Design Against The Grain

Organ Facade

St. Michael's church in El Segundo purchased a new digital piano to replace their old organ. The new instrument looks like any other modern digital piano—a fairly bland box—so they asked me to design and build a façade for it to make it fit in with the rest of the church. For this design I brought my childhood moments of peace and reflection to the piece. Growing up in Northern Ireland, I lived near a pond enclosed with trees and all kinds wild plants. I would go there, sit by the water and make mud castles and dams. Especially when it rained. Under a dry canopy of leafy green colors punctured with cloud gray, my imagination would flow fast. The rain sounded like mud falling on thick canvas and I felt safe there. I would look at the multitude of rippled circles on the water-- like the growth rings on a tree. It was a good place for me to ponder on life's 'bigger' questions. I call this piece sonic rain.