As the title suggests, it is about breakdown of coherent systems or structures. This piece could be thought of as a malfunction, and the aftermath. Some sections will sound like they are falling apart; others (especially the ones with piano) should sound dream-like. The musicians are not to concern themselves with making the piece "tight" or "together" like a traditional chamber piece. It is intended to sound disjointed, meandering and perhaps on the verge of collapse. Breakdown of system was premiered in Utrecht by the Rosa Ensemble.
Composer Rose Bolton's teachers have included Jack Behrens, Alexina Louie, John Rea, Denys Bouliane, Udo Kasemets and Malcolm Goldstein. Ms. Bolton has received several awards, including a Chalmers Foundation grant in 2003, the 2002 Toronto Emerging Composer Award, the H.C. Aitken prize of the 1995 New Music Concerts' young composers' competition and two prizes in the 1999 SOCAN awards for young composers. She has received commissions from leading new music interpreters such as the Esprit Orchestra, ERGO, Continuum Contemporary Music, Arraymusic, percussionist Aiyun Huang, accordionist Joseph Petric, Soprano Janice Jackson, L'ensemble contemporain de Montréal, as well as being featured on New Music Concerts, Vancouver New Music and New York's Music at the Anthology (MATA).