Ghost Train

[Beer1584]

Your band director is cool!?

[TheNanners37]

@Beer1584 Thats eric whitacre....

[00GreyEyedGirl00]

We played this. It was a clusterfuck.

[aliciabrooke1000]

I heard this for the first time today, I LOVE the flute part. We should play this!

[badfred23]

im marching to this

[benaquarium]

the video is slightly not in sync with the audio :( the piece is fantastic!!!

[thoraxe544]

This is nothing compared to hearing it in person.

[AbramoMike]

Why is Eric Whitacre so bitchin? The Madrigal group I'm in sang Sleep by him this year.

[kkboy13]

i jumped out of my chair at the beggining part XD

[animeisawesome11]

XD I heard this song in orchestra (I'm not an outsider!!! D:) and I liked it. :)

[Kosciusko90]

My school's band will be playing this when we go to China in the end of May!!! Its EPIC

[MrJesszilla321]

There are three things in this world which i love: music, brass, and Eric Whitacre's Hair.

[neworleans202]

Last lear played this mess but OMG it cost so much...Freshman in high school playin this stuff we just cool lke dat

[mscuzimbrighty34]

we played through this one time and i loved it really wish we could play it but we're getting ready for MPA and we're going in grade 6 again

[kyulotusflower]

I remember playing this. It was... hard and complicated in some areas. It's one of the weirdest pieces of music I've ever seen but one of my favorites ^_^

[TheBeastlyMojoMaster]

omg! I was in this video playing clarinet! I didn't realize that someone had taken video of this performance. :P

It was sooo awesome to actually get to work with him. Love the piece, love the composer. :)

[TheOwlking1996]

This one is different than the one we're playing.

[emilyellis13]

My band sight read this song today. and we have done october and lux arumque. All beautiful songs!

[LizzzRosaaa]

This is the song that inspired me to become a musician when I was 10 years old. <3

[ShaggyOtis]

I want the score for this so bad but i dont have 60 bucks haha. anyone here have it? :P

[Mellogrl15]

I had the honor of playing this piece at my high School Cass Tech Must say it was the highlight of my trumpet career

[LmaoSherlock]

Coolest thing about it is the guy wrote it when he was 18.

[Invaderspleeny]

@LmaoSherlock

i would say it's got about that much maturity

[Kagome811]

I dunno, I don't really like this song. It sounds too random and all over the place. I wish Paul Lovatt-Cooper's "Haunted Halls" was on youtube, because it had spots where we would use noisemakers and such and a spot where we all screamed, but it was really a beautiful, musical piece. My brass band played it at Carnegie Hall last summer. Sadly, I haven't found any recordings/videos of it yet, on here.

[PianoManTyler]

our band is performing this piece as a field show.

[meizdaboss101]

I like how Eric Whitacre just walks off the stage immediately after the song ends...what a beast. Amazing composition!!!

[unepommeverte17]

OMG my band played this when i was a freshman! i've been looking for this for forever!!

[jcjkmental]

the goddard,kansas high school band played this at my band concert and it scared the crap out of me!

[StickStyleSix]

his hair at 2:26 lol :PPP

[AVerbene]

the first half of this song is really cool. the second half is kind of stupid

[TheSuperHeros2]

OH MY GOD INEED IT

[TSDFurReal]

Love the bass solo at 2:45 and sax part at 4:01!

Awesome piece and you've got to admire Whitacre's work - it's pretty damn awesome!

[IluvCCS17]

The guy is insane!!! And I mean it in a really good way!!!! This song creates such a great visual in your mind, but OMG the tempo is crazy especially with the sixteenth notes!!

[jogocown]

i got the snare part......fuckin awesome!

[TheScrapboi]

@jogocown lol

haha

that goes on forever

and ur arms are like lightning when u do it

xD

[mufasamaria]

I saw him in Denver last night and he did this, it was absolutely epic. I felt like I was there again! :D Great job!

[dcorina78]

He was amazing!!!!! Loved it! ;o)

[sundvl2112]

So not fair. Wish I had Eric Whitacre as a guest conductor when I played Ghost Train in the LFS Symphonic Band back in 05!

[bookofshadows13]

this song is the chit!!!

i just listened to it tonight at my grandnight festival

it was pretty fuckin wicked =P

[figrulz]

i wonder what the clarint part sounds like

[BlasterBone001]

This sent chills up my spine.... niceee...

[ahauswal]

LOVE the flutes as the "train's whistle"

Whiticre's a genius!

[singerguy93]

This song is sooo much fun. I play piano for it. I loooove the 3/4 7/8 section :] And i love the 5s and 6's in the winds at the end. haha. It's just amazinggg :D

[MrFungi93]

Oh Boy, this song is fun to play!

I play Precussion including:

-Suspended cymbal

-"Crickits"

-Gong with a Bow

-Crash Cymbals

-High Hat

[blahpoopman]

this piece is so much fun that snare part is crazy hard lol one of my favorites for sure

[VanSensei]

Wait: Whoever said they had to hit high C at the end: You mean the C on the 3rd space on treble clef?

[mattsvhstrombone]

Haha! I love how he gets into it at 3:43ish! =)

[emslynn]

Hands down one of the absolute most brilliant pieces I've played. Certainly one of the most exciting percussion parts we ever had in high school!

[Bertsnapcrackle]

Played this song last year...it's just not the same when you're not right there in the aud...I get shivers every time.

Great job! Fantastic song, fantastic composer....I'm incredibly jealous. :P

[wallsk8r]

we played it and got the change to scare the crap out of out principle! classic

[JohnSk8PlayLive]

I'm playing this with a Rowan university concert band ensemble.

[VanSensei]

Eric Whitacre is a genius. This sounds staggeringly hard

[moonchild3131]

It's not really all that hard, at least the trombone part wasn't that is. My school played this piece last year in our wind ensemble. I hope we play it again, it's so much fun to play.

[PurinSanytee]

The baritone part is so much harder. I'm a trombone playing it, and it is hard.

[mattsvhstrombone]

@PurinSanytee Sush Shrek! =P

[firefly09td]

I had the Bass Trombone part, and was it fun!!!!

[firefly09td]

I had the Bass Trombone part, here, in this concert, and was it fun, I was the loud hard edged one. at like 2:27 (well, one of many) and again at 4:05

[chaosstrike1000]

@VanSensei it is the whole song is rediculous. my marching band marched this song two years ago and we barely pulled it off every time. but somehow we ended up winning USSBA anyway

[gamefreek41795]

@VanSensei Individually, it's not too hard, but bringing it all together is the challenge.

[badfred23]

@VanSensei insanely hard

[RosiePurplebat]

played this piece first semester in 2008 (: absolutely fantastic.

[jessieflute92]

our wind ensamble played this piece this year... all movements, it turned out to be to 10 min. it was crazy. i really love the way eric whitare composes.

[aha45]

That sounded pretty damn good for HS. Plus you got the composer......

[MentallyUnstable2]

Wow I luv this song! But i didnt get to play this awesome peice cuz i suk at wat i play. lmao. My section leader, Shayla and my brother, Josh and another guy, Greg got to at least. It was AWESOME!!! Ha ha...well...I play the euphonium/ baritone. Yea Shayla, Josh and Greg's parts were awesome. We euphoniums dont get the recognition we deserve. T.T well ttyl people add me me if ya want. im always bored X.x

[waactastic]

I totally agree.  Low brass do not get the recognition they deserve. The basses hold this piece together and keep the pace. This piece would be impossible without them

[firefly09td]

Bump, bass bone keep the beet goin, along with the tuba's

[ErickEuphonium]

where are the euphoniums in this????!?!? cmon euphs play out moreee! im playing this for our concert and euphonium part is crazy and awesome!! we have tenor cleff and we hit high C at the end with the triplets and 6tuplets!! =D

[cpfourlife]

I played this at my high school in Ohio this year

[waactastic]

I played tuned in this piece....so much fun! A total percussion triumph

[ValkreDF]

Did you play at ACS? I just recently had a concert there and played this piece. (alaska)

[waactastic]

No hunni...I played this at the National Concert Band Festival regionals in Livingston, Scotland and the Nationals in Manchester, England. We got gold awards at both!

[sweetJesus1234]

I play this tomorrow in concert I have the timpani part I am very excited and I would agree that he is very expressive, I just wanna know how long it took to get all the exact pitches right to make a train whistle

[snoman99991]

Eric is also really expressive in the music writing. I personally find the arrangement "Cloudburst" to be particularly beautiful.

[xMusicalxDreamsx]

I LOVE ERIC WHITACRE. he's amazing =]

[tenorsaxesarelove]

I played this at district band festival this year. It is awesome and I love the tenor sax part in the middle where we do a lot of pitch bending. I wish we could have played the whole thing.

[TubaLove90]

This man is genius. I love everything he's composed.

[Mitsukichan123]

there should be a movie with this music!

[tromboneboy254]

I agree

[Tiffawesomeness]

We sightread this in my wind ensemble, but no one liked it. I don't know why, it's a very interesting piece!

[moonchild3131]

it's was probably too hard for them. the 2nd/3rd trombone part goes into tenor cleft.

[Tiffawesomeness]

No, that is not the reason. This song really isn't that hard...

[waactastic]

It's not a song...it is a piece...and it is quite difficult for the conductor to keep the band together due to the amount of discords and off beat entries...this piece requires a talented and daring conductor. The snare drum and hi hat parts are quite taxing. You get very tired wrists and arms. So its not that easy. Have you even played it?

[Tiffawesomeness]

yes, I have played it. If you would have read my comment above, I said that the band did not like it and I didn't understand why. I Iove this piece and to me, it doesn't seem that hard. What's so wrong with saying that?

[waactastic]

My apologies I did not see your comment above. My grievance is that this piece may be easy to you or your section...but not everyone in the band. The point of the comments bit of youtube is to start discussion and that is what I was doing, but some people can't take it on the chin when an alternative viewpoint is put across. Quite sad actually

[bull912000]

Sounds familiar... (Translated by a french horn)

It's not a song... its a march... and it is quite difficult for the conductor to keep the horns together due to the amount of repeditiveness of the off beats. The snare drum and base drum parts are quite useful, as they give at least some since of time for the horns to keep with. The horns' toungs get very tired. So... thats the horn side of a march.

On topic: This piece is freeking sweet.

[tromboneboy254]

Our school is playing this song for our WS. I LOVE this song.

[corcor301]

Really, dude thats cool...I have no doubt that the band can pull it off.

[tromboneboy254]

Yeah, we did it before and we can do it again

[itzdabbler]

lol im in my 2nd year in band and my friend in symphonic band is teaching me how to play it. lol its so hard but its awsome! i can play part of the begginning

[spamman09]

ive played this song on tenor sax, ITS BAD ASS

[scottielove925]

i've played this song twice. first time on bari-sax, this year on tuba. its an amazing song.

[freshhh1994]

lmao NICE! I play trumpet for this song

[Dojorno]

i have to say this is very well performed and i know since our high school band is doing it and i play piano. The piece itself has many time signature changes and just for the conductor to sort it all out is amazing. I just hope i can.

[danielyang1]

they didn't mess up, that is how the conductor interpreted his own music..

and how people were SUPPOSED to play it.. but most conductors interpreted it differently, and that is completely all right, because most of the time (such as in my band) it sound nothing like this but it's still all right.

The video is also not complimenting the video, as the microphone used wasn't the greatest for the initial balance in the song, and the video and sound are out of sync.

[itzdabbler]

omg that guy conducting is eric whitacre?!?!?! he must b mad =[ the messed up badddlllyyyyyy....

[Kbru22]

LOVE playing it!

LOVE listening to it!

[shiminimihs]

Hey! Old Boys and Old Girls Wind Symphony, OBOGWS(Singapore) is having a concert!

OBOG LIVE!

Date: 11th December 2008, Thursday

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music [NUS]

Price: $15 each

We will be playing the Full 3 movements of Ghost Train.

So please come and support! :DD

[xxbrittnerdxxboo]

were doing this song for winterguard this year :] SO EXCITED.

[beeswaxandaloe]

I love the trombone part at 2:00!

[tulrich125]

This is so stinking coool!

[crewsoccer12]

we did it for our ballad. we got 6th in state in CO

[passion4music01]

excellent music!my marching band is doing this piece for our next years show.:)

[xiiaOshi91]

This is Ghost train movt 1 :DD

[rachthebandgeek]

one question, why is this piece expensive? i saw it on jwpepper and was like, omg. i really wanna play it.

[choirnerd99]

My guess is that since its a band piece, it is going to cost a lot because when you buy it you get the full score, not like a piano reduced score.

[rachthebandgeek]

its like $325 dollars, and most other pieces are around $100. i thought it might have been because it was a really long song and there was a lot of actual sheet music, but i watched this and it was only 5:26. i guess ill figure it out someday, thanks for replying :D

[choirnerd99]

This is also one movement of I believe three. and No prob.

[rachthebandgeek]

well that makes sense now

[bbbiggs]

The son is 20 minutes long, if you play all three movements. I played the first movement last year and the score was like 80 bucks and all together the first movement cost about 125. So yea this peice is VERY expensive.

[HeroRaven]

@choirnerd99 just to confirm, the full suite is 20 minutes long and costs 325. each of the three movements are probably about 100 dollars for a full set each

[rockclimber21]

high school band, my ass. thats a college level band.

[mcpo117]

Wait. Lawrence? Lawrence, Indiana?

[lucidblu3]

Lawrence Kansas.

[kayladancer17]

ahh it's like The Great Locomotive Chase but creepier!

I love it!

[mcpo117]

That is cuz GLC is copied off of this piece.

[FataleChryses]

haha we play this in out marching band show this year =D its amazing! and the clarinet feature is amazing, lol. but u can barely here us XD

[baseballjunker4]

this doesn't sound good...even with whitacre conducting! haha

[brittx3knee]

i go to lemont high school and for my freshman year we did Ghost train as our theme. it was so amazing and i love thiss song alot.

[Mishota]

The wind ensemble at my high school played this my freshman year, and I fell in love with it. But now that I am in wind ensemble, we haven't played this piece again. >; I wish we would. I would love a chance to play this.

[jagskid]

even though I played this in my wind ensemble and i kenw it was coming, 0:29 got me. We did it with a smaller ensemble, and I kinda like it better that way. Eric Whitacre is amazing.

[rachthebandgeek]

it got me too xD

[lucidblu3]

i was really fortunate to be a part of this concert; i played the bass clarinet.

[maybaby09]

Its so awesome to hear this live.

My school band was supposed to do this but everyone was traveling since a lot of the students are in other performing groups at the school that go to festivals every year. We should have focus on one movement hahaha. But the Sax solo is AMAZING.

U guys are goood

Check out San Diego SCPA!

[Robbaybay]

our marching band show this year is modeled after this

[dorfischer]

i cant stop listening to this :-)

bravo!!!

[superchubbles]

Sweet, my band director told me we get to play this song this coming year. I'm a senior, so it looks like I'll end my high school career with a bang!

[jmadeyemoody]

i'm in between liking this one or Equus better but have you heard The Great Locomotive Chase by Robert W. Smith it's pretty much this song but downgraded a bunch. Also Born2Broadway i wish i could write as well as Mr. Whitacre also i am working on a piece right now but it's nothing like his masterpieces yet

[born2broadway]

This is the piece that made Eric famous. I wanna be famous like Whitacre, buttt I don't know if I could write something like this. haha...

[sierraxdopex]

God, I love this song. The Ridgeland High School band from Mississippi went to contest in Orlando and played it, and sweeped the entire competition. It's definitely worth it if you can play it well. :]

[stuckinaboxhere]

We got this peice this year, but didn't have long enough to practice it, so we cut it out and did sleep instead

[stolensmile]

OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!! i LOVE whitacre! i so wanna do this piece next year but it's so expensive and were going to disney next year so money's tight...

This is AMAZINGLY done! i almost fell outa my seat lol.

[Thepillows93]

wow, Eric Whitacre...our band can barely afford to function...LOL xD it's gonna cost us about fifty arms and legs to get to Carnegie next year, but we'll do it...xD I thought it was great ^^, but the bass clarinet needs more cojones. but that's personal opinion.

[zoogies]

awesome! ^_^

can you get the audio synced up?

[SilvaDiamond313]

oh hell naw that scared the shit out me

[Number3Pencils]

Gosh, how much must it have cost to bring Eric Whitacre to a high school? And how involved was he in the preparation of the piece?

[MVPujols]

Hi

I am a member of the LHS band, and I will tell you that Eric was only there the day before, and then they day of. Almost all of the preperation for the pieces was done in band class by Jones and for Free State by whats his name... Uhhhh.. Filmore? Whatever. I dont know his name but he is very strange. Anyway. I heard it cost a lot, and all the tickets that were sold went to pay for him, and KU chipped in a lot as well as the 2 high schools. It was a great expierience though.

[Number3Pencils]

I see.

[bbbiggs]

wow mr. esprinkling i'd doubt you can read music because half the "accomplishments" you listed weren't even spelled right.

[Esprinkling]

ehh its good just the trumpets need to watch the intonation a bit clairinets gj flutes love u =D me band better XD played at orange bowl cranigee hall 10 times next year going to be 11 disney world europe for jazz band XD beat that homies marching band bnd the bomb XD

[kapusta17]

That night was awesome!

Thanks so much for posting this!

And shameless plug: go Lawrence oboes!

[NValensi1991]

Lol I love Eric

[jose229922]

i don't think he leaves the stage, although that would be awesome. i think he goes off to the side and bows, because he does the same in the other choir videos that were recorded at that concert.

[Wacoswim]

Our band played the 12 minute long one!

I should post it cause it's really good!

[cainanuk]

Totally classy that after the piece was finished he just walked off. Yes this is his song and as I said before he is an awesome conductor (and writer) but this was all state and this night was for those kids!

[cainanuk]

He is an AWESOME conductor!

[mootothehood]

I played tuba in this concert. It was easily the best night of my life!

[shortnsweet1892]

Even during rehearsal, this song gave me chills. We had the satisfaction of playing this recording for my choir class, and the fifth measure definitely made every one of them jump! I loved having Eric here in Lawrence, and being lucky enough to be on that stage with him!