As a choir, we’ve learned a lot over the years: the proper way to take a group bow on stage, how to “speak” “Silent Night” in sign language, and how to get a proud University of Oregon alumni to sing the Husky fight song, to name just a few. Now Choir of the Sound is taking on a new challenge: how to be a virtual choir.
Virtual choirs are a product of the age of social media. They were pioneered by composer Eric Whitacre in 2009, after he saw a YouTube video a fan had posted of herself singing one of his compositions. He started thinking about how many people might want to sing his music, and how technology could bring them together. What if–instead of conducting a choir only consisting of people who were physically able to gather in a room with him–he could use computers to conduct a group of people around the world? A new project was launched. Initially called the Sleep Projected, Whitacre soon switched to “Lux Arumque” for his first attempt (he returned to “Sleep” for his second virtual choir). To make sure that everyone would be singing in the same key, at the same tempo, and in rhythm, Whitacre posted separate tracks of each voice part used in the composition, inviting anyone interested to record themselves singing along to their appropriate part. He was hoping for as many as 900 responses; what he got was over 2,500. He found someone with the technical expertise to edit and mix all those submissions into one performance, and the Virtual Choir was born.
In the decade since that first experiment, Whitacre has led six virtual choirs, as well as a youth choir created in partnership with UNICEF, which opened the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The most recent effort, “Sing Gently,” in the spring of this year, had over 17,500 participants in 129 countries.
Up until this year, virtual choirs were a novelty; few if any directors other than Eric Whitacre undertook them. But then, in early 2020, a new coronavirus emerged and spread around the globe, changing everything. The essence of choral music–gathering in groups to sing together–became a dangerous activity. Theaters closed, performing groups canceled seasons, and life, in large part, moved online. And there, waiting for us, was the lifeline singers needed: the concepts and techniques for a virtual choir that Whitacre had developed. Suddenly, virtual choirs were popping up everywhere. Software developers created more resources, and organizations shared advice. Despite everything, voices continue to be joined in harmony.
The first virtual performance by Choir of the Sound, “Light, Beauty, Peace,” is available now on YouTube. Having learned the ropes, we are now preparing a virtual holiday show, to premiere on Sunday, December 6. More details will follow soon, to explain how you can watch it, and share some behind-the-scenes details about the process. It might not be the same as gathering together with a live audience, but instead, as Eric Whitacre realized back in 2009, we can connect with something bigger.
A virtual audience can reach around the world. Are there friends and family you’ve always wished you could bring to a Choir of the Sound show, if only they lived closer? Now is your chance to invite them, as we go online for the holiday.