Eric Whitacre

Eric Whitacre, a Grammy-winning choral composer and conductor, shares his journey from feeling like an outsider in northern Nevada to embracing his passion for music. He reflects on stargazing alone, discovering profound insights about isolation and self-acceptance. A dramatic leap into turbulent waters serves as a turning point for him, balancing his lively energy with introspective moments. Joining a college choir ignites his creativity, leading to the composition of 'Water Night' and fostering deep connections with music and community.

Choral music composer and conductor Eric Whitacre directs choirs around the globe, but as a kid in northern Nevada, he feels like the black sheep. He doesn’t know how to channel his endless energy to create meaningful connections or find his place in the world. His remarkable experiences with outer space, multi-part harmonies, and a (literal) leap of faith teach him crucial lessons about embracing what lights him up to be his true self.Listen to Max Richter's episode of Meditative Story "Music, memory, moments": https://listen.meditativestory.com/MaxRichterPIOLearn more about Eric:Eric’s website: ericwhitacre.com Eric's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericwhitacre/Find Eric’s masterclass series, The Beautiful Mess, here: https://virtualschool.ericwhitacre.com/Listen to Water Night here: https://ericwhitacre.com/music-catalog/water-nightEach episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.comSign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Singing with others is a powerful form of expression. That's why the composer Eric Whitacre started the Virtual Choir; an experiment that connects singers from every corner of the globe. In this episode, we hear how a choir can unite people from different backgrounds to achieve a common goal - creating beautiful music.Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.Join our community on Reddit and follow us on Facebook.Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/virtualchoir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices