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Eric Whitacre

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians.

His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united  100,000 singers from more than 145 countries over the last decade. Born in Nevada in 1970, Eric is a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music (New York). He is currently Visiting Composer at Pembroke College, Cambridge and recently completed his second term as Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. In 2022, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra will premiere a new work for orchestra, Prelude in C.

His compositions have been widely recorded and his debut album as a conductor on Universal, Light and Gold, went straight to the top of the charts, earning a Grammy.  As a guest conductor, he has drawn capacity audiences to concerts with many of the world’s leading orchestras and choirs in venues from Carnegie Hall (New York) to the Royal Albert Hall (London). Insatiably curious and a lover of all types of music, Eric has worked with legendary Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, as well as British pop icons Laura Mvula, Imogen Heap and Annie Lennox.

In 2018 his composition, Deep Field, became the foundation for a pioneering collaboration with NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Music Productions and film-makers 59 Productions. His long-form work The Sacred Veil, a profound meditation on love, life and loss, was premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by the composer, and released on Signum Records. In 2021, Eric launched the Virtual School with its first course “The Beautiful Mess: Masterclass in Composition and Creativity”.

A charismatic speaker, Eric Whitacre has given keynote addresses for TED, Apple, Google, the United Nations Speaker’s Program, in education and for numerous global institutions. His collaboration with Spitfire Audio resulted in a trail-blazing vocal sample library which became an instant best-seller and is used by composers the world-over.  Eric is proud to be a Yamaha Artist.


Follow Eric on social media or visit ericwhitacre.com for more information.

STScI

Founded in 1982, the Space Telescope Science Institue (STScI) has helped guide the most famous observatory in history, the Hubble Space Telescope. Since its launch in 1990, it has performed the science operations for Hubble. It also leads the science and mission operations for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), planned to launch in 2020.

It will perform parts of the science operations for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), in formulation for launch in the mid-2020s, and is partner on several other NASA missions. Its staff conducts world-class scientific research; its Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) curates and disseminates data from over 20 astronomical missions; and it brings science to the world through internationally recognized news, education, and public outreach programs. STScI values its diverse workforce and civility in the workplace, and seeks to be an example for others to follow.

With special thanks to the following people for their dedication to the Deep Field film:
Hussein Jirdeh, Greg Bacon, Frank Summers, Joseph DePasquale, Leah Hustak, Zolt Levay, Joseph Olmsted, Dani Player

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59 Productions

Led by directors Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer, Lysander Ashton and Richard Slaney, 59 Productions offers world-leading expertise in design for stage and live events. Their work exists at the nexus between technology and art, and the company has become the go-to team for generating creative and technical ideas to realize ambitious artistic projects across a range of disciplines: from architectural projection-mapping to exhibition design, VR experiences to events, theatrical design to technical consultancy.

Exhibitions and installations feature prominently in the company’s recent roster of commissions, including the design and creative direction of David Bowie is, the record-breaking exhibition seen by more than 1.8 million people on its international 10-stop tour; twentieth anniversary celebrations for Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and a bespoke projection-mapping event to mark the re-opening of the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian Art in Washington. In February 2018, 59 Productions opened the Ecsite Award-winning permanent exhibition, Made in Space, at the Tycho Brahe Planetarium, Denmark’s most advanced centre for popular astronomy and space research. The installation was designed and built by 59 Productions creating a seamless correspondence between the physical space and the cutting-edge interactive and immersive technologies.

Our Supporters

Sincere thanks to our partners that have helped to make Deep Field possible.

Boosey & Hawkes

Boosey & Hawkes

Boosey & Hawkes is the world’s leading publisher of contemporary classical music, with a blue chip catalogue of 20th-century masters including Bartók, Bernstein, Britten, Copland, Prokofieff, Strauss and Stravinsky alongside an eminent front list of composers that includes John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Harrison Birtwistle, Unsuk Chin, Brett Dean, Detlev Glanert, Osvaldo Golijov, HK Gruber, Karl Jenkins, Magnus Lindberg, James MacMillan, Steve Reich and Mark-Anthony Turnage. The company has offices in London, New York and Berlin and a network of agents around the world. Boosey & Hawkes is part of Concord Music, the worldwide leader in the development, acquisition and management of recorded music, music publishing, and theatrical performance rights.

http://www.boosey.com

Hal Leonard Corporation 

Hal Leonard Corporation 

Hal Leonard Corporation is the world’s largest educational music publisher, with the #1 methods for learning guitar (the Hal Leonard Guitar Method), piano (the Faber Piano Method), and school music instruments (Essential Elements for Band and Strings), plus publications for learning virtually every instrument imaginable. Hal Leonard also publishes and distributes thousands of works for school, church and community choirs at all levels. In its catalog of more than 220,000 available titles, Hal Leonard represents many of the world’s best known and most respected publishers, artists, songwriters, arrangers and musical instrument manufacturers. Its products are sold in more than 65 countries throughout the world through Hal Leonard offices and a large network of distributors.

https://www.halleonard.com

Distinguished Concerts International New York

Distinguished Concerts International New York

Founded in 2007 by Iris Derke and Jonathan Griffith, DCINY gave its first public concert in January 2008. DCINY is a leading producer of dynamic musical entertainment performed in renowned American venues. Over 40,000 musicians and singers embodying 44 countries and all 50 US states have participated in DCINY productions. Since its inception, DCINY has produced over 200 concerts and 17 world premieres, performing to over 200,000 people. With its unforgettable, world-class concert experiences, empowering educational programs, and its global community of artists and audiences, DCINY changes lives through the power of music performance. DCINY commemorates its 10th Anniversary season in 2018.

https://www.DCINY.org

Dunard Fund

Dunard Fund

The Dunard Fund is a generous, creative and strategically-minded philanthropic organization that makes donations principally for the training and performance of classical music at the highest standard, the education and display of visual arts at an international standard and the rehabilitation of endangered architectural masterpieces and the design and construction of new architectural masterpieces.

Leigh Bureau

Leigh Bureau

The Leigh Bureau is very proud to exclusively represent Eric Whitacre for his speaking engagements and to be a sponsor of Virtual Choir 5: Deep Field. Since 1929, the Leigh Bureau has been serving business and sophisticated cultural audiences around the world with world-class speakers and with presentations of substance. Eric Whitacre is just such a client and VC5 is just such a program. It is a privilege to be a part of this extraordinary event. Bringing real value to our audiences is the Leigh Bureau’s mission and we look forward to seeing where Eric’s creative imagination takes him next.

http://leighbureaultd.com

Primephonic

Primephonic

Primephonic is a new music streaming service that serves the needs of classical music lovers worldwide. Classical music listeners have long been under served by current streaming services, whose platforms are not designed to support the unique qualities and complexities of the genre. Primephonic solves classical music’s streaming problem by offering a revolutionary search function compatible with classical music’s multiple search parameters; high resolution audio quality (up to 24-bit FLAC); in-depth background information and dynamic content; and many more innovative features.

Primephonic’s ever-expanding catalogue features nearly all classical music ever recorded, with over 1 million classical music tracks, including catalogues from major labels Warner Classics, Sony Classical, Universal Music Classics, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and EMI, as well as over 400 additional labels worldwide. Primephonic users can seamlessly find background information on the works, composers and artists; discover new works through customized recommendations; instantly compare multiple recordings of their favorite works and connect globally with like minded classical music lovers. Primephonic is currently available in the U.S., The Netherlands, and the UK.

https://www.primephonic.com

Walton Music

Walton Music

Walton Music, a leading publisher of choral music, has been bringing high-quality editions to the choral community since 1950. Their catalog is recognized for both its commitment to providing the best new literature from a diverse range of sources as well as its preservation of the classics. Editions in the catalog include music from such noted composers as Eric Whitacre, Ola Gjeilo, and Norman Luboff.

https://www.giamusic.com/waltonmusic/

J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc.

J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc.

Founded in 1876, J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc. is the largest sheet music retailer in the world, celebrating over 140 years of customer service and devotion to music and music education. In addition to providing music accessories, various music software products, and music for state contests and music festivals, Pepper also offers choral, band, orchestra, church, classroom, instrumental, piano, and vocal music to directors, teachers, and other professional musicians around the world. The company provides its products and services through its 12 stores across the U.S. and online.

https://www.jwpepper.com