Eric Whitacre, a composer that I have been a fan of since my senior year of high school, created a musical movement, inspired by one girl's video. The original collaboration included 185 people, but after sometime, Whitacre went back and did version 2.0. This time he had 2,000 voices from all over the world, recorded at different times. They were synthesized into one hauntingly beautiful chorus that became the virtual choir singing "Sleep". (See Whitacre's Virtual Choir website)
Despite not being a choir teacher, I still find this global movement extremely inspiring. We have been discussing ways in which we can connect with people around the world, and expand our classrooms beyond the walls. As Richardson wrote, "...the Read/Write Web opens up all sorts of new possibilities for students to learn from each other or from authors or scientists and other professionals who can now work side by side in digital space even though they may be far away from one another physically" (2010, p.23).
I want to point out a very profound quote from Whitacre's brief intro: "For me singing together and making music together is a fundamental human experience and I love the idea that technology can bring people together from all over the world and participate in this transcended experience" (Whitacre, September 22, 2010, bold/italics added by me). I know I have been a naysayer and wary of technology making the world too plastic and inhuman. But this quote opened my eyes and really showed me what an awesomely great tool technology can be to harmonize humanity.
This is the full-length video of the 2011 Virtual Choir singing "Sleep". Even if you only watch the first 30 seconds, the image of the entire world being linked together is absolutely amazing.
Whitacre's video made me go back into my saved links, and I dug up another revolutionary way to get students connected and involved with others in the world:
Students actually have a chance to create an experiment with the hopes that it will be conducted in space!!! It's the ultimate science fair project! If not to be used as an in class assignment, what an amazing motivator this could be for gifted and super ambitious students. To foster this kind of creativity and excitement is what we live and work for ...
While there are many negative aspects to the web, there are also those people out there that are making us feel more and more connected each day, one student at a time.
Johanna:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I really love "Sleep." We are always telling kids how even though we have our differences, we share so many similiarities with others as well. This is such a powerful video - I may even show it to my class to inspire their writing. It would lead to great discussions like why this video may have been created, how can we learn from one another, and best, look at what can be accomplished when so many people are determined to work together towards a common goal. I often show short clips from YouTube to help to spark ideas for student writing. Sometimes pictures and photos are not enough motivation, especially for our struggling writers. Videos can be so powerful.
Thanks for the post!
Kate
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these videos, especially I love the Virtual Choir Singing! I must say the idea is fantastic! Whitacre made technology more humanized, I always think that the way how people use technology today is the most essential point when we talk about it. As technology itself is quite neutral, pros and cons mostly depend on users. We can take advantage of powerful technology to imagine and even realize far more possibilities in professional fields or life in general. Like what Whitacre did, and I noticed that many musicians they have made various experiments with technology on their music making process. That is amazing! As a music lover, I really appreciate what new technology bring to the world of music.
Finally, I would like to share a music video from my favorite musician who is from Iceland, mainly composes music in Neo-Classical.
Hope you like it, too! :)
http://vimeo.com/11681935
Jun