Interview with Laura Slattery of Virtual Choir 3.0

When I was with Suite101, I interviewed Laura Slattery of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0 to discuss music, the links between music and medicine and Eric Whitacre.

Laura Slattery of Limerick, Ireland, recorded the Soprano 4 and 5 parts to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3 project: “Water Night” from the Grammy-winning album, Light & Gold. This huge multi-track project involved 3,746 videos submitted by amateur and professional singers from 73 countries.

Laura sat down with me on April 27, 2012 via Skype to discuss Eric Whitacre's music, the connections between music and medicine, musical obsessions and Virtual Choir.

Laura Slattery on Choral Singing

Laura has sung in choirs since the age of nine. “Actually, I tried to join my school choir when I was nine and I was told I wasn't good enough,” she recalled. “I said, 'Well I'll show you!' and went in and started getting voice lessons.”

Although Laura plays several instruments, including piano, guitar and tin whistle, choral music holds a special place in her heart. “There's nothing quite like choral singing. You can sing on your own, all you like; but there's just nothing like the experience you get with the people you meet.”

On Singing Eric Whitacre's Music for the First Time

“I think the first that I had heard of Eric Whitacre was actually my current choir,” Laura mused. She sings with the Tullamore Academy Chamber Choir, which recently was named National Choir of the Year.

She went on to recall the first time she sang an Eric Whitacre composition. “I kind of got drafted in at the last minute to sing tenor in “This Marriage” and it was kind of like, 'Wow, this is sick!'” Her conductor advised her to listen to more of Whitacre's music. “He said to go listen to “Cloudburst” . I was absolutely blown away,” she murmured.

Virtual Choir 3.0

“I had only heard “Water Night” once in my life,” she said. “When he announced it in December, I was like, 'Oops.' ” With a chuckle, she added, “I think it's fair to say I procrastinated – a lot. An awful, awful lot.”

She recorded countless times for VC3 and admitted that she was plagued with doubts. “There's just something about listening back to yourself. I hate it at the worst of times,” she admitted.

“We came up to the night before the submissions and I had been talking to my housemate about it. He was like, 'Look, just get and do it. Get up in the morning and get and do it. When are you going to get and do something like this again?' ”

Revitalized, Laura Slattery tried again. “I went into the college at 6:00 in the morning – the day of submissions. Had several failed attempts.” Then there were website and server issues. “I decided to go back home and record the S5 line in the car, just sitting outside of my apartment.”

Once she sent in her submission, Laura made a post to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir page on Facebook, saying, “Am I out of my mind? I recorded it in the car!” Responses came within seconds. “There were loads of people, 'You did great! We're delighted to have you.' ”

When Eric Whitacre announced that the Virtual Choir submission deadline would be extended, Laura decided to record the Soprano 4 line as well. “If he had gone for another day, I would have recorded another one. It was a labour of love.”

She fell in love with “Water Night”. “It's just such a fabulous piece. It's just so complicated. It's kind of counter-intuitive. How does he come up with these things? It just sounds so perfect but when you separate them out, you're like, 'These things shouldn't work together.' ”

Musical Obsessions

When asked about her favourite music, Laura quipped, “Does it sound cliché if I say any of Eric Whitacre's music? That's my study music now.”

“I've gone through kind of phases of being Handel-obsessed. I've gone through Evanescence. Take everything. Irish folk. I have great love obviously, for Irish music. I will absolutely listen to anything. There's very little that I don't like in music.”

“There's something intrinsically intense about music,” she mused. “It's people putting themselves out there, putting their heart out there on a plate.”

On Eric Whitacre and His Music

“Eric Whitacre is unique,” said Laura, matter-of-factly. “There's not a lot of people who utilize digital media.” She went on to explain. “I can put something up on Facebook and can hear back what he's thinking. You know, get an insight of his thought process.”

“He just captures words so well,” she said of Whitacre's music. “Every word you can see is thought out: 'Exactly how am I going to put those harmonies there? How am I going to get the message across?' “

“There's such feeling in it and a kind of purity and honesty,” she said. “Going back to the heart on a plate analogy, he's someone who literally, I imagine, gives all of himself. It's certainly how it comes across in his music.”

“He's exploded onto the choral scene,” she reported. “Every competition you go to – Ireland's not a big country – there's five or six choirs doing an Eric Whitacre piece.”

The Connections Between Music and Medicine

Ms. Slattery is a second-year medical student at the University of Limerick. She's in the graduate program, specializing in pediatrics oncology.

“Music is kind of like a vocation,” she said after pondering the question. “Medicine obviously has to be. The art of being a good musician, shall we say, is making it sound simple. It requires massive dedication, from the time you're a young child.

“And the ability to communicate emotions and the ability to understand emotion,” she added. “That is massive as a doctor, that too often is missing. You know, focus on the condition, focus on disease and fail to see the person, the emotion, the experience.”

Another link Laura recognized is the connection between creativity and adaptation. “There's obvious creativity in music. In medicine you have to think on your feet – adapt to situations.”

“Interestingly enough, an awful lot of people in my course are musical,” she admitted. “We've had talent nights.” She mentioned also that some medical students sing in choirs, while others teach music part-time.

“It's great to have something to escape to. Something to balance your life with. If you become too one-dimensional, then you lose the human aspect. If anything, I want to be a human doctor.”

Interview with CA Edington of Virtual Choir 3.0

When I was with Suite101, I interviewed CA Edington from Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0 to discuss musical traditions, life in Japan and Virtual Choir.

CA Edington of Sapporo, Japan, recorded the Soprano 4 part to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3 project: “Water Night” from Whitacre's Grammy-winning album, Light & Gold. This huge multi-track project received a total of 3,746 videos from amateur and professional singers worldwide. The audio and video was cleaned on each submission before they were incorporated together.

Ms. Edington sat down with Suite101 on April 14 and 28, 2012 via Skype to discuss Eric Whitacre's music, life in Japan and Virtual Choir.

CA Edington on Musical Traditions

CA grew up in a very musical family around upstate New York. “Everybody would go to my grandparents' house at Christmas,” she recalled. “It was in a small town in Ohio and they had a huge house. We would all stay there for two or three days, and the piano was never empty.”

Christmas carols were unique. “Christmas morning, we would all gather around the tree and before we opened the presents, we would sing a carol in four-part harmony. I thought this was a tradition that was carried on everywhere, in every family. I didn't realize it was just us,” she added with a laugh.

CA Edington on Living and Singing in Japan

CA Edington moved to Japan in 1982 and hasn't looked back since. “I wanted to be in another culture, not just visit. I wanted it to be another culture that's very different from the US.” CA works as an English teacher, proofreader, narrator and transcriber in Sapporo.

CA has nothing but warm things to say about her adopted home. “The city of Sapporo is such an easy city to get around, compared with a lot of places in Japan because it is only a little over 100 years old. The public transportation is fantastic here. I live near a gorgeous park. I can walk through that park anytime of day or night and feel completely safe.”

One of the draws to Sapporo for CA is the vibrant arts community. “Music is very big here,” she said. “There are a lot of choral competitions. There are so many choruses, I don't even know how many.”

Sapporo also boasts The Pacific Music Festival, which was founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1990. “He founded it here in Sapporo. Young musicians come from all over the world for a month to study and perform here in Sapporo.”

CA was one of the first members of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra Chorus. “It just got started about five years ago,” she recalled. “A student knew about the auditions and she got the audition papers for me and I thought, “Oh. I'll just fill them out.” I was in another chorus, a pretty high level chorus that does mainly classical music and I was very happy in that chorus. I thought, “I'll just try out,” and I went and tried out. Actually, there were about six people from my chorus, six other women and a couple of the men who tried out as well.”

The audition process took place in several stages. “First, we had to do sight reading. I mean cold. We got the piece and got to look at it for 30 seconds and then we had to go in and sing it. The next stage of the audition process was to sing an excerpt from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Getting accepted was a pleasant surprise. “Fast forward to a month later. The class that had recommended that I join the chorus was just finishing up. I went across the hall and found a letter from the symphony. I opened it and I couldn't exactly understand what it was saying.” With a laugh, she added, “So I took it over to my class members and they read it and said, “CA you got in!””

After a moment's reflection, she added. “I wasn't sure whether they would accept me or not, but I've been very accepted. What I love about the chorus is that I'm not a gaijin [non-Japanese] in the chorus. I'm a soprano.”

CA Edington Discusses Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

CA learned about Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir shortly after VC2: “Sleep”, so she had to wait for almost another year to participate in VC3. “I thought 'OK, I'll learn the piece in a couple of days and record it and then that'll be it.' Well, I didn't start until the middle of January and what I discovered was that it was going to be much more challenging than I had thought; especially since I chose Soprano 4.”

She can laugh easily now about some of the challenges she experienced. “Then I'm ready for recording, right before the deadline. I mean, a day or two and there was trouble! I kept getting error messages and then discovered – because I was on the Facebook site and also checking the website – that others were having technical problems.”

Another issue was staggering the breath. “When you're with a chorus you stagger your breath with the person around but here you are singing alone and where do you stagger the breath?” She decided to check some of the other Virtual Choir submissions. “I don't think I heard anyone who got all the way through “soul” the final word, without taking a breath; so then I felt more relaxed about it.”

In the end, it all worked out. “I don't even know how the technicians work that out. To me, that's amazing, but I suppose once you get 3,500 plus voices together, it's not that noticeable who's taking a breath where.”

CA Edington on Eric Whitacre's Music and the “Water Night” Premiere

CA was moved when VC3: "Water Night" and Water Night the album premièred on April 2, 2012. “When that blue screen came up and the faces started – even talking about it right now, I'm getting chills. Just chills,” she recalled. “Of course, I was riveted, not just because I had participated in it, but because the whole concept and the piece and Eric himself are all – I don't want to use the word “amazing”. That's overused. I can't find a word that describes it entirely. It gave me chills. Pleasant chills. Good chills.”

Like many Whitacre fans, Eric Whitacre's music holds a special place in CA's heart. “It transports me when I hear it. It's so complex and at the same time, so simple. How he gets all those notes in there and how they end up sounding so together, I have no idea. The man is a genius and he is the kind of genius that is just so rare.”

Originally published June 12, 2012.  All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Making Real Connections Through Virtual Choir

They sang as individuals but became part of something bigger in Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir. Seven members share their journey and their connections.

In December 2011, composer Eric Whitacre made an announcement on his website about his third Virtual Choir project: "Water Night". Singers from around the world were invited to prepare and submit a video for one or more of the 14 voice parts in this choral work from Whitacre's Grammy-winning album, Light & Gold. A record number of 3,746 videos were submitted by singers representing 73 countries.

Singers uploaded their video(s) either to Eric Whitacre's website or Youtube. The video and audio were scrubbed for every submission. The videos were then synchronized to become one massive multi-track. VC3's "Water Night" was launched on April 2, 2012, via live stream at the Lincoln Arts Center in New York, NY. VC3 has recently received over 200,000 views on Youtube.

Yours truly had the opportunity to speak with seven members of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0: Melissa Ann Cody (Goshen, NY, USA), Bren Wrona Norris (Sonoma, CA, USA), Maria Petrova (New York, NY, USA), Jack Rowland (Tampa Bay, FL, USA), Scott Simmons (San Antonio, TX, USA), Kristen Soo (Burnaby, BC, CAN) and Chrissie Vincent (Petersfield, Hampshire, UK). Their individual stories intersect and connect to create the Virtual Choir story.

Discovering the Music of Eric Whitacre

“I happened to be at the concert where they premiered “Water Night”," says Maria Petrova. "I was not ready for this at all. I wasn't even that much of a fan of choral music. I just went because I'm a graphic designer and I was designing the concert programme for the arts centre at BYU.

“I was absolutely – just – entranced by “Water Night”. I remember very clearly the moment when it came on,” she says. “I felt like it literally washed every cell of my body.”

Kristen Soo was on campus at Simon Fraser University when she watched Virtual Choir 2 - “Sleep”: “I was crying in my lab. It was so beautiful.”

In her studio, Bren Wrona Norris, a voting member of the Recording Academy, was listening to the nominees in choral music for the 54th Annual Grammys. When she came to Eric Whitacre's Light and Gold album, Bren said, “Oh my gosh, this is phenomenal!”

“I immediately voted for him and then I went online to find out what he does, where he's from and how he came to be,” Bren gushes. “It was the week or two before we had to have our videos in for VC3. It was that fast. I said, 'All right! I'll do it!' ”

Virtual Choir Members Make Connections

“I was trying to record a couple of weeks before the deadline,” recalls Kristen. “I was having a clipping problem with my mic. When I sang too loudly, it would just make these really weird noises. I made a post on the Facebook page. It turned out that Jack [Rowland] as well as David Johnson responded and they were able to help me out.”

As the initial deadline and later, the extended deadline approached, more people were experiencing challenges. They flocked to the Virtual Choir Facebook page for help.“I put in two videos and I asked a question to the Facebook page,” says Scott Simmons. “One of them's better than the other one. Which one should I put in?” With a smile, he adds, “Of course, Jack [Rowland] pipes up and says, “Take the best one and put it in.”

As Scott scrolled down the FB page, he read more comments by Jack. “Wow! He's helping a lot of people.” A thought popped into Scott's mind, “I love technology. I love music. This is a sweet spot for me, so I went in and started helping everyone else out.”

The helpers were commenting so often, that some people were banned from commenting. Jack Rowland was one who landed in “Facebook Jail”, not once, but twice. “What really caused it was we were answering so many questions,” recounts Jack. “I had a cheat sheet so that I could copy/paste. I could rapid-fire responses to common questions.”

One person Jack helped was Christy-Lyn Marais. “We take for granted that we have wi-fi everywhere,” says Jack. “So she's talking to me about how she's trying to send using a 3G cell phone. At one point, I say, “ 'Can you find a McDonald's?' because they all have free wi-fi now.”

Her reply: “The nearest McDonald's is like, 400 miles away from here.” That's when Jack discovered that Christy-Lyn lives in a remote part of South Africa.

“On the last day when there were a lot of problems,” says Kristen. “Everyone was trying to submit at the same time.” She thought, “Maybe I'll just join one of these [Google] Hangouts, say 'Hi' and just see how it goes.” She's glad she did. “It happened to be that I met over 10 people that night. I actually got to meet Jack face-to-face, which was really great as I got to thank him for helping me with my microphone. Chrissie [Vincent] was in that Hangout as well.”

Virtual Choir – A Global Choir

“I was very struck and amazed by how much of a connection I had,” recalls Jack. “Even though when I watched Virtual Choir 1, I was thinking, 'This isn't choral singing.' But when I sang my part and Eric conducted, the connection that I had with him – looking into his eyes and watching him conduct was every bit as real to me as if I were standing on a stage, and that surprised me.”

“To think there is someone in Syria who sang with us, despite this incredible turmoil that they're in,” comments Maria. “And this girl in Japan named Hitomi, who leads a totally different life than I do and is 22 hours ahead of me. She was able to sing at the same time as me, although she actually sang at a totally different time than me. That we all somehow ended up singing at the same synchronized performance – and that to me is an absolute miracle,” she adds.

Maria attended the launch of "Water Night" and Water Night CD Release along with fellow VC members Julie Souin, Kevin Callahan, Lynna Schaefer and Jack Rowland. “In many ways, I saw that it was technically not as superior as a professional performance of a hand-picked 24 singers. The beauty, on the other hand, was just how many voices [there were] and the different times of the consonants. They're kind of the things that one would consider imperfections from a technical point of view were in a beautiful way of reinforcing the multiplicity of people's backgrounds, of people's places, of people's times, of people's identities.”

Virtual Choir – An Online Community Without Borders

The Virtual Choir connection didn't end after any of these singers submitted their videos. Melissa Ann Cody has kept in touch with Jack Rowland since Virtual Choir 2. “Jack was working on another virtual choir project,” she explained. “There's a group on Facebook called Let's Sing for Japan. I did post a video for that.”

Chrissie Vincent watched the premiere of “Water Night” online with several of her Virtual Choir friends. “That was very exciting,” she recalls. “The fact that we were online and we actually watched the premiere. That's pretty special.”

Maria noticed Scott's support of others in the group and dropped him a line: “I'm lucky enough to live in New York and I'm going to be at the CD signing. Would you like a CD?” Scott replied, “Yeah, of course I would love one.”

“So I got him one and sent it to him,” says Maria. “He just wrote me this morning that he put the cheque in the mail and I said, 'Oh my gosh! It will be so weird to get a physical object from you.' ”

The online groups continue to thrive. “What I find fascinating is that people are so friendly, so great on VC Friends. Everyday I check it just to see what's going on,” says Bren.

“It's really different,” says Scott. “It's really nice to have a group of friends like that, who have the same passion for music that you do and that I do. That helps keep those connections alive.”

“I met so many people,” says Kristen. “We all just got talking and then having fun – as though we were sitting in the same room together, making jokes, supporting each other; just learning about each other's lives.”

“It's very enriching. It has enlarged my circle, which is tremendous,” says Chrissie. “It just goes to show what these online communities can actually do.”Sources:

Skype/Facebook video interviews with Melissa Ann Cody (April 15, 2012), Bren Wrona Norris (April 13, 2012), Maria Petrova (April 16, 2012), Jack Rowland (April 26, 2012), Scott Simmons (April 15, 2012), Kristen Soo (April 21, 2012) and Chrissie Vincent (April 13, 2012).

Originally published May 26, 2012 on Suite101.com. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Interview with Julie Souin of Virtual Choir 3.0

When I wrote for Suite101, I had the opportunity to interview Julie Souin from Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0 to discuss Eric Whitacre, DCINY's Sing with Eric and Virtual Choir.

Julie Souin of Rhode Island, USA, recorded four voice parts to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3 project: “Water Night”. A total of 3,746 videos were submitted by singers from around the world. Souin sat down with Suite101 on April 25, 2012 via Skype to talk about Eric Whitacre's music, Virtual Choir and Sing With Eric.

Julie Souin on Recording Virtual Choir 2 and 3

“I obsessed over my recording with Sleep,” she recalled. “It wasn't good enough. No, I could do better.” She recorded 50 times before submitting her final video for VC2.

“I knew that it wasn't great and I could probably do even better; but it was the best I could do at the time, with the equipment that I had.” With a triumphant voice, followed by a hearty chuckle, she added, “I just felt like I conquered the world when I pressed 'Submit.' ”

Julie felt more relaxed while preparing for VC3, but had other challenges to contend with. “I had all the external issues, like my dogs making noises.” In another take, it was someone else. “My kids came home right as we're holding that last note. I'm holding one hand up to the door as they got the key in the door making a chick-chick-chick...I still submitted it!

“I think with Sleep, I would have never done that. I would have said, 'I wrecked it at the end.' With this, it was 'No, it's an OK recording'. I think I was much more forgiving with those kinds of things the second time around, knowing that a lot the little tiny things don't matter.” Turning reflective, she said, “But you do want to bring honour to the whole project and you want to bring honour to yourself in submitting the best possible production.”

Julie Souin on DCINY's Sing with Eric

In 2011, Julie's daughter auditioned and was selected to sing at Sing with Eric. This annual workshop is presented by Distinguished Concerts International – New York. “At the parent meeting,” she recalled, “I kind of jokingly said, 'Do you take parent singers?' The guy said, 'See me afterwards. I actually have a spot for you.' ” With a laugh, she added, “I was freaking out. Not only do I get to go hear this music live but now, my daughter's participating; and now I'm participating. It was a dream come true.”

Julie enjoyed herself so much that she participated again in Sing with Eric 2012, which was held March 30 – April 1, 2012 in New York, NY. Three days of intensive rehearsals with Eric Whitacre culminated with a performance at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. “To sing with the composer and to sing the music as closely as it's intended to be sung – to the best of your ability – is really a dream come true.”

Julie Souin on The Virtual Choir's Online Community

“So much of this is hard to put into words,” Julie said. After some thought, she elaborated, “The relationships that have blossomed out of this are, I feel, as real as the people I have met in real life. The people that I haven't – that I only know virtually, whether it's Google Hangouts or Skype or typing – they're like, real friendships and I would have never expected that. It was a very unexpected perk.”

Julie is full of admiration for her Virtual Choir friends. “These friends are artistic, very open people. Open to share of themselves. To give of themselves...They're very loving people.”

In addition to singing in Virtual Choir, Julie is a member of the Virtual Choir Army, a small group of singers who helped fellow VC members as they prepared their submissions. “My son is on his first deployment in Afghanistan,” she shared. “Helping people gather the courage to learn “Water Night” for VC 3.0, record and upload videos was extra rewarding. I really needed a healthy distraction from thinking about my son and his safety. Reaching out to others as well as learning and memorizing the music for our Carnegie Hall concert was just the thing. I am so grateful.”

The Water Night Premiere and Meeting Virtual Choir Members in New York

The world premiere of Virtual Choir 3.0: “Water Night” took place on Monday, April 2, 2012. It was fast on the heels behind Sing with Eric as well as the release of Eric Whitacre's latest CD, also entitled Water Night. Julie Souin attended both events.

“I'm sitting with all these people who have this vested interest,” she recalled. “A lot of them sang in the Virtual Choir. Everybody is heavily anticipating this moment and to watch it in the same room with all of them was really special.”

Another highlight for Julie was the opportunity to meet fellow Virtual Choir members in person. “Oh my gosh!” she gushed. “That was a cool thing itself. I spent a lot of time with Jack [Rowland] because we're really good friends. I picked him up at the airport. It was like we have known each other our whole lives from the get-go. From the second I saw him, there was this comfort level like a brother and sister.

“It wasn't until after the concert at Carnegie Hall and there was the rest of the gang all waiting. I met up with them and that moment was completely unreal. I saw Jack, Lynna [Schaefer] and Kevin [Callahan] and Jen [Christensen]. Then Dennis [Scannell] and Maria [Petrova].

“There were other people that joined us that I didn't know as well or I haven't known as long. The entire gang, no matter who showed up, whenever we went out or we were together, everybody was like one big happy family. It was almost like we had known each other since high school and we were having a high school reunion.”

Julie Souin on Meeting and Working with Grammy Winning Composer Eric Whitacre

When Suite101 asked “What is Eric like in person?” Julie quickly replied, “Special. Really, he's special. Not just the music he creates, but as a person. He really is super-grounded, down-to-earth, very genuine. Everything that you see in interviews? It's real.

“He's very respectful to each person he meets. He gives each person as much time as he can possibly give, in whatever situation they are approaching him.”

Julie firmly believes that Eric Whitacre's personal qualities come through in his music. “You feel that sincerity when you hear his music.”

Julie Souin on Eric Whitacre's CD Water Night

One of Julie's favourite tracks is “When David Heard”. “I can't imagine that you can make a piece that long out of so few words and it remains interesting; and you feel what the parent would feel if you were in that situation. It makes you feel something deep down. It really reaches the soul.”

When asked about the CD, Julie answered in revered tones. “I love it. It's everything I hoped it would be and thought it would be. Probably more.”

Originally published on Suite101.com on May 26, 2012. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Interview with Chad Ohman of Virtual Choir 3

Suite 101 met Chad Ohman of Canada, one of the 2,945 singers who submitted 3,746 videos for Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0, "Water Night".

Saxophonist and vocalist Chad Ohman is one of the 2,945 people from 73 countries who submitted a video for Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0 project: Water Night.

Ohman, a second-year music education major at the University of Alberta, submitted four videos for VC3.0: Tenor 4, Bass 1, 2 and 3. He sat down with Suite101 on April 18, 2012 to talk about VC and music's impact on his life.

Chad Ohman on Discovering Virtual Choir

“It was right after they closed submissions that I heard about Virtual Choir 2.0,” Ohman recalled. A friend who also sang with him in Edmonton's Kokopelli Choir told him about it. When he watched the virtual performance of Whitacre's “Sleep”, he was amazed.

“This is incredible for people to sit in their bedrooms, in their closets, in their cars. Wherever they could find a quiet place and sing. To have their voices come together and make this gorgeous sound that is like a choir sitting in a loft somewhere,” he remarked.

Chad Ohman on the Virtual Choir Community

In December 2011, composer Eric Whitacre announced on his website that the song chosen for Virtual Choir 3.0 was “Water Night” from his Grammy Award-winning album Light and Gold.

“December came along and I started working on “Water Night”,” the dual instrumentalist said. “January came around and then I started helping people because I noticed other people were helping people get their videos together.” He soon met other people who volunteered to answer questions and help singers troubleshoot right up to the final hours of submission. One small group of helpers formed what Eric Whitacre calls the “VC Army”.

“I started meeting these people that were helping,” Ohman commented. “These are some really stellar people. Full, big hearts.”

The VC Community continues to blossom on Skype, Facebook and Google Hangouts. What began as technical and moral support has developed into friendships and in Ohman's case, something more.

“I would never have thought in December that I would meet all of these people.” Ohman reflected. “That I would talk to these great people from all over the country, all over North America and all over the world...and learn so much from them. Nor would I have ever thought in December that I would meet this girl who would eventually fly up here for her spring break.”

“Water Night” World Premiere at Lincoln Arts Center

A total of 3,746 videos were submitted from around the world which were put together into one virtual “performance” that was unveiled on April 2, 2012. The event, which took place at the Lincoln Arts Center in New York, NY, was streamed live all over the world.

Ohman recalled the moment he watched Virtual Choir 3.0 for the first time. “Finally, the video dropped and we were sitting in the Hangout, just in awe,” he reminisced. “We were listening to Eric talk. We were listening to John Corigliano and Chris Anderson – the guy from TED – talk about the idea of Virtual Choir and what it's done to the choral area of music: bring people together and get people to sing who haven't sang in 30 or 40 years. I think that is the coolest thing ever."

“It's allowing people to sing again. It's letting people sing in a group again, especially in areas where they don't have a choir to sing with,” he added.

Chad Ohman On Future Projects

Chad Ohman, along with several members of the VC Army from Canada, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico and Australia continues to work on multi-track projects. The first was a video wishing Eric Whitacre good luck prior to the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Ohman recorded the conductor track and is editing the group's current project, Morten Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium. The experience is teaching him some lessons. “I came to the conclusion that it's not going to sound perfect,” he stated.

“The more videos and the more voices that I've put into it, the better it sounds and the more full it sounds,” he said. “The harmonies come out where they should. If you stop the player and stop it for a second and listen to the separation of voices and the pitches, it sounds really good.

“Then you play the whole thing and then you hear some missed entrances,” he continued. “There's some late exits. There's some esses here and there. I think it's really cool because it adds character to the music.

“That's the whole reason we came together – to sing together. Who cares if it doesn't sound perfect? It's all of us singing together and that's all that matters.”

After some thought, he added. “Music isn't supposed to sound technically perfect. That's why I love performances. Those little tiny mistakes make the music for me. That's what adds personality. That's what adds character to the music.”

Chad Ohman on Lessons Learned from Music

“We could go on about this for a while,” he said with a laugh. “Definitely to be more tolerant of people...as well to be more accepting of people and their beliefs,” he added.

“Music isn't all about competing and who sounds the best," said Ohman. "It's about sharing music, hearing new music, appreciating another group for what they're singing or what they're playing. What they're bringing to the table. What qualities they possess that you don't possess and how you can learn from them and make that a part of what you're doing.”

Upon a moment's reflection, Ohman added, “Music has really changed my life in the people that I've met and what I've learned from them. I can't let that go.”

Post script: Although Chad's career focus has changed since this interview, music continues to play an active role in his life.

Originally published on Suite101.com on April 23, 2012. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.