Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 6: "Sing Gently"

A viewing and appreciation page.

Eric Whitacre's beautiful piece "Sing Gently," which he composed as the subject for Virtual Choir 6, premiered on Sunday, July 20, 2020, incorporating the videos and vocal contributions of over 17,000 participants from around the world.

Let's begin at the end, with the finished product:

Eric provided this Autographed First Page to each of the participants, including me.

David Pogue, a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning, and one of the 17,572 singers, did this wonderful piece and interview with Eric Whitacre about his Virtual Choirs, going back to the first one in 2010. It provides a great introduction to the genre.

The After Party on YouTube Live gave Eric an opportunity to really open up and the share the story of creating "Sing Gently." In this hour-long video, Eric explains the complex process, from the genesis in the COVID-19 lockdown, the visual design based on the Japanese art of "Kintsugi," the fonts used, the challenge of mixing 17,000 audio tracks into one, the YouTube Live virtual rehearsals with thousands of singers, and more. It adds to the enjoyment of the final product.

David Pogue hosted an hour-long Facebook Live session with Eric Whitacre following the CBS Sunday Morning segment, with an engaging discussion and some view questions brought in at the end.

Eric was moved by the engagement of sight- and hearing-impaired musicians, preparing a braille score, and showing this ASL interpretation by Alexandria Wailes:

Inspired by my participation in Virtual Choir 6, I've been doing a few Virtual Choir projects with the North Valley Chorale (Phoenix, Arizona).

Link to Vimeo Showcase of the NVC Virtual Choir projects.