Remember the old Coca-Cola commercial, "I'd like to teach the world to sing?" Well, American composer and conductor Eric Whitacre has taken it a step further - inviting the world to sing-a-long online in an attempt create the world's largest virtual choir.
The Juilliard-trained Whitacre, whose first Virtual Choir became a hit on YouTube, aims to combine thousands of individual choral parts sung by people around the world and submitted as video clips for his composition "Sleep."
"I'm delighted to lead what I anticipate to be a big step forward for classical -- and indeed, all -- music," Whitacre said in a statement on record label Decca's website. "I hope this will be a moment in music history for the YouTube generation."
Whitacre's original Virtual Choir became a YouTube hit, receiving 1 million hits in just 60 days. While that project included many professional singers, this is the chance for everyone and anyone to become involved.
Entries to the record attempt will be via YouTube and will include an online tutorial explaining how to record and upload their chosen part. The closing date for entries is the end of 2010.
(thanks to Reuters and my colleague, Julie Amacher)
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