Imagine having the opportunity to sing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they perform alone on video. These videos are uploaded onto the Internet, and then they are put together into one video that you can see online—a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. A virtual choir enables people to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has proved to be a positive influence on the lives of many people.
The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. He fell in love with Mozart's classical music when he sang for the university choir. Moved by this music, he said, "It was like seeing color for the first time." Over ten years after his graduation. Whitacre's original compositions began to become quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir.
In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works. Inspired, he asked his fans tomake videos, which he then joined together into one performance. His first virtual choir, "Lux Aurunque", had 198 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre's next effort was the virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which was first seen on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK. Altogether, 2,292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre's song "What If'".
The virtual choir is a wonderful way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a better place.
