Eric Whitacre - "October" (2002 AZ All-State Band)

[decastrofilms]

this was the last song i played in high school. so happy it was, so beautiful. and i played the tenor saxophone part <3

[ExtremlyAwesome7]

It started to rain when the song endedit was classicly epic

[ExtremlyAwesome7]

@oneof333 haha im playing this year

[oneof333]

played this in marching band now in concert band a year later

[bennyclln]

everything, but the oboes (of course), sounds great!

[AEC2121]

oboes were horribly and disgustingly out of tune... isn't it a solo hence ONE player

[42trumpetguy]

In my three years of high school band, I have played a Whitacre piece every year, and one of them, Lux Aurumque, has earned the title of my favorite piece that i've played.

[TorturedXeno]

Hey people, October is being adapted into a choral piece by Eric Whitacre. Search for "Whitacre's Alleluia and Aurora Borealis" here on YouTube. It's a WIP of the song.

[3355fattura]

posso dire....veramente veramente beautiful !

[altobssn]

@3355fattura is that italian? just wondering....

[bboneDawg]

My 10th time watching this video.

[andorinter]

Great song. Oboe solo please at beginning... ;P

[bandg3k]

Songs like this are the reason i would rather be blind than deaf.

[technoguy6000]

@bandg3k Well said. :)

[bandg3k]

i used to admire this song, my fresman year of high school, and i ended up conducting for Wind Ensemble, in one of our band festivals. I cried when we got to 5:00 :')

[lilaznxxbabe]

gives me the shivers. everytime.

[AtowncalledCynicism]

We're playing this song in orchestra and I'm in love with it!!! :D So touching...

[ebyros]

@AtowncalledCynicism Go die orchestra noob

[ebyros]

@AtowncalledCynicism Go die orchestra noob

[kevinluvtortugas]

Does anyone know where I can find the sheet music for this?

[abednego707]

Who got goosebumps and waterworks at 6:23?

[0wner517]

@abednego707 I pretty much am throughout the entire piece. LOL

[Edertubista]

FANTASTIC..............

[neroshrimp1]

Oboes are out of tune but it sounds pretty good (:

[twilightz0ne1]

I just played this at my teacher's funeral because he said when he died, he wanted this to be his funeral song. RIP Mr. Rymer. :C

[MrIlike2eatpuppies]

Technically, very good, but lacked any emotion, especially in the oboe solos, which ruined the piece for me right from the start. The intonation problems don't help either. Trumpets need to do more with with the dynamics at H, and the climax at I just wasn't there.

[MikeLukeIsCool]

How do you tune two flutes? Kill one. hahahaha band joke...

[Icyveins906]

@MikeLukeIsCool That's piccolos ;). You can tune two flutes, but they need to do it before rehearsal/performance.

[HelpSaveERF]

@MikeLukeIsCool No, you shoot both of them.

[fireman52968]

@MikeLukeIsCool How do you know a clarinet is at your door? It can't find the key and doesn't know when to come it.

[AZRedSky]

What's really stunning is the lack of artistry going into silence. Those oboes harshly cut the end of each figure in the beginning until letter A. There is no grace in that whatsoever.

This piece is reflective in nature. When we reflect, we can see moments of strength and moments of fragility.  This piece is a perfect example of that notion...but the music has to be expressive enough to show it. This ensemble surprisingly misses that mark.

[LoverlyLadyHatter]

Ugh. This... is marvelous. Really, it's stunning. 

[acousticdoug]

Sorry @JulieBeanJellyBean sp*

[acousticdoug]

@JulieBeanJellieBean Yeah I know but no one knows it's killing me because I have to play it every morning in band and I have no idea what it is. If you find out pleeeeeaaaaasr tell me

[RaptorKittyMusic]

I'm in AZ Allstate this year. :D

Bass clarinettttt♥

[RaptorKittyMusic]

I'm in AZ Allstate this year. :D

[band4geek]

The solo is EASY. Only one oboe is enough. For the oboists like me, it's NOT hard. These oboist should have just divided the two solo sections instead of killing the whole C notes....... Or b naturals

[JulieBeanJellyBean]

This first 35 seconds of this song appears in a movie... a recent movie, I think.  Does anybody know what it is??

[AZRedSky]

@JulieBeanJellyBean It sounds a bunch like the music from American Beauty.

[SaraEcho11]

Our schools band is doing this song, it's pretty chill. Though I like the euphonium

[elfftara22]

You guys I play clarinet but I think the oboe is an amazing instrument. You guys shouldn't bash the oboes because having two oboes are hard to tune, plus thats how they sound. Once you can put a video on youtube of YOU AND SOMEONE ELSE playing an oboe in tune, then you can complain, but until then you can't!

[Swordblogs]

@elfftara22 still at the beginning, it is a SOLO, making it much easier to tune, I'm not saying it's terrible as I play oboe and I know it's difficult to tune. It's just having that one bit at the beginning could have set the stage for so much more.

[AZRedSky]

@elfftara22 It is not hard to tune two oboes. What is hard is getting their color to blend not just with each other, but with the ensemble as a whole.

[chrisakafeeder]

Basses all Day!!!!!!!!

[chrisakafeeder]

Basses all Day!!!

[zop2o]

Gotta love that euphonium

[haajam]

You are all too harsh, shut up and enjoy it.



[band4geek]

STFU about the oboe! I play it and it is hard to tune with two people. I would REALLY appreciate it if you would stop attacking my instrument!

[Icyveins906]

@band4geek Not if the two players had taken the initiative to sit together and learn to blend in a private place during the days before the concert. I've done All-State enough to know that yes, there is always a little time to practice. Although, I do wish the conductor had not done a two oboe solo. Can't wait for Whitacre to put words to this. Sorry bandies, I'm a choir fanatic too.

[imapepper13]

My band is playing this this year :) and it's a very beautiful piece.

[OnlyVoicesAndSugar]

the oboes shouldn't sound like bag pipes......Yuck. ruined the whole mood of the piece right off the bat.

[Raivh52]

Oboes, the only instrument other than a flute that can't tune but wants to be tuned to.

[2winged]

If your going to have two oboes play the opening solo at least get them to play in tune with each other :/

[2winged]

@2winged just to reinforce my point they were worse the second time(before F for those who know the piece well)

[clauclau33]

Whenever an Eric Whitacre piece is played by a band, it sounds...silver.

[Muramatsu988]

for the love of god, why 2 oboes in the beginning?

for a moment i actually felt the need to jam my pencil in my ears...

[Sn1p3d335]

Oboe<3

[bandgeeknauer65]

I love Eric Whitacre <3 Every year my band plays through this once and one or two kids complain about how slow it is and we have to turn it back in. It's such an amazing song why does our teacher have to chose this song to listen to the complainers on?! Most of us love it too...

[xtremegamer515]

Why are two oboes playing in the beginning?

They're not exactly in tune with each other and it's fairly obvious.

[fortheloveofLDS]

This is my favourite band piece of all time. I have begged my director to play it, but unfortunately we don't have any strong-enough oboes. ;__;

[Koolieo55]

This song gives me goosebumps everytime i hear it.

[ygyg868]

WOOP!!! GO FLUTES! This Song got us Sweepstakes in Texas UIL Concert =)

[jfletcher0516]

Clarinets FTW!!!!!!!!!! Love this piece as do I love all of Eric Whitacre's pieces. Amazing composer.

[maryleelover]

love love playen this song.. go clarinets..

[ThePsychedelicLemon]

I hate playing the beginning...I'm a clarinet player. Eesh.

I quite like this piece, though...

[annmusic85]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!



[8392ful]

mann..... my band was going to play this but we didn't get to.. and im a euphonium player and had the solo and everything but he didn't let us play it... sad day..

[phatboynotsoslim]

good song, playing this in my high school wind ensemble for our winter concert

[CaralimeML]

I guess nobody else noticed how awful the oboe's tone was...

[nextalexklein]

@CaralimeML your full of crap

[mannytrumpet]

@CaralimeML I did in the beggining especially,but it was not that horrible it was just bad..and also they are a little to loud

[CaralimeML]

@mannytrumpet Agreed!

[LIGHTRONIX]

ugh why does everyone upload such awful quality. At least 360p would be nice, especially for classical music.

[vanhalen1975]

We played this piece a few years ago, and it continues to be one of my favorites. We played it at Symphony Hall in Boston, and our conductor was in tears because his mother had died earlier in the school year, and he made a strong connection with this piece. The couple of measures at 3:49 are the best part for me...

[venskus2009]

im gonna slap the fuck outa that erson who you can hear breathing. it ruins it.

[cfdm1o1]

absolutely amazing, great musicality and expression, i love this song its so deep and emotional

[styxspinner]

So anyone else catch triangle started at least a bar early?

[classicallypretty]

area all-state just played this yesterday. :)

[Stoneripple1]

why is the picture a clarinet? This is such an oboe song!!

[venskus2009]

not a big fan of the bass clarinet :/. i wanna hear him MORE. it drives me nutts. bass clarinet is SO important. almos noone understands.

[FollowBleedDie14]

@venskus2009 dude this year.. it's my freshman year I started with the clarinet and I volunteered to play the Bass Clarinet... and I understand it's important... you only need one which makes it crucial for you to play... it's a lot of pressure for me sometimes.... but it's very important... (this message doesn't really have a point)

[callja12]

I love this song, we're playing it in band this year!

[venskus2009]

@callja12 piece ;)

[ebyros]

THe only part of this song that sucks is 7:08

[leonard03]

@ebyros and 4:33

[darkkiyasha]

@ebyros Listen again at 4:30. the flutes are WAY out of tune with eachother. it sounds pretty bad. but for the most part, your right. :)

[Sagget21]

Our version with cowbell is better

[jasonfu6699]

@Sagget21 This high school band needs more cowbell.

[mia71634]

Our wind ensemble is playing this song in concert tonight!

[phatboynotsoslim]

yeah the wind ensemble in my school is playing this

[XxHarvestPrincessxX]

most of the people in the world will never know that there is music as beautiful as this.. ~

[narlygirl94]

love this piece ! :)

[Flippinpinoy09]

the hardest part about this piece is tuning with all the suspensions, and of course bringing it to life! Gorgeous piece!

[medefenderyoudie]

nothings possible aslong as you belive!!! :)

[TravisTriplet003]

@medefenderyoudie yeah! nothings possible at all! ever!

yeah, pessimism! :D

[TheBlueBattlestar]

@TravisTriplet003 Lol

[KaneliAmabele]

Eric Whitacre is a genius. I love him lol.

[saxaphoneg]

My high school played this peice and we must have done a good job because it sounds exactly like it. True it is somewhat a hard peice dealing with balence and blend but it's also a fun and emotional peice. I play alto sax and the parts were pretty cool especially when we had the moving sequences ( 4:33 - 5:07 ) and 3:28 is my favorite part also. Overall this has to be by far the best peice I've played.

[bandg3k]

OUCH CLARINETS 4:33 !!!!!

[AlongcameIvan]

@bandg3k I'm sorry, but I believe you're mistaken. If you listen closely, the clarinets come in time, but it is the oboe that are a 16th note late, and sound a little sharp. So, it's ouch oboes, not clarinets. :)

[bandg3k]

@AlongcameIvan Thank you for the correction :) i see that i WAS wrong :)

[PatrickAT10]

@bandg3k I actually want to say that that was the flutes. The only reason I think that is is because my band played this a couple years ago and I remember that being a trouble note for my group as well! Although all the notes sound like trouble for this group, but it is still a beautiful piece!

[venskus2009]

@PatrickAT10 ALSO the flute. i accually think the clarinets were early

[phatboynotsoslim]

@bandg3k those notes are high and not easy to hit perfectly, the clarinets in my band struggle with them as well

[jennnyleal]

@phatboynotsoslim well your band sucks

[CellPhoneCanonRock]

@jennnyleal kinda mean but i LOLed X)

[mannytrumpet]

@bandg3k hahah eeew lol

[XxzeldawolfxX]

@bandg3k Always the clarinets....

[mroy16]

@bandg3k

I feel so bad for them. That entrance is so key.

[prsguitarist56]

@bandg3k cluster chords are such a thing in the musical world and you have to play that chaos musicaly it is something that not all people can hit perfect and they didnt but dont say ouch it wasnt completly horrible....yea it was haha

[HiddenNinja96]

we played this, resting in the peace of his hands, pines of rome, and chorale and shaker dance last concert. took it to concert festival!!!

[win093030]

@HiddenNinja96 hey we're playing this and chorale and shaker dance right now. it's so weird how band teachers decide what songs will make a good concert :)

[HiddenNinja96]

and omg i agree the oboe and clarinet part in the beggining is to die for.

[HiddenNinja96]

My high school band played it. I'm lucky. I got the alto sax solo right before the baritone solo. xD

[ViolaClarinetti158]

We're playing this in MYWE!

[EpicallyxMusical]

I CRAVE THE OBOE PART FOR THIS MUSIC.

sooooo much. sososooso much. beautiful.

[polkadotxpantiez]

my favorite piece from high school, we performed this in 2003. my part was on bass clarinet.. very emotional piece! love it

[Evey62]

This song is absolutely amazing

[error51210]

Would this be a good piece for a texas band to put together?

[AZRedSky]

@error51210 one of the All-State bands played it this year at TMEA.

[xiremorse]

well not only can bands play it, but strings can also play it. i'm in a high school orchestra and we are playing this song, its very beautiful! :)

[SilverRegiment08]

WOW GREAT JOB! YES YES!!!!!!! im going crazy at home for this stuff.

[xXSnipaDipaXx]

@CrazyCatMan13

I'm also a High School Trumpet player in 10th grade and love this song and 6:24.

I'm 1st chair also and can't wait 'till my band gets this song to it's full potential.

[clainetwin]

In high school my sisters marching band competed with this song.

[drumzilla0]

LOVE

[bandg3k]

Who dosen't like this piece?!? :)

[FunkkyPanda]

LOVE the Oboe Part ^u^

[MrFunxy]

Eric Whitacre is a skilled writer...BUT

one of the biggest plagerising composers I've heard of

The intro of this theme is Shawshank redemption

[MrFunxy]

@glryouthofunity

incorrect

for your information this piece was premiered in 2000

shawshank was premiered in 1994

[thedanigirl1]

my schools band performed this at an event called encore... it was amazing... goosebumps through the whole thing! :D

[countrypanda94]

We were supposed to play this, everyone loved it, and out lead euphonium was super excited because of the solo. We had literally PERFECTED this piece, to the point where our director would grin with disbelief and shake his head when we would play it. Then, a week...A WEEK...before the concert, we discovered that the percussion hadn't even looked at it. Our whole band, including our director, was past upset and into the "kill the percussionists" stage.

[FollowBleedDie14]

@countrypanda94 very funny haha

[TheDG10000]

I love this. We played it at the New Orleans honor band and I got emotional during the song. I play the french horn and at 6:05 i just about lost it lol.

[originalwerdna]

i played this song in my middle school orchestra

[Igneous01]

i wouldnt mind hearing this with brass and string ensemble, but scrap the woodwinds because i really dont like the timbre of woodwinds altogether (personal opinion)

[tubamarc8891]

@Igneous01 "i really dont like the timbre of woodwinds altogether". Jesus couldn't have said it better. Go brass!!!

[xXxCircagirl138XxX]

i want to play this sooo bad. i play the oboeee and i realllllyy realllly realllyyyy want the music!!!

[lovelythorns]

i love this song. i transcribed the oboe solo for my clarinet and now I'm playing both of them(: looove it.

[IAmDeep99]

its not a easy peice... theirs so much emotion that goes into it... this peice is one of the hardest peices ive played as a freshman trumpet,

[SniperCell6]

Easy piece, taking in to account that I play tuba doesn't matter.

[rosenrot2054]

One of my favorite concert band pieces, hands down. This song has so much life in it, and yet it has so much to do with the end of life. Right after where it goes back into four (after the fermata) is one of my favorite lines ever (played by the saxophones).

[stephhxc]

i get chills every time i listen to this piece. first time i heard it i started to cry.

[mpjmt]

One of our flautists started to cry during this song, and our band director was trying not to cry.

[Tokyo1021]

@mpjmt Haha, ours too, she was a senior and first chair...she lost it,...so did the band director

[BABYiMRADD2011]

Rockwall Heath High Symphonic band is playing this.. AMAZING! i love it..

[katieandkatieshow]

When we played this at our Spring Concert, the audience had no idea when it was over. It took them about 30 seconds to sigh then clap. Our band director had tears in his eyes.

[whitnasty2010]

i played this last year for my spring concert and it wasn't hard and it was soooooooo much fun to play....if i cold marry multiple songs, this would defiantly be in the top 10...

[drhax2113]

Wow. There were some flaws, obviously. Unless you're getting paid to do so, you won't play a piece perfectly, and even then there are slip ups here and there, and at the very least areas to improve. This is a sensational recording, truly talented stuff ladies and gents... at 4:40ish, the flutes need to die... but otherwise... great job. Was this a contest play?

[CrazyCatMan13]

Love this song! We r playing it (high school band) right now. Not very good tho....

I'm 1st chair trumpet and I LOVE 6:23!

I love the look on my conductors face when he cues that high A in the trumpet part! Awesome!

It's not a technically hard piece, but it demands a lot with style and tone, maturity, etc. Fun to play!

[buzzy918]

@facemash i hear u

[masterpilot321]

easy song

[mjpj189]

the part at 6:23, it sends chills up my body every time. perfect harmony, it really justifies the name "October" I played this once in All County, this song is amazing. changed my life forever..

[darkkiyasha]

omg...@ 4:34, it makes me wanna cry. Cmon flutes! the oboe gave you a PERFECT opportunity for entrance, and you come in like that? im gonna cry! So beautiful, and that isnt just a "Little mistake"...

[tojofromjapan]

yay

[piccolobabe]

Such a difficult song to play for the right balance and tone! so beautiful, when played correctly, though. I love playing 2nd parts on this because they're so much prettier than the first parts :D

[scoutdrummer2142]

eric whitacre's work is AMAZING!!

[facemash]

Dammit oboes. Isn't that supposed to be a solo at the beginning. If they both want to play it they need to play it in tune.

[kiltaddict]

@facemash Agree fully. Such a curse...

[birdeeboo]

@facemash

Agreed. I almost feel like this should be written in a different key, just to avoid those blaring Cs in the solos. haha I hope you're an oboist so you know what I'm talking about.

[BotheringTrees]

My high school Wind Ensemble played it for our October concert. I love it. We learned it in about a month and it was so much fun. It's probably the best piece we've ever played. I just went digging through about twenty pounds of music to find it so I could follow along.

Ooh. yeah. The woodwinds are quite out of tune in the middle. But the rest sounds quite good.

My favorite bit to play I think would have to be the first three beats of I in trumpet.

[LegolasLove]

wow, great job! we played it too, about one year ago, so i know it's really difficult to play. but you could have played it with a bit more of flexibility... like with more change in the tempi. it would have made it sound more emotional. this piece should give the impression of the band enjoying every single line and disonance. but still: well done =)

[antinicia]

go eric with ur bad self

[mpjmt]

My band teacher made me cry when she told us what this song meant to her and reminded her of. It's so emotional, but it makes me think of something completely different.

[meowgir47]

hfirsflkgdfhiuksgmfd who let two out of tune oboes play the solo

[matters9319]

I wonder if that one player at 4:33 who hits all of the wrong pitches in the woodwinds has seen this video, the many comments on the screw up, and knows that 86,883 people have had their ears inhumanely pierced by those horrible chords. haahha

[ilike12and4]

@matters9319

88000 now lol

[ChibiMar]

Amazing job. In my opinion, 3:29-3:45 would have been more enjoyable if taken a little slower, just to enjoy the climax of the song. Other than that, this piece was well performed by you guys =]

[fishstick411]

I wish my band was able to play this but we are small =[

[ChibiMar]

@fishstick411 Size doesnt matter in my opinion unless there's an unbalance between disonances. I think you guys should go for it. =]

[vdp527]

why are there 2 oboes playing the solo in the beginning??? they're so out of tune! and WHAT is up with 4:33??? OUCH!

[Mcguffeygirl1016]

luv it

[superdweeb95]

this group needs to take its time & use more musicality!