Telegrams: "when the guns roar the arts die" (6' 30'')
String Quartet
Premiered: April 2012 by Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble; Beal Concert Hall, Eugene, OR
"Telegrams: 'when the guns roar the arts die'" is based upon a telegram that Arthur Miller sent expressing his views against war. The message was translated back into morse code (using a 1:2 ratio of dits and dahs instead of the normal 1:3 ratio) and the rhythm that resulted was the basis for the main theme. The theme is the glue of the piece, permeating throughout its entirety. A death march is put into the middle as an anthem for the arts, should the guns roar too much. It ends with a personification of the frustration and anger that Miller must have felt while sending that telegram.
Subsequent Performances:
May 2012 by Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble; Bamboo Grove Salon, Portland, OR