Breath is based on a story written by R. Lawrence Reed II, M.D., when he chaired the Trauma Surgery Department at the University of Texas Medical School in 1989. Breath is a setting of two hospital scenes. "Emergency Room" is the tragic aftermath of a young man's alcohol related motorcycle accident when his parents (soprano and baritone) are given hopeless news by the Doctor (tenor or contralto). In "Intensive Care Unit," the parents are next confronted with the unthinkable procedure of having their son's ventilator disconnected. Musically, Breath is generally organized with three pitch series which are associated with paired voices and instruments.