BY MELANIE COUGHLIN

Special to The Pilot

Internationally lauded music legend Eric Whitacre brings his talents to the Sandhills in an Oct. 26 concert at Robert E. Lee Auditorium.

The classical performance is not only a treat for the public; it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Pinecrest High School choral students, who will work with Whitacre during a three-day residency.

Pinecrest’s choral director, Erin E. Plisco, conceived the idea to invite Whitacre to Southern Pines after seeing how enthusiastic her students were about the composer and conductor.

“I noticed how infatuated they were with his music. He’s like a rock star to them,” she says. “It (having him visit) was a crazy idea that I didn’t think would actually happen. But it worked.”

Plisco went to Whitacre’s website last fall and emailed his manager, telling her how Pinecrest students were inspired by Whitacre.

“I asked if bringing him here would be possible in any world,” Plisco says. “At first she was hesitant. She told me he didn’t do stuff like this anymore.”

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.

Last September, Whitacre put out another call to singers in an effort to create the largest virtual choir in history. He hoped for 900 singers. Instead, Virtual Choir 2.0 was made up of 2,052 singers from 58 countries.

Despite knowing of Whitacre’s busy schedule, Plisco was persistent in her communications with his manager. Conversations became more serious over the next months, and Whitacre ultimately agreed to include Southern Pines on his itinerary of stops like Spain, Italy, Carnegie Hall and London’s Cadogan Hall.

“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.

Each group will have one-on-one time with Whitacre as they rehearse one of his compositions over three days. They will present their music at the concert. Pinecrest choral students will have a private dinner with Whitacre on his first night in town.

These high school students have had an earlier start than this music legend, who aspired to be a rock musician until college. A friend invited him to sing with the choir at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In an appearance on the TED.com, Whitacre described that experience as seeing the world in color for the first time. He went on to compose his earliest concert work when he was just 21 and received his master’s degree from the Juilliard School.

“It’s pretty incredible how much support from the community we’ve received for this event,” says Plisco of event sponsors First Bank, the Public Education Foundation of Moore County, the Arts Council of Moore County, the Rotary Foundation of Southern Pines, Walmart and the Pinecrest High School PTSA. 

Whitacre will talk about his life and take questions from the public at a free question-and-answer session Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m. at Pinecrest High School.

The concert is Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at Robert E. Lee Auditorium. The concert is open to the public, and tickets may be purchased at Pinecrest High School, from the Arts Council of Moore County or online at www.ncmcs.org/pch. General admission is $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

For more information, contact Erin Plisco at eplisco@ncmcs.org, or (910) 692-6554, ext. 7103. 

Melanie Coughlin is a Pinehurst freelance writer.