Running wrote, "Like many others who came of age in the 1960s, I could not escape the compelling influence of rock-and-roll music. On the other hand, my formative years were also influenced by weekly attendance with my family at the local Lutheran church. Opus 5 for Brass 5 reflects both of these influences.

"The piece begins with a slow, mysterious, chant-like introduction - reminiscent of the many chorales and hymns I heard as a boy in church. With the entrance of the lyric melody in the solo trumpet, however, the mood, while still 'serious,' begins to shift: the harmonic progression underneath the trumpet line is none other than the well-known 'rock-and-roll' progression heard in nearly every rock tune of the 1950s."

The slow introduction is followed by a boisterous and rollicking Allegro con brio in which the rock-and-roll harmonic progression is a dominant force. The music here is in fun-loving contrast to the seriousness of the introduction.

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