October
General Info
Year: 2000
Duration: c. 7:10
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carpe Ranam / Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $125.00 | Score - $35.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet I-II
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Mark Tree
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
Errata
In Score:
- Flute, m.35: Last note is A-flat. Flute II has this notated as B-double flat. (This error is not present on Flute parts labeled 2nd. ed., 11/01)
- E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II, m.93: Half note should be dotted.
- B-flat Trumpet II, m.54, beat 1: Should be F-sharp instead of F-natural.
- B-flat Trumpet III, m.60-61: Add whole rests under the staves to indicate Trumpet 3 rests.
- Horn in F I-II, m.93: Half note should be dotted.
In Parts:
- Flute, m.35: Last note is A-flat. Flute II has this notated as B-double flat. (This error is not present on Flute parts labeled 2nd. ed., 11/01)
- E-flat Soprano Clarinet, m.35, beat 4&: Should be F instead of G-flat.
- B-flat Clarinet III, m.54, beat 1: Should be F-sharp instead of F-natural.
- E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II, m.93: Half note should be dotted.
- B-flat Trumpet II, m.54, beat 1: Should be F-sharp instead of F-natural.
- B-flat Trumpet III, m.60-61: Add whole rests under the staves to indicate Trumpet 3 rests.
- B-flat Trumpet III, m.92: Add whole rest under the stave to indicate Trumpet 3 rest.
Program Notes
October is my favorite month. Something about the crisp autumn air and the subtle change in light always make me a little sentimental, and as I started to sketch I felt that same quiet beauty in the writing. The simple, pastoral melodies and subsequent harmonies are inspired by the great English romantics (Vaughan Williams and Elgar) as I felt that this style was also perfectly suited to capture the natural and pastoral soul of the season. I'm quite happy with the end result, especially because I feel there just isn't enough lush, beautiful music written for winds.
October was commissioned by the Nebraska Wind Consortium, Brian Anderson, Consortium Chairman. October was premiered on May 14th, 2000, and is dedicated to Brian Anderson, the man who brought it all together.
- Program Note by composer
Media
- Audio CD: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Corporon, conductor).
- Audio CD: Columbus State University Wind Ensemble (Robert Rumbelow, conductor)
- Audio CD: Youngstown State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Stephen L. Gage, conductor)
State Ratings
- Florida: V
- Georgia: VI
- Iowa: IV
- Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
- Louisiana: IV
- Maryland: V
- Michigan: Senior High A
- Minnesota: II
- Mississippi: VI-A
- North Carolina: V
- South Carolina: IV
- Tennessee: IV
- Texas: IV. Complete
- Wisconsin: VI
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Manhattan Wind Ensemble (New York City) (Jennifer Theilacker, conductor) - 2 December 2023
- Georgia State University (Atlanta) Wind Ensemble (Douglas Tiller, conductor) - 16 November 2023
- Rouge River Winds (Toronto, Ont., Can.) (Pratik Gandhi, conductor) - 10 November 2023
- Delaware Winds (Dover) (Michael D. Russo, conductor) - 28 October 2023
- VCU-Health Wind Ensemble (Richmond, Va.) (Brian Coffill, conductor) - 6 October 2023
- University of Texas at Arlington Wind Symphony (Douglas Stotter, conductor) - 22 September 2023
- Camp Encore/Coda (Sweden, Me.) Wind Ensemble (Trevor Frost, conductor) - 21 July 2023
- West Valley High School (Yakima, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Kirk Knight, conductor) - 25 May 2023
- University of Mississippi (Oxford) Symphonic Band (Mel Morse, conductor) - 2 May 2023
- National Youth Concert Band (Birmingham, UK) (Jonathan Parkes, conductor) – 8 April 2023
- Whatcom Wind Ensemble (Bellingham, Wash.) (Sebastian Serrano-Ayala, conductor) – 14 January 2023
- Cleveland (Ohio) Youth Wind Symphony Group I (Dan Crain, conductor) – 2 December 2022
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Wind Symphony (Rubén Darío Gómez, conductor) – 19 Oct 2022
- Missouri University of Science & Technology (Rolla) Wind Symphony (David Samson, conductor) - 25 September 2022
- University of Oregon (Eugene) Wind Ensemble (Cynthia Johnston-Turner, conductor) – 19 May 2022
- Association of Concert Bands Convention Band (Santa Fe, N.M.) (Christina A. Muncey, conductor) – 7 May 2022 (ACB 2022 Annual Convention (Santa Fe, New Mexico))
- The Southern Tier (Binghamton, N.Y.) Concert Band (Robin Linaberry, conductor) – 6 December 2021
- Cuesta Wind Ensemble (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – 17 November 2021
- Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Chris Kaatz, conductor) – 16 November 2021
- University of Mississippi (Oxford) Wind Ensemble (David Willson, conductor) – 23 April 2021
- Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.) Concert Band (Jonathan Sweet, conductor) – 22 November 2020
- Strasbourg Conservatory of Music (Strasbourg, France) (Miguel Etchegoncelay, conductor) - 17 June 2017
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- The Seal Lullaby (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Ambrose) (2011/2021)
- Sing Gently (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Mösenbichler-Bryant) (2020/2021)
All Wind Works
- Cloudburst (1991/ tr. 2001)
- Deep Field (2015/2016)
- Equus (2000)
- Fly to Paradise (arr. Shaw) (2003/2012/)
- Ghost Train (1995)
- Godzilla Eats Las Vegas (1996)
- Goodnight Moon (arr. Mösenbichler-Bryant) (2011/2017)
- Libertas Imperio (2009)
- Lux Aurumque (2005)
- Noisy Wheels of Joy (2002)
- October (2000)
- October (arr. Miller) (2000)
- October (arr. Ritz & Sullivan) (2000/2005)
- The Seal Lullaby (2011)
- The Seal Lullaby (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Ambrose) (2011/2021)
- Sing Gently (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Mösenbichler-Bryant) (2020/2021)
- Sleep (2000/2002)
- Sleep (arr. Nowlin) (2000/2016)
- Sleep, My Child (arr. Gershman) (2013)
- Star-Spangled Banner (as arranger) (1814/2018)
Resources
- Eric Whitacre website
- Kinsey, Jordan E. "Conductor Guides to Three Standard Works for Wind Band: Eric Whitacre's October, Gordon Jacob's An Original Suite, and Ottorino Respighi's Huntingtower: Ballad for Band." Research Papers. Paper 80. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2011. Accessed 21 February 2024
- October (Whitacre). Wikipedia. Accessed 25 July 2023
- O'Toole, Anthony "Score Study Episode #10: October (Eric Whitacre)." YouTube. October 12, 2018. Accessed 22 August 2023
- Whitacre, E. (2000). October [score]. Eric Whitacre: [Los Angeles].