Eric Whitacre conducts Eternity in an Hour, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Grammy Award-winning American composer Eric Whitacre returns to Sydney with the Australian premiere of his latest work, Eternity in an Hour, presented for one concert only, 8pm Friday June 27 at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

In what promises to be one of the standout concert experiences of the year, Whitacre will conduct the pure voices of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ young adult choir VOX in his ‘shimmering meditation in sound’, inspired by William Blake’s famous poem, Auguries of Innocence.

Taking his cue from Blake’s opening line, ‘To see a world in a grain of sand’, Whitacre’s Eternity in an Hour is an immersive exploration of the concept of finding and cherishing profound beauty in a single moment and the smallest of things. Scored for choir, piano, cello, and an array of electronics which Whitacre plays as he conducts, listeners can hear the world afresh as the music slowly unfolds before them.

 

 

Also featured in this concert program are two of Whitacre’s most loved works – Lux Aurumque and Cloudburst; alongside two pieces he has personally selected – Edwin London’s haunting arrangement of Bach’s Come, sweet death, and Australian composer Sarah Hopkins’ Past Life Melodies, an immersive blending of global vocal traditions that has become one of the most performed Australian choral works worldwide.

Classical Source, 2024:

Eternity in an Hour was proudly co-commissioned by the 2024 BBC Proms, Netherlands Radio Choir andSydney Philharmonia Choirs. The work premiered to audience and critical acclaim at London’s Royal Albert Hall in September last year. “Contemplative, mystical and soaring by turns, the seamless flow of the music was ideally suited to the imposing rotunda of the Royal Albert Hall, the eternity of the words…rose to fill every corner.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is thrilled to be reuniting with regular collaborator, Eric Whitacre, to present its Australian debut.

Eric Whitacre is a legendary force in contemporary choral music, and as a multi-Grammy award winner, is broadly recognised amongst the world’s most popular musicians. A graduate of The Juilliard School, his works are performed worldwide, and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united over 100,000 singers from more than 145 countries.

Whitacre currently lives and works between Los Angeles and Europe, with roles including Artist-in-Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and with the BBC Singers, Visiting Composer at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and Ambassador for the Royal College of Music in London.

This is his third collaboration with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ young adult choir VOX, since their first
performance together in 2013.

Most recently he conducted VOX in 2022, for the Sydney premiere of his work, The Sacred Veil, a deeply wrought composition co-created with poet and friend Charles Anthony Silvestri, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs VOX have also recently been hitting the music charts following the release of Mel Jarnson’s Five Walls (Artists Mel Jarnson & The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, VOX), recorded live during filming for NCIS Sydney (Season 2, Episode 7).

The episode aired on Paramount+ on April 4 and the music was released on April 15. Listen now on Spotify.

---

Season Details

Venue: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Date: 27 June 2025

For more information click HERE