Developed by Brooklyn-based artist and engineer Andy Cavatorta, the Irvine is an instrument conceived from an alternative lineage — one that never got to exist because the symphony orchestra stopped absorbing new instruments just before the golden age of electronic invention. Our contribution spanned physical design, CAD technical drawings, CNC files, and creative tech prototyping across multiple versions of the instrument.

About the work
The Irvine draws on Hermann von Helmholtz's 19th-century acoustic theory rather than synthesizer vocabulary — no VCO, ADSR, LFO. Its sound originates in synthetic crystal resonators whose oscillations are combined via heterodyning, then shaped through additive synthesis and vowel formant shaping, all analog, all performer-controlled. There are no automatic features. Everything comes from the player. Developed by Brooklyn-based artist and engineer Andy Cavatorta, the instrument has been performed at Musikverein Graz and SuperSonic Vienna, with an associated body of compositions by Austrian composer Rupert Huber.