Music Tech
My love for music technology began at the start of the pandemic, on a call with my friend Max. Neither of us had touched a DAW before, but in an era of distance and isolation, we wanted to make music together in any possible way!
That spark grew into a journey of sampling, production, coding, and more. Since then, I began exploring Max/MSP, Pure Data, Imogen Heap's MiMU gloves, Elf.Tech, Python, fixed and live electronics, field recordings, hybrid orchestral production... and worked with computer scientists and fellow musicians also interested in technology.
Moving forward, I hope to experiment with VR, AI, and immersive systems, etc., and embrace technology is both a platform and a responsibility. A way to connect us across dimensions, but also a space to ask questions and build thoughtfully. My goal is to build tools and platforms that invite us to listen more deeply to ourselves and each other.
Networked Music Performance (NMP): Adventures in [A]Synchrony
At Northwestern, I worked with Dr. Seth Adams and a team of orchestral performers to explore Networked Music Performance (NMP)—a framework for real-time, low-latency collaboration using Soundjack to connect performers across distance. I helped design and prototype musical structures that could respond dynamically to network delay, signal flow, and human perception, treating latency not as an obstacle but as a compositional and expressive material.
I led creative discussions and developed the conceptual blueprint for our piece—shaping its focus on deep listening, flexible rhythm, guided improvisation, and meditative communication through sound. Alongside the ensemble, I experimented with microphone calibration, routing, and live monitoring setups to optimize clarity and presence in distributed space. This work attempted to bridge the technical and emotional: testing how milliseconds of latency could transform into new forms of musicmaking and shared time!
Through this project, I became fascinated by how music technology can amplify empathy and connection—how people separated by distance can still sense and synchronize with one another. That exploration continues to inform my broader work in music technology and emotional design, especially within OSEANA, where I explore sound as both a connective system and a medium for healing and belonging.
Kolaj Electroacoustic Ensemble
At Northwestern, I joined the Kolaj Electroacoustic Ensemble, a collective of composition students exploring the intersections of music technology, experimental sound, and collaborative creation. We met weekly starting in the pandemic, turning isolation into a space for creativity and friendship.
Each member brought a distinct lens—Jay linked mathematics to musical form, Kate and I explored sound design and production tools, and Aspen later went on to found Intervallic, an education startup whose creative learning framework we later incorporated into Sunflower Education, my own curriculum venture. Together, we experimented across genres and disciplines, from electroacoustic improvisation to interactive media.
One of our most memorable collaborations was “Rain Cloud,” a sound design project for Northwestern’s Theater Department, where we composed and recorded original textures that merged field recordings, synthesized sound, and live instrumental layers. Projects like this taught me how technology can act as both a connective ecosystem and a shared language.