Tortured Sand

Tortured Sand is a five-minute work for trumpet, live processing, and the Reliquary — a self-built modular synthesizer whose central module is sensitive to ambient electromagnetic interference. Composed for an instrument-construction seminar taught by Charles Peck, the piece treats the EMI signal as a third performer — its sound shaped by the phones, lighting circuits, and bodies in the room. The work has been performed across Pittsburgh — at Government Center, Bellefield Hall, and the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium.