Calls and Answers was written for a friend’s ordination to the Episcopal priesthood. It’s based on the hymn tune “Westminster Abbey.” The material for each trumpet part comes from alternate notes of the hymn – they form melodious, heroic-sounding passages independently, conflict when sounded together, and the familiar tune (“Christ is made the sure foundation”) when sounded in alternation. I intended this structure as a metaphor for the conflict and ultimate peace encountered when wrestling with and ultimately following a call from above.
