wyrm & the pylon
vibraphone, string quartet, and electronics
2026
duration: ca. 8'30"
commissioned by Amiel Ang
This piece was premiered on the 7th of April 2026 by Amiel Ang and the Nexilis Quartet at the University of Toronto.
wyrm & the pylon
vibraphone, string quartet, and electronics
2026
duration: ca. 8'30"
commissioned by Amiel Ang
This piece was premiered on the 7th of April 2026 by Amiel Ang and the Nexilis Quartet at the University of Toronto.
wyrm & the pylon is, at its core, a piece about leaving. Using shoegaze and folk-inspired harmony, it moves through woozy yet emotional and often leaden atmospheres.
The imagery of this fantastical beast stuck or tangled in a man-made structure like a pylon struck me in the early phases of writing this piece. Ultimately this creature doesn’t exist but if it did it would of course have the capacity to leave that place. In this narrative the dragon feels stuck there and doesn’t know it could leave if it wants, not believing in its own power.
© 2025 Thomas Shorthouse