James M. David (b. 1978) is an American composer and teacher whose works for winds and other genres have earned him numerous awards and print accolades, including the 2022 William D. Revelli Composition Contest for Flying Jewels. The son of a band director, he studied composition at the University of Georgia and Florida State University. He currently teaches music theory and composition at Colorado State University. See more about him at his website and the Wind Repertory Project.
David wrote Message from Arecibo in 2022. It tells the inspiring and tragic story of one of humanities most ambitious projects. In David’s words (to which I have added links):
From 1963 until 2020, the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico was one of the largest and most powerful astronomical instruments every created. While primarily used for receiving cosmic waves, in 1974 it instead broadcast a message to the globular star cluster M13 in the hope of communicating with an extraterrestrial intelligence. The message, coded in binary, described the atomic elements and formulas for DNA as well as graphic representations of the solar system, a double helix, a human figure, and the Arecibo telescope. Sadly, due to increasingly powerful Atlantic hurricanes, the telescope failed catastrophically in December 2020 with no plans for restoration. My composition, therefore, will be a remembrance of the Arecibo telescope and the spirit of discovery, hope, and loss that it represents. Opening with a simple repeating progression, the grand scope of the device is slowly revealed as a powerful arrival is heard in the full ensemble. This will then be followed by a depiction of the 1974 message at a faster tempo and involving aleatoric techniques and curated improvisation from the musicians based on data found in the message. Chemical elements and atoms swirl in complex polyrhythms and metric modulations, depicting the formation of the double helix strands of DNA. The message is restated with building energy until the support cables finally snap, leading to a triumphant and defiant final cadence. The massive major chord slowly subsides and recalls the tranquil opening as Arecibo fades into memory. This work was commissioned by the 2023 Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project lead by Dr. Alan W. Mills.
The Colorado State University Symphonic Band performs Message from Arecibo:
David spotlights the piece on his website. It is also on the Wind Repertory Project. This video gives an inside look at the unfortunate collapse of the Arecibo telescope: