Unreal. This video from the terrific @romca.ensemble, their oktavists Alex Dmitrieff and Paul Krivoshev hit one of the lowest notes a human voice can sing – C#1. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a note this low sung so clearly.
Love this brilliant advice from legend @thomashampson. Does anyone know who the soprano is? My wife and I were stunned by her gorgeous voice and control. Update: FOUND HER! This is soprano @yolisangwexana. Can’t wait to see where her career takes her! You can see the entire masterclass on operavision.eu.
So haunting and delicate. Agni Parthene – ORSK MONASTERY.
The text we are singing: “My son, O Absalom!”Can’t believe it has been 25 years since I wrote this. Performed by The Eric Whitacre Singers, from a concert in 2012.
7-year-old Edward Yudenich conducts The student Orchestra of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.
Vuma Moya, beautifully arranged (and led) by @thabo_matshego and performed by the fantastic @quavavocalgroup. I love how fun and effortlessly Thabo is teaching his arrangement to the group — reminds me of the old saying “That’s why it’s called PLAYING music.”
This is a pop song I wrote, sang and recorded, ca. 1986. As best I can remember I used a Roland Juno 106; an ESQ 1; a Korg DDD1 drum machine; and an early generation emulator. Everything was recorded onto a four track recorder. And yes, I actually did that with my hair.
Teachers, THANK YOU for all you give.
Child of wonder Child of sky Time to end your voyage Time to die. Silent slumber calls you Dark and deep Child of soft surrender Child of sleep. Child of sorrow Child of rain There is no tomorrow No more pain. Turn your silvered sail Toward the light Child of mourning Child of night. Child of iridescence Child of dream Stars and moons will guide you Down the stream. Stretched on ocean waves Of endless foam Welcome home my child Welcome home. When I wrote these lyrics I took a lot of inspiration from the incomparable Stephen Sondheim, who is the absolute master of distilling the human experience into a few simple words. Child of Wonder, performed in March, 2020 by the Bob Cole Chamber Choir at Long Beach State. (We were performing in Salt Lake City). We couldn’t know it at the time, but this was the last performance we gave before the lockdown. @choirsatbccm
Part 2 of a deep dive into The Sacred Veil. Here we explore Julie’s theme, a simple three note musical motive, and the way that motive becomes corrupted with her cancer diagnosis.
Part 1 of a deep dive into The Sacred Veil. In many ways The Sacred Veil is my most ‘intentional’ work. Every note, every gesture is written in service of the story and its themes of love and loss. Here I talk about the musical representation of the “veil”, and how it is woven through the piece.
I’ve been waiting 40 years to be able to do this!!
From an interview I did some years back with the good people at @jwpeppermusic. I believe so deeply in bringing young people to our shared art, and doing it in a way that is pure and authentic.
This is from the dress rehearsal two years ago, and was the very first time I had heard it. (You can hear my son Esh and I giggling at how beautiful it sounded in the hall). The piece is a tribute to Bach and uses all the chord changes from the famous Prelude in C from The Well-Tempered Clavier, only stretched out and slowed down — like smearing ink across a canvas. Performed beautifully by John Morris Russell and the terrific players of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Los Angeles, Tuesday morning.
Los Angeles, Saturday afternoon.
Los Angeles, Monday afternoon.
For my 2013 @ted talk we beamed in singers from around the world to join us live onstage. Almost every time zone was represented! We are performing “Cloudburst”, a piece I wrote in 1992. Also, I look like the bad guy from Die Hard.
Los Angeles, Saturday morning.
Last month in Barcelona.
A seven minute mediation for a quiet Sunday. I’m playing the Monome Grid, the Lyra-8, and a broken tape sample I made on my old Tascam 4 track.
We spoke to @ericwhitacre @kaitlynaurelia @ryanlottmusic @throttleclark about how the new Eric Whitacre Contrast from @spitfireaudio is more than a virtual choir and has been designed for electronic music producers as much as it has composers. #spitfire #ericwhitacre #electronicmusic
Glitchy loop courtesy the enigmatic @ciat_lonbarde Cocoquantus. On the keyboard I’m playing a broken cassette tape sample I made. This will be part of moment #2 of Eternity in an Hour, called “In a Grain of Sand.” One month to the premiere!
Fuzzy and delicate pads to accompany the choir, strings, and piano, plus a little solo from the Sidrax. This will be from movement seven, called “And Eternity.”
