An experience that will not be forgotten. He was gracious, hilarious, and brilliant.
Dr. Amanda Quist, Associate Professor, Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Eric Whitacre’s Virtual School offers direct access to practical and artistic insights gained over more than thirty years by one of the most frequently performed of all contemporary composers.
Explore the courses to get started
Performance
Guides
Designed for performers, directors and fellow composers.
The Performance Guides from Eric Whitacre’s Virtual School allow performers, directors and fellow writers to learn more about some of Eric’s most popular works, directly from the composer himself. Including newly-recorded video content, perusal scores and recommended listening, the Performance Guides are an essential tool when preparing these works.
The
Beautiful Mess
Designed for students, educators, composers, performers, lifelong learners, and music-lovers of all ages and abilities.
Eric’s in-depth masterclass about composition and creativity. Watch the 12-part video series before joining quarterly Zoom Q&A sessions with Eric and fellow students.
Eric Whitacre
Composer, Conductor, Speaker
Eric Whitacre is a Grammy Award-winning composer, conductor, innovator, speaker and lyricist. His compositions are performed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united more than 100,000 singers from 145 countries over the last decade. An alumnus of New York’s renowned Juilliard School of Music, he stands among the Top 10 most frequently performed contemporary composers and recently joined the illustrious roster of Yamaha Artists, an accolade held by some of the world’s finest musicians.
As a guest conductor he draws capacity audiences to the stages of Carnegie Hall (New York) and Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) through the Royal Albert Hall (London) and Opera House (Sydney). Most famed for his choral and orchestral works, he’s also written for feature film and collaborated with diverse artists including Hans Zimmer, Annie Lennox, Imogen Heap, Laura Mvula and John Powell.
Eric’s keynote addresses include TED.com mainstage presentations, the United Nations Leaders program, World Economic Forum (Davos), Apple and Google. Global corporations and educational institutions across the world have hailed his addresses as “life changing” and “inspirational”. His innovative choral library created with Spitfire Audio combines core musical values and great performances with mind-bending technology.
A passionate supporter of the importance of music and the arts in education, his commitment to the ‘noble art’ of teaching is well documented and supported by his extensive pro-bono work in schools and colleges.
- Grammy Winner
- Top 10 Most Performed Contemporary Composer
- Yamaha Artist
- Over 80m Views on YouTube
- Former Composer-in-Residence at Cambridge University, UK
- The Juilliard School, New York, alumnus
- Creator of the Virtual Choir
Featured on
- CBS Sunday Morning
- The Washington Post
- TED
- CNN
- Forbes
- Wired
- BBC
- The New York Times
- Los Angeles Times
- ABC TV
- BuzzFeed
Whitacre is that rare thing, a modern composer who is both popular and original.
The Daily Telegraph (UK)
There is no one like Eric. He’s a choral superstar, well-known to everyone in attendance. Still, his demeanor in our session was down-to-earth, disarming, and absolutely riveting.
Dr. Andrew Crane, Associate Professor, Brigham Young University (US)