Stella began in 2016 as the capstone project for my Mechanical Engineering Degree at Boston University. The final product was a working (albeit simple) prototype. I devoted some time investigating further potential, even traveling to compete in Georgia Tech’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. Soon though, I got swept up in a master’s degree in music tech and a career in audio programming, and thus Stella has been waiting patiently on my shelf for the past decade or so.

Following some tumultuous life shifts at the start of 2025, I decided to revisit Stella. Looking around the NIME landscape, it still doesn’t feel like there is anything out there that that accomplishes what I set out to do with Stella. There are some fantastic instruments that are similar. The astoundingly expressive DigiBrass Tilt, headed by the fearless David Elvig. Berglund’s NuEVI carries on the legacy of Nyle Steiner with the rotary approach to partial selection. These are the standouts amongst a sea of wind controllers aiming to help us wind musicians tumble into the digital age.

While these controllers are works of art and press the culture forward, I cannot shake the feeling that something is lost.

I started out as a classical trumpet player, trained by my brother and neighbor the summer before sixth grade began. I drilled long tones and scales for years, training my sights on the sounds of Maurice Andre and Wynton. Eventually I got tired of the demands of the classical grind and turned to jazz, playing at jams around Boston throughout college, listening to albums on repeat and imprinting the sound of Miles Davis, Blue Mitchell, Roy Hargrove, and Sean Jones as deeply into my psyche as I could. When I moved to Brooklyn, I became inspired by players like Bobby Spellman and Peter Evans, who are able to get unreal sounds out of their horns. I mean – these players are squeezing out distortions, stacked harmonics, double tones, you-name-it. The common thread linking all of these players together is their lips. The interaction of the human lips and a mouthpiece attached to some tubing is the most unnatural and glorious pairing I know, and there is no limit to the universe of sound possible. Whether it’s the searing perfection of the classical greats, the endless pit of subtlety shown by Miles, or the unearthly portals opened up by Peter Evans, all are aiming for something without bound. As with any instrument that stands the test of time, there is no skill ceiling on the trumpet. The only limitation is imagination and will.

Is it even possible to bring the lips into the modern digital age? Is that even the right question? Should we just run a trumpet through some guitar pedals and call it a day? (looking at you, Aaron Janik)

My goal at this point is to answer these questions. And it is apparently a very difficult question to answer – almost as difficult as it is to formulate the right question. But the one thing I am sure of is that the vibration of the human lips is sacred and must be preserved. Maybe that means we are stuck with the brass forever, but I’d like to explore the possibility that’s not the case.

I’d like 2026 to be a year of R&D toward these questions. At the very least, perhaps I’ll have a fun time.