Night has become one of the most popular choral works of the last decade, and is one of the top selling choral publications in the last five years. Ghost Train, his first instrumental work written at the age of 23, is a genuine phenomenon; it has received thousands of performances in over 50 countries and has been featured on 40 different recordings. His music has been the subject of several recent scholarly works and doctoral dissertations as well.
 
As a conductor, Mr. Whitacre has served as principal conductor of the College Light Opera Company, chorus master for the Nevada Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as guest conductor with numerous professional and educational ensembles, including the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, the Gregg Smith Singers and the Kansas City Chorale. Last fall he conducted the first in an annual series of wind symphony concerts in Tokyo, Japan, where he has been named guest music director of the Tokyo Wind Symphony, and this summer he conducted and lectured extensively throughout Singapore. Eric received his M.M. in composition from the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied composition with Pulitzer Prize winner John Corigliano.