This piece began its composition in March of 2003 and is heavily influenced from the Middle-Eastern conflicts that culminated over the 2002-03 winter months. The work draws largely on a presidential address that George W. Bush made shortly after the infamous attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Over the course of the composition, the vocal excerpts have been spliced, processed and equalized in various ways to create the illusion of a number of different broadcasts. It is of great concern of mine that citizens become more informed of the manipulative power of the media and this is why these particular key phrases were chosen. “Rhetoric” aims to chronologically reenact the events and political procedures that took place over these two years. The beginning of the piece sees a growth of chaos and tension much like that which took place during and after 9/11. Next comes a transition section acting as a premonition or a calm before the war. Then as the piece unfolds, many processed sounds are used to paint a montage of the sounds of battle and destruction. This cannot relinquish what has take place but I feel it provides yet another much needed voice of concern.