WONDERLANCE: Eric, thank you so much for taking on this interview, we know you’re extremely busy and are honoured to have your collaboration at this time. One of the true dazzling pearls out of the latest Pirates’ sequel, and something Than Niles (our US-based film expert and collaborator) agrees with us on, is the mermaid theme you co-wrote with Hans Zimmer.

What do you remember enjoying the most of this collaboration?  Is there’s going to be a sequel with Zimmer? You can certainly produce heaps amounts of treasures together…

ERIC WHITACRE: Well, I was just so thrilled to be working with Hans I guess, I was geeking out a lot of the time!

WONDERLANCE: Fair enough. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane, shall we? What’s the first memory you have of music being a child? How and when did it get into your blood, into your soul and made you realise that you'd live for and by it? Can you remember such moment?

ERIC WHITACRE: I came into Classical Music really late, I had always loved making music (I played drums and synthesiser) but I didn’t really know classical music existed until I joined my college choir. The first piece I sang was Mozart’s Requiem; I can honestly say the experience changed my life. I was transported into a new world; it was like I could suddenly see in color for the first time.

WONDERLANCE: That is a beautiful way to explain it. How was learning from Master John Corigliano?

ERIC WHITACRE: Humbling. I was so incredibly lucky to work so closely with him; he was such a fantastic tutor and mentor. I learnt so much from that guy.

WONDERLANCE: We know you like or used to like Depeche Mode (a taste we share) and one of your youth dreams was to become a rock star but…Did it ever cross your mind, even as a truly wild dream, that you’d become one the most performed composers of your generation?

How do you fit this knowledge into your daily life? Who grounds your inner rock/pop star? Because you’re extremely down-to-earth, we swear.

ERIC WHITACRE: Why thank you! I always wanted to be a rock star but I didn’t think it would actually happen, I’m still in denial I guess. Seriously though, my family are fantastic, they keep me grounded. I would be lost without them.

WONDERLANCE: You’re worldwide famous not only for your traditional works but also for launching your ground-breaking Virtual Choir, which fast reached over 2 million hits in YouTube, and soon after, its 2.0 version, a feat of tremendous originality, creativity and…work.

Eric, on VC 2.0., how on Earth does anybody have the vision, the passion and THE PATIENCE to assemble such a huge and diverse choir of voices and make it so incredibly beautiful? Even if you must be bored to death of this question and already shared a great deal of the process for the first version, in your talk at TED this last March, please, tell us about it: how you came across the idea, how long it took you from conception to final production…please…

ERIC WHITACRE: A friend of mine emailed me a video of a young girl singing the soprano part to my a cappella work “Sleep” and it sounded so present, clear and intimate that it stuck me if I could get 100 people to sing the different parts then we could line them up and create a choir.

For me, singing together and making music together is a fundamental human experience, and I love the idea that technology can bring people together from all over the world and still participate in this transcending experience.

The production took months and we had a whole team working on it. It was incredible; the amount of work that went into the Virtual Choir is indescribable.

WONDERLANCE: After this incredible experience: What do new technologies mean to Eric Whitacre? And what would you say to the purists who are perhaps afraid of using these new technologies on their art or in favour of its widespread?

ERIC WHITACRE: I have always been a massive geek. Technology fascinates me and I am always exploring new ways to use technology in creative ways. I don’t think technology should ever alter or replace live music making, but I do think there is a place for technology in the modern art world, the arts are forever shifting and expanding and we must move with the times.

WONDERLANCE: What do you think of the general budgetary cuts on the arts and humanities areas in education?

ERIC WHITACRE: It’s terrible. The fact is we need the arts in order grow as a society and it’s such a tragedy that the arts remain unsupported. Having a son has made me realise just how important the arts are to the education process. I encourage him to be as creative and experimental as possible. I believe a creative education is key to having a rounded intelligence. At least that’s what I like to think.

WONDERLANCE: From an artist’s point of view, which is best: New York or Los Angeles? And from a dad’s point of view?

ERIC WHITACRE: I have to tell you, I absolutely love New York. It’s such a buzzing city, so vibrant, with music around every corner.

WONDERLANCE: Where can our readers see you live next, and what project is getting you all excited nowadays?

ERIC WHITACRE: I’m next conducting in Dortmund in Germany, then I have a concert in London on October 11th at Union Chapel in Islington, London. I’m really excited about my next album which we are recording this autumn, it’s gonna be huge!

WONDERLANCE: And we are going to be waiting for it... A honour and an immense pleasure.

Thank you so much again for your splendid collaboration.

ERIC WHITACRE OFFICIAL SITE:

ericwhitacre.com