COMM 150: Eric Whiteacre's virtual choir - an online community for "choir geeks" ... or a very small, worldwide market niche ... or both?

Just askin'.

But it'll serve to introduce a concept we'll be learning about in the next few days ... what is sometimes known as the "long tail" model of niche marketing.

In class Monday we agreed that a live performance is more real and raw than a "mediated" performance - one that is broadcast by media technology - and watching a live performance allows us to interact with other audience members. Today we'll look at an extreme form of mediated performance - the "virtual choirs" put together on YouTube by American composer and conductor Eric Whitacre.

First we'll watch a brief intro that Whitacre posted to YouTube. Singing in a group can be a powerful way of connecting with people. That's why our ancestors have been doing it since we lived in caves 15,000 and 20,000 years ago. Now in an increasingly fragmented world, Whitacre tries to bring people together virtually. How well does he succeed?



Whitacre's "virtual choir" went viral, and he's done several pieces. On his blog he explains, in a post titled (logically enough) "The Virtual Choir: How We Did It." He also sells CDs - not to mention T-shirts that say "Choir Geeks Of The World UNITE!" and other knick-knacks on the blog. He seems to be doing a flourishing business.

How does Whitacre use technology to get his artistic vision to a niche audience?

Just this week, Whitacre was an artist in residence for "choir geeks" from four states at a high school in Southern Pines, N.C. (population 10,918). Originally from Nevada, Whitacre is currently based in London. He's on a U.S. tour this month, and Southern Pines' local paper, The Pilot, called him a "classical rock star" and had this to say about him:

Whitacre’s success has prevented him from working with students recently. His debut album, “Light & Gold,” released last October, became the number one classical album on the U.S. and U.K. charts within a week.

He achieved mega-stardom in the choral world with a call to singers to participate in a virtual choir. He invited singers to sing his work “Lux Aurumque” from their homes and upload the performance. The result was a virtual choir of 185 voices from 12 countries. The video received more than a million views on YouTube in just two months.

His residency at Robert E. Lee High School in Southern Pines brought in music students from all over the Southeast:

“It’s really special to be able to come to Southern Pines,” Whitacre says. “I spend most of my year composing, but every now and then I love to work with musicians from all walks of life and ages and stages of musical ability.”

The residency at Pinecrest High School will give young musicians precious time with this music legend. Plisco opened the clinic up to groups from colleges and other high schools. Participating ensembles include the Union Pines Wind Ensemble, the Salem College Choirs from Winston-Salem, the Christopher Newport University Chamber Choir from Newport News, Va., the Palmetto Voices from South Carolina, the Middle Creek High School Choral Program in Apex, the St. Stephens High School Chamber Ensemble from Hickory and singers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn.

While singers have always communicated with each other, it was through the Internet that these singers descended on a small town in coastal North Carolina. High school chorus director Erin E. Plisco said she "noticed how infatuated [her students] were with his music. He’s like a rock star to them." So she "went to Whitacre’s website last fall and emailed his manager, telling her how Pinecrest students were inspired by Whitacre." They emailed back and forth, and out of it came the residency.

Be ready to discuss the following questions in small groups. I don't think there are any final answers to them, but that's always true of the best questions, isn't it? And it shouldn't stop us from thinking about them. Discuss:

• How does the interactivity of the internet break down the boundaries between mass communication and interpersonal communication? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Why? How? How do Whitacre and members of the virtual choir use technology to communicate?
  
  
• What is a "virtual community?" (Check it out on Wikipedia if you need to.) How can such a community bring people together over great distances? What are its limits? Can the "choir geeks" of the world really unite via the World Wide Web? What is gained by online communication? What is lost?

Post summaries of your answers as comments below.

Want to see more? In a 15-minute talk at last year's last year's Technology Entertainment and Design conference, Whitacre explained how the virtual choir pieces were recorded and put together, and he expanded on his ideas about building community.