Eric Edward Whitacre (born January 2, 1970) is a Grammy-winning American composer, conductor, and speaker, known for his choral, orchestral and wind ensemble music. He is also known for his "Virtual Choir" projects, bringing individual voices from around the globe together into an online choir. In March 2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. 　　Born in Reno, Nevada, Whitacre studied piano intermittently as a child and joined a junior high marching band under band leader Jim Burnett. Later he played synthesizer in a techno-pop band, dreaming of being a rock star. Though he was unable to read music at the time, Whitacre began his full musical training while an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, eventually taking a BM in Music Composition. Whitacre states that the first work that he sang, Mozart's Requiem, changed his life. He studied composition with Ukrainian composer Virko Baley and choral conducting with David Weiller, completing his BM in Music in 1995. Whitacre credits Weiller with the inspiration that put the young composer on the musical path. At 21 he wrote his setting of "Go, Lovely Rose" for his college choir and presented the composition as a gift to David Weiller. Whitacre went on to earn his master's degree in composition at the Juilliard School, where he studied with John Corigliano and David Diamond. At the age of 23 he completed his first piece for Wind Orchestra, "Ghost Train", which has now been recorded over 40 times. Tom Leslie contributed to his interest in writing for wind ensembles. While at Juilliard he met his future wife, soprano Hila Plitmann, and two of his closest friends, composers Steven Bryant and Jonathan Newman. He lived in the state of Nevada until he was 25. He graduated in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles and following the success of "Ghost Train", he decided to become a full-time professional composer. 　　Whitacre's first album as both composer and conductor on Decca/Universal, Light & Gold, won a Grammy Award in 2012, and became the No. 1 classical album in the US and UK charts within a week of a release.Whitacre's second album, Water Night, was released on Decca in April 2012 and featured performances from his professional choir the Eric Whitacre Singers, the London Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber and Hila Plitmann. 　　Whitacre has written for the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Julian Lloyd Webber and the Philharmonia Orchestra, The Tallis Scholars, The King's Singers and the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. His musical, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, won both the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Harold Arlen award and the Richard Rodgers Award, and earned 10 nominations at the Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. Whitacre also worked with film composer, Hans Zimmer, co-writing the Mermaid Theme for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In 2011, he conducted the winning entries of the Abbey Road 80th Anniversary Anthem Competition, recording the London Symphony Orchestra and the Eric Whitacre Singers, in Abbey Road Studio 1. Whitacre's Soaring Leap initiative is a dynamic one-day workshop where singers, conductors and composers read, rehearse and perform several of his works. 　　Whitacre has addressed the UN Leaders program and has given a TED talk on his virtual choirs project. He has addressed audiences at Oxford University, Harvard, The Economist, The World Economic Forum and the Seoul Digital Forum. From October to December 2010, Whitacre was a visiting Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, during Michaelmas (Autumn) Term. He composed a piece for the Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and worked with students in masterclasses and workshops. He is now Composer in Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.　　Whitacre has worked with pop artists including Annie Lennox, Laura Mvula, Imogen Heap, and performed at iTunes Festival in London on September 17, 2014. 　　In 2016, Whitacre was appointed Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. In July 2017, he co-presented the Eurovision Choir of the Year.