The two cornerstones of Meltdown—Marcos Balter's Meltdown Upshot and 2023–24 International Call for Works winner Anak Baiharn's The night the priest killed Eleanor—display influences of jazz and popular music styles including rock and metal. The other two pieces on the program—Saad Haddad's Aruah and Rodney Sharman's Incantation—are more meditative, and will provide moments of respite from Baiharn's incessant repetitions and Balter's thrumming rhythms.