ensemble: solo snare drum
duration: 4 - 8 minutes
written: summer 2017; winter 2019
written for: McKayla Phillips
premiere: October 4th, 2017; Auer Hall, Bloomington, IN

PLEASE NOTIFY rrankinmusic@gmail.com OF ALL PERFORMANCES

Tora Bora (ca. 4 minutes)
Abu Ghraib (ca. 4 minutes; can be performed separately)

When writing a piece for solo snare drum, I couldn't help but make a connect between the solo snare and the military. At the same time, I was watching a Frontline documentary about the role of torture in the U.S. military during the invasion of Iraq, more specifically, the horrific and vile events that took place at Abu Ghraib prison. Abu Ghraib is a monologue which reacts to rather than depicts the atrocities in the mid 2000's and how even after these events, we have learned very little from it.