Composer and self-proclaimed "choir geek" Eric Whitacre is (much) more than just a ray of sunshine to talk to. In addition to his incredibly popular and Grammy-nominated stage and recorded choral works, he's been crafting a technological marvel - a virtual choir - that is rocking the online world, so much so that he was invited to speak about it at the most recent TED conference.
Eric had a great time at the EXPO. His EXPO Master Session was a hit. And, he told ASCAP's Etan Rosenbloom when he stopped by the ASCAP EXPO Playback Stage, he also met lots of possible future collaborators and was inspired by the EXPO's atmosphere:
"I love this EXPO. This is like the third or fourth year that I've attended, and the energy here is palpable. There's just so many creative people."
"One of the best things about the EXPO is that it's just so open. Even before the talk and immediately after the talk, there's just this sense that anybody can talk to anybody. So I spent a lot of time talking about, not only classical music, but there were a number of people who came to my session that were just kind of curious, and so they came up with ideas, and we exchanged cards and websites. It's nice. It's a good way to meet people."
"[At the EXPO] there seems to now be a genuine blurring of genres...now there seems to be real discussion and interaction between all of them [pop, rock, hip-hop, classical film]. Everyone just seems to be interested in things and that's very cool. In fact, just after my session I was talking to a DJ, and this woman said she'd love to do an orchestral work with a DJ, and I said, 'That's right up my alley.' So we exchanged cards, and we'll see what comes of it!"
