Somerville College is delighted to announce that the celebrated composer and conductor Eric Whitacre will be Musician in Residence at College next academic year.
Eric Whitacre is one of today’s most widely performed composers. His first album as a composer and conductor earned him a Grammy Award, and his global reputation is strengthened by his achievements as an innovator, broadcaster, and public speaker. In addition to numerous awards and accolades on both sides of the Atlantic, he is an ambassador for the Royal College of Music, has been Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and has completed two tenures as Visiting Composer at the University of Cambridge.
Eric Whitacre (Credit: Marc Royce)
An exciting series of events is planned for Eric Whitacre’s residency at Somerville. The programme starts in October 2026 with a performance of his recent work, Eternity in an Hour. First performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms in 2024, this piece will be conducted by the composer himself, and performed by Somerville College Choir and cello soloist Laura van der Heijden (2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year). Eternity in an Hour combines acoustic performance with live synths and real-time sampling and manipulation of the acoustic instruments, which will be performed by Eric alongside his conducting.
As part of his residency, Eric will lead workshops and talks, as well as conducting Somerville’s Choir in a special choral contemplation on Sunday 17th January. We are very much looking forward to Eric teaching and working with our students and the College community, and getting involved with the wealth of musical activity at Somerville and at the University more widely. Eric’s residency will begin this Michaelmas, and we gratefully acknowledge the support of Helen Morton (Emeritus Fellow), without whom this would not be possible.
Will Dawes, Somerville’s Director of Chapel Music, notes: “I am thrilled that Eric Whitacre will be coming to share his phenomenal talent with members of the College. I have known and worked with Eric for many years, firstly as a member of the Eric Whitacre Singers, and more recently as his guest Chorusmaster for the Netherlands Radio Choir. I have learned so much from his humanity, his wisdom, and his extraordinary compositional talent, and I can’t wait for Somerville’s students to meet him.”
“I am honoured beyond words to be take the position of Musician in Residence at Somerville College in the year ahead,” said Eric Whitacre. “The storied traditions of both Oxford University and Somerville College speak deeply to everything I hold dear as a human and an artist: curiosity, integrity, authenticity. Along with working with the students, I am especially delighted to be working with Will Dawes. Will and I have had the chance to work together many times, and I know of his commitment to all he touches.”
You can get a taste of what Eric’s work is like via the below video: Somerville College Choir performed Saint Chapelle by Eric Whitacre at the Choir’s Reunion in April, when former choir members returned to College to sing with the current choir members.
Eric Whitacre Biography
Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular and celebrated musicians. Born in Nevada, he is a graduate of The Juilliard School, New York. His works are performed worldwide, and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united hundreds of thousands of singers around the world. Eric’s long-term relationship with Universal Music – Decca Classics – has produced several no.1 albums which have enduring success.
A highly respected conductor, Eric has worked with the world’s leading orchestras and choirs on stages such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, Sydney’s Opera House, Carnegie Hall in New York and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In the coming season, appearances include performances at London’s Southbank Centre and with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Eric’s collaboration with Spitfire Audio resulted in two volumes of a trail-blazing vocal sample library which became an instant best-seller and is used by composers the world-over.
A charismatic speaker, Eric Whitacre has given keynote addresses for many Fortune 500 companies, in education and global institutions from Apple and Google to the World Economic Forum in Davos and the United Nations Speaker’s Program. His mainstage talks at the influential TED conference in Long Beach CA received standing ovations.