"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