One night in Melbourne with award-winning composer

One of the most popular and performed composers of modern times, Eric Whitacre, will hold his only Melbourne concert at Monash University in April.

Presented by the Monash University Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA), the internationally acclaimed composer and conductor will make his Melbourne concert debut on Saturday, 13 April 2013.

Whitacre will perform works from his two chart-topping albums Light & Gold and Water Night, the haunting choral work Lux Aurumque from his ground-breaking virtual choir project, and The River Cam, which he composed for cellist Julian Lloyd Webber’s 60th birthday.

Joining Whitacre in his Melbourne debut are Monash Sinfonia, Melbourne’s Choir of Trinity College and cellist David Berlin.

Whitacre will also share his wealth of experience in a hands-on choral workshop for singers, choral directors and composers.

Executive Director of MAPA, Professor Paul Grabowsky, said securing Whitacre’s debut concert at Robert Blackwood Hall along with a choral workshop was a major coup for Monash University.

“The opportunity to share with Melbourne audiences one of the world's leading musicians and to bring together Monash students and local artists with someone of Eric’s calibre is a natural extension of the Academy’s programming initiatives,” Professor Grabowsky said.

“Along with his music credentials, Eric is a highly regarded speaker and has addressed the UN Leaders program, the TED conference and the World Economic Conference.

“The combination of public performance and development of local musicians is integral to Monash University’s visionary commitment and its pursuit of excellence in music education, development and research.”

Whitacre’s Grammy Award winning first album, Light & Gold, became the number one classical album in the US and UK charts within a week of its release.

His second album, Water Night, which debuted at number one on the iTunes and Billboard classical charts, includes performances from London Philharmonic Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber and his professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers.

Whitacre’s ground-breaking Virtual Choir performance of Lux Aurumque featured 185 singers from 12 countries and received more than one million views on YouTube in its first month.

For the Virtual Choir, singers from around the world uploaded their videos to EricWhitacre.com. All the individual recordings were put together and started at the same time to create an online choir.

Virtual Choir two, Sleep, involved over 2000 voices from 58 countries and the latest Virtual Choir three, Water Night, received 3746 submissions from 73 countries.

The choral workshop with Eric Whitacre will be held from 7pm on Friday, 12 April 2013 in the Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University’s Clayton campus. Ticket prices range from $25-40 and must be booked in advance.

Eric Whitacre in Concert will be held from 7.30pm on Saturday, 13 April 2013 in the Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University’s Clayton campus. Ticket prices range from $43-69 and are on sale now. For bookings and enquiries contact +61 3 9905 1111 or visit the MAPA website.