The Composition is a chamber opera for nine musicians and from four to eight actors. The work is approximately thirty-five minutes long and consists of seven short pieces of music separated by dialogue. The subject of the libretto is a composer with writer's block. During the course of the piece, seven figures make appearances to the composer who personify various philosophies of musical aesthetics. An argument for a particular viewpoint is presented to the composer through dialogue, and the composer then attempts to write a piece of music using that philosophy as a guide. The audience then hears this music being played by the ensemble. This process is repeated until all seven aesthetics have been presented. In conjunction with the composed music, an attached research paper analyzes the techniques used in writing the music and gives examples of prominent composers associated with each of the seven schools of thought.
