The Spectral Piano Project

The Spectral Piano project consists of two parts: the conception, design and physical creation of the Spectral Piano as an instrument, and the composition of a suite of music for it. An apparatus was created to allow direct electromagnetic excitation of 24 strings, producing very different timbres and dynamic envelopes than the conventional hammer driven piano string offers. The spectral piano may simultaneously and uniquely address any spectral component of each excited string. The ability to bend pitch, shimmer, pulse, and simultaneously create multiple pitches and timbres is possible. For the performance, music was composed which contrasts conventional piano with spectral piano in works compositionally linked in a variety of ways.