Moved by the breadth of the pandemic and its effect on society, Eric Whitacre composed a new piece of music especially for his Virtual Choir, “Sing Gently”. 17,572 singers, aged 5–88, from 129 countries recorded their videos from home to form Virtual Choir 6. Together they found strength in the simple, collective initiative of the project and saw it as a way to not only replenish from within but also to offer hope and relief for the sadness and suffering of others.
This marks Eric’s largest Virtual Choir to date since his first more than 10 years ago. It’s a testament to diversity, accessibility and inclusivity, and much more than a musical project; it’s a community.
To make Virtual Choir 6, Eric and his team at Music Productions collaborated with two organisations that share their commitment to expand access to the performing arts: the Colburn School and The NAMM Foundation. 59 Productions and BAFTA-winning audio engineers Floating Earth rose to the technical and creative challenge of combining 17,000+ audio and video files to create the final film.