The wonders of the Internet

Thanks to Eolas, I just came accross this amazing video by Eric Whitacre. He is a composer and conductor who apparently is also quite the innovator. For his latest piece of music Lux Arumque, instead of putting together a chorus, he used YouTube. He posted the parts online and made a video of himself conducting with piano on the background. Then, anyone who wanted to could make a video of themselves singing one of the parts. The final step involved collating all the videos and sound tracks together to give the impression of a real chorus. Truly the effect is amazing!

Now, just because I have to, I would like to point out that to my understanding, none of the participants in the chorus has received a single dime. They got paid in fame and probably quite a bit of pride. I'm also convinced that if some are attempting to become professional singers, participating in such a project can only be a boost to their career. As for the organizer/composer/conductor Mr. Whitacre, his latest CD which features the piece is probably receiving a boost in sales as we speak, and he probably is gaining quite a lot of fame in the process which I'm sure he'll monetize somehow.

Oh, did I mention the video is free on YouTube?