Animal Rights was first composed at Interlochen, Michigan in 2003 as a brass quintet. In 2005 I added a percussion part for the Meridian Arts Ensemble. As the movement titles suggest, there is a hint of program throughout. Cock Crow is a wake-up call rooted in the motoric momentum of trains and fourths. Chicken Strut is a jazzy, angular response to the opening call. The scale is octaton ic (half-step/whole-step) and the metric design shuffles expectations without mercy. The dancers in this movem...