The premiere of Bill Cunliffe's Hymn was a complete surprise for Tim Howard and myself. The choirs commissioned Bill to write the piece for the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of the collaboration of Timothy Howard and James Walker. Since Tim played trombone in high school and I played the clarinet, they asked Bill to include those two instruments in the piece. They asked Greg Norton to conduct and Paul Floyd to accompany, and they had three secret rehearsals at Pasadena Presbyterian Church in the weeks leading up to the day. During the Greetings at the 11:15 service, Ed Bacon called Tim and me up and simultaneously Coventry Choir joined Canterbury Choir in the chancel. Bill, Greg and Paul entered the chancel. Both Tim and I freaked out! Then it was announced what was happening. It was an amazing experience and a complete surprise.