Eric Whitacre Conductor/Composer of the Virtual Choir on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe

December 5th 2010 8am slt

Eric Whitacre Interview In-depth on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe.

On last weeks show Paisley announced that After 8 months of negotiation and planning, Eric Whitacre the creator of the Virtual Choir Video (see below) which has now amassed over 1.5 million (and growing) hits on YouTube, is to be interviewed IN PERSON & in Second Life, on “Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe” on Sunday morning the 5th December at a special time of 8am slt due to the time zone in London. The Virtual Choir was brought to our attention by our Music Producer Delinda Dyrssen, and this show will of course be dedicated to her and her inspiration. Eric has been told of the significance of his appearance on Tonight Live, and about Delinda’s input, and passing.

American Eric Whitacre is a world renown award winning Choir Conductor and Composer and lecturer, he has quickly become one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation. To date, Whitacre’s published works have received thousands of performances and have sold in excess of one million copies worldwide. Over the past few years, his loyal fans and supporters have moved online, spreading Eric’s popularity to an ever-expanding worldwide audience.

Eric Whitacre, has never been in Second Life but is very exited to be coming into S.L to be interviewed on Paisley’s Show on the 5th of December from London where he is visiting for the judging of the “Royal Festival Hall CHOIR OF THE YEAR 2010″ Eric is also currently a “Visiting Fellow and Composer in Residence” at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, UK..

Eric Whitacre's Avatar by MAD Designs

Unlike many other real life guest interviews done in Second Life, Eric is keen to be able to learn how to use Second Life and operate his avatar himself. He will NOT be Puppeteered, (have another person operate his avatar). Maddox Dupont from MAD Designs has designed Eric’s Avatar for him, and this will be transferred to him on his entry in world. He will be exploring S.L before his appearance.

About the Virtual Choir:

Featuring 185 voices from over 15 countries worldwide, The Virtual Choir began as a simple experiment in social media, but it has grown into something much bigger and has amassed over 1.5 million views on You Tube. The very first experimental Eric Whitacre virtual Choir featured his original Composition “Sleep” which was composed for a cappella Choir. Building on that small success, he then asked singers from all around the world to submit a You Tube videos of themeselves singing a part of his Composition Lux Aurumque.   After recieving all the entries, (no one was excluded from participating, there were no auditions..) all 185 entries were then edited and mixed over several months and turned into the Virtual Choir Video by Scott Haines a relative newcomer to Video Editing, as a wall of faces. Eric also conducted the choir via You Tube, as well as giving instruction via video on how each singer should enunciate and connect with the music they were singing.

Below is the Hit You Tube Video of The Virtual Choir

Eric Whitacre is right now taking submissions for his next Virtual Choir 2011, which will again feature his Composition “Sleep.”  He is hoping to have 900 submissions, and again like the previous Virtual Choir, no submission will be excluded.” We’re attempting to create the world’s largest online choir ever and this year we want at least 900 singers to take part by recording and uploading their video by December 31st 2010.”

Host of Tonight Live, Paisley Beebe (a Jazz singer) is going to be submitting a piece to the choir online along with all the other submissions, (undercover again!) and is right now, practicing her piece…(day and night!) In fact anyone can submit to the choir you don’t have to be a “classical singer” but you do have to take it seriously. If you have a camera, a microphone or even just a webcam, you can submit, but do take time to look at all the requirements. Established Choirs can also submit. See the link below to Eric’s Site.

Publicity for Eric’s appearance in Second Life is starting this week, and will be announced on Eric’s website to his fans within days. As a result we do expect to see quite a few existing and potential virtual and Choir Members joining Second Life to meet with Eric in world. We are setting up mentors and a help station at the Tonight Live studio to assist with acclimatising the new users in readiness for the show. Eric has an enourmous number of fans around the world, and he is looking forward to meeting and interacting with some them in-world at the actual live in-world show. As part of the 1/2 hour interview, Eric is hoping to do some interactive conducting and singing with our Tonight Live Studio Audience on voice during the show, and we are certainly working on this. So if you wish to sing at the show, it would be a good idea to go to his website and download the music for “Sleep”.

Obviously we have limited space at the studio, we will cap it at 60 or 70, and will be setting up Event Partners around the Grid so that Fans and Audience can watch the show streamed live onto our Screens in-world with each other. By Joining the “Tonight Live With Paisley Beebe” Group in World you will get first chance at a seat at the studio, and be kept abreast of notices ect…Live Group Chat will be used and as usual blended with the online chat www.treet.tv/live so that you can submit questions to Eric and Paisley during the show and after.

Visit the “Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe” Studio in-world Here

Overflow TV Viewing Areas are at At I.N.X.X Next Door To the Studio: http://slurl.com/secondlife/INXX/244/143/24

Paisley’s Jazz Club  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moork/153/93/1591

At the Moolto Community Store http://slurl.com/secondlife/Moolto%20Community%20Store/185/117/22

And At Northpoint at the Designing World Studio http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Northpoint/104/52/33

If you want to be in the Tonight Live Studio audience, You must join the Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe Group. And I suggest you get there at 7.30am. The show will be broadcast out to the Web at 8am atwww.treet.tv/live or on your home Treet.tv Screens on the live  channel. And now also at http://tonightlivewithpaisleybeebe.com/watch-live/

You can also join the online chat by joining the Tonight Live withPaisley Beebe group in Second Life the group chat is ported over to the live website and Paisley watches the live chat during her interviews for questions to her guests. Come to the Live Taping and join in the inworld discussion during the show! Your questions to guests in chat will be noted.
• The SLurl for our Studio is http://slurl.com/secondlife/INXX%20Foundation/82/235/24 Doors open at 7.am and not before, to conserve lagg during rehersals.
• Show starts at 8am slt. If you would like to know who is going to be on the show each week, join our subscribomatic placed at the studio, to unsubscribe just click the subscribomatic again. Anyone who can’t get in to the studio during the show, can watch the show live here http://treet.tv/live
• The show will then be uploaded to the Treet.Tv website and available on iTunes as a download.
• All our shows are now available on Flash Player which means cleaner crisper definition, and the ability to copy and paste the player on your own website
• Cant be there for the show in world? watch it now live on the web!

Perfect World Productions Paisley Beebe’s TV Production company and Women Who Dance With Frogs are proud to be able to bring you this broadcast in partnership with Treet.tv

Treet TV is the worlds first virtual television network – making stars of avatars since 2007. The Treet website archives over 3000 live broadcasts documenting the real experiences of people that live and play in virtual worlds.  Visit http://treet.tv to watch and enjoy.

Eric Whitacre’s Latest Album on iTunes

Light & Gold

Below is a New York Times review of his recent Hit show “Paradise Lost” at Carnegie Hall, that gives some background, the other links also included are more press and links to his video on You Tube.

New York Times Review

http://www.technologyinthearts.org/?p=1296

http://ericwhitacre.com/

More about the Virtual Choir, Video

For all Enquiries Contact: Bliss Windlow COO of Perfect World Productions.