"The Trumpet shall sound..."

It's not often that one sees the black and white formal wear of an orchestra graced by the black and white of St Dominic's habit. But here in Oxford, Br Robert Verrill OP has been playing in the Oxford University Philharmonia for almost four years, and has regularly been given solo trumpet parts. Recently he played in the end-of-term concert, which consisted of Bizet's popular Carmen Suite No.2, Marquez's energizing Danzon No.2, and Vaughan Williams's Symphony No.2 which evokes scenes of life in London.

Br Robert's involvement with the orchestra is a witness to the fact that a religious vocation does not diminish our enjoyment of life, or the use of our talents, as some might be tempted to think. Rather, all good things can (and should) be put to use for the glory of God, even as a form of preaching. In addition to playing in the orchestra, Br Robert has frequently added to the solemnity of our liturgies in Blackfriars, and the video below is a recording of him playing a well-known Easter hymn.

And finally, the trumpet is a fitting instrument for a Dominican. As Blessed Humbert of Romans in his Treatise on Preaching said: "Scripture even compares the voice of a preacher to the sound of trumpets, for it should be heard at a distance with force and clarity. And then it is that we can apply to the preacher the words of the Prophet Hosea: 'Let there be a trumpet in thy throat...' (Hosea 8:1)".