American Breakfast

Type
Piece
Composer
Saunder Choi
Composer Nationality
Filipino
Composer Date of Birth
1988
Text
Michael Yarsky (with quotations from the AR-15 users manual)
Year Composed
2016
Pages
50
Minutes
7
Difficulty
4 (Auditioned chorus)
Language
English
Voicing
8 part mixed chorus
Solos
T1, Bari
Instruments
Bongos
Sacred or Secular
Secular
Mood
Tense, with some edge; Rhythmic, with steady energy; Restrained, holding back
Description

This piece is a biting and soulful commentary on the horrifying ordinariness of mass shootings in America. American Breakfast uses syncopated rhythms and soaring lyrical lines to subtly show, rather than tell, the experience of casually waking up to yet another tragic headline. This is a piece that does not offer answers, but rather asks deep and profound questions about how we navigate violence in the 21st Century.

Audio Credit
Umberto Belfiore, video and recording
Group
C3LA
Performances
C3LA: Oct/Nov 2017 (American Breakfast)