JAMES M. DAVID, composer
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Call to Commitment

Call to Commitment
​for symphonic band
​

Grade 4 - ca. 7 minutes

Commissioned for the 2022 GMEA District II Symphonic Band, Randall Coleman, conductor 

Perusal Score (opens in new window)


Program Notes

​My dad – Joe A. David, III – was a band director for over forty years from elementary grades through graduate school, including the four years that I played in the Cairo High School Band in Georgia.  He was known for his infectious passion for music, relentless pursuit of excellence, and selfless dedication to his students.  A lifelong Baptist, he adored the traditional American gospel hymns and would frequently program band settings of them. My personal favorite hymns were always the “invitationals” that came at the end of each worship service during the “Call to Commitment.” This phrase struck me as a particularly appropriate title since he always asked for the utmost commitment and respect from his students knowing that he would give both back in greater measure. With this piece, my hope is to capture my father’s great love of band and music as well as his optimistic and charismatic spirit that lives on in his family, friends, and generations of former students.
 
The work is a rhapsodic theme and variations on the hymn “Softly and Tenderly” which is first heard in solo trombone (Joe’s primary instrument) after an introductory brass fanfare. Each large section of the work bears one of his memorable aphorisms starting with the complete hymn played “never softer than solid, never louder than lovely.” The tune builds in strength and color only to be interrupted just before its resolution by percussive octatonic chords at an aggressively fast tempo. Rhythmic, harmonic, and contrapuntal challenges abound as Joe never feared complex contemporary works since “If it is to be, it is up to me!”  Finally, the hymn’s refrain (“Come home, come home!”) is stated joyfully alongside the opening fanfare, building towards an emphatic conclusion that strives for “The Epitome of Decorum.” Throughout the piece, subtle allusions are made to many of Joe’s favorite band compositions including those by Hanson, Holsinger, Jager, Nelson, Schuman, Tull, and Zdechlik. This work was commissioned and premiered by the Georgia Music Educators Association District II Symphonic Band under the baton of Prof. Randall Coleman, director of bands, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 
  • Home
  • about
  • wind ensemble
    • Message from Arecibo
    • Flying Jewels
    • Urban Light
    • Troublesome Fire
    • Symphony no. 1
    • Ghosts of the Old Year
    • Call to Commitment
    • With Soul Serene
    • March Tumbao
    • Lookfar
    • Menlo Park, 1879
    • Zephyrus
    • Flexible Instrumentation
    • Heartland Verses
    • Swing Landscape
    • I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold
    • Concerto for Vibraphone
    • The Moorlands
    • Big Four on the River
    • All Dark Is Now No More
    • Temple's Grace
    • From the Shaken Tower
    • Two-Lane Blacktop
    • Sinfonietta no. 3
  • compositions
    • wind ensemble
    • clarinet >
      • all clarinet works
      • clarinet sonata
      • AUTO '66 - Clarinet Concerto
    • saxophone >
      • all saxophone works
      • Saxophone Sonata
      • L'oiseau dans l'espace
      • Saxophone/Percussion Double Quartet
    • trombone >
      • all trombone works
      • Trombone Concerto
      • Trombone Sonata
      • Cloudlands
      • Five American Dances
      • Song of the Valar
      • Bass Trombone Sonata
      • Partiels 2
      • Garden of the Gods
    • Other Brass Works >
      • Of Unsurpassed Heroes
      • Trumpet Sonata
    • Percussion >
      • The Dandelion
      • NOLA - BELA - SOWEGA
    • large ensemble >
      • Tin Lizzies on Old Fall River
      • LASCAUX
      • KAFKA - Sax Concerto
    • chamber ensemble >
      • Clarinet and Horn Trio
    • solo / electroacoustic
    • choral / vocal >
      • KUBLA KHAN
  • contact
  • Report Performance