Worlds of Conflict was an artistic response to the events of late 2023 in the Middle East and the subsequent tension at Brown's campus, where I was then a sophomore.
The piece is divided into four heavily programmatic movements. The first, "No Idea What a Life Could Be," is a narrative story; it is intended to be a composition composed by someone living within the war-torn region, and annotations in the score provide "hints" as to what is going on. Notably, there are three "attacks," and outbursts of jarring, harshly dissonant music represent nervous breakdowns. The second movement, "on History," quotes many national anthems and other military marches. An extended allusion to Shostakovich's 9th Symphony is also present. The movement ends with foreshadowing of the fourth movement. The third movement, "on Brunonia," tells the story of the fall 2023 semester at Brown. The Brown alma mater and the fight song ("Ever True") are both quoted as the primary materials of the movement. The piece ends with members of the orchestra being arrested amidst instrumentalists chanting phrases that I heard at the occupation of University Hall. Thus, the piece is an extremely faithful and vivid recollection of the events of the semester. The fourth movement, the Threnody, is intended to be a simple song sung by the souls of the innocent from somewhere other than Earth. The main themes of the movement are again allusions, though this time self-references: the A theme comes from a brief idea of my Fourth Symphony, the B from a 2021 work entitled "...As the light fades from day...," which was prompted by the coup of the same year in Myanmar.