Sferics for vibraphone, seasonal electronics, and video

Program Note: In summer 2015, I completed a bike trip from San Diego, California to Fort Davis, Texas, collecting sounds, images, and environmental data during my 1,000-mile journey. For Sferics, my primary interest was recording electromagnetic energy from lightning (called sferics) in parallel with nearby acoustic storm sounds. I set up a pair of regular microphones and my VLF microphone (a type of radio antenna able to record sounds produced by radio signals, lightning, sunspots, and other invisible phenomena). Caught in one electrifying storm in West Texas with a staggering amount of lightning, I saw the lightning, instantaneously heard the sound from the VLF mic, and one to five seconds later, heard the acoustic sound of thunder, through the regular microphones. It was stunning to hear lightning in both its electromagnetic and acoustic manifestations. In addition to use of site-specific field recordings, I connected the piece to Fort Davis, Texas, in real time, via an audi