Trevor Treglia (b. 1995) is a composer, instrument builder, and researcher based in Los Angeles. His practice centers on microtonal just intonation, psychoacoustic phenomena, and the emotional resonances of timbre and pitch perception. Treglia’s work engages with precision tuning systems, exploring how harmonic relationships shape both auditory perception and affective experience. His compositions often feature unconventional tunings and extended techniques, focusing on the subtle shifts in sound that emerge through careful manipulation of pitch and texture.
Treglia holds a BFA in Composition and Experimental Sound Practices from the California Institute of the Arts (Spring, 2025), where he studied under Wolfgang von Schweinitz and Michael Pisaro-Liu. His recent works include The Dragons in My Life (2024), a composition for large ensemble and electronics; And Now This Creature (2024), premiered by the Diapason brass ensemble; and A Special Mystic Joy (2024), which utilizes custom DSP processing to capture and displace the upper formant regions of the violin in real time, exposing the instrument’s timbral structure. Other notable works include Every Word in the Bible (2024), for retuned Disklavier, which converts text from the Bible into musical notes based on alphabetical text organization.
Treglia’s compositions have been presented at institutions such as Oracle Egg, Human Resources, and Torus Gallery. His installation work includes Lessons Soft-Spoken (2023), presented at the Fairy Farm Tunnel, Oakland, for the Through the Looking Glass festival by Spelling, Sacred Bones, and Atlas Obscura. It was also shown at the Other Places Art Fair, Angel Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro (2022).
Treglia is also the organizer of Community Ensemble, an initiative that invites public participation in the performance of key works from experimental music, most recently Terry Riley’s In C and Phil Niblock’s Disseminate. Treglia also hosts No Escape Except Peace, a radio show on Hong Kong Community Radio, Internet Public Radio, and Veneno Radio.
In addition to his creative work, Treglia created custom microtonal tuning systems for both electronic and acoustic instruments. He has built or adapted a variety of instruments, including an Appalachian mountain dulcimer, harmonica set, shruti box, chord organ, acoustic drone boxes, and a hurdy-gurdy, all tuned to microtonal just intonation systems.
Treglia’s recorded works include And Now This Creature w/ Diapason (CD, TORUS Music Editions, TBA), Untitled (LP, Formforum, 2023), On Wax Shores (LP, Formforum, 2020), That’s How I Feel (EP, Evo Natura, 2020), and Hope Springs (LP, Diner Waitress Tapes, 2018). His music has also appeared on compilations such as Dream Radio (2024) on Cone Shape Top, One To Another, One In The Other (2021) on Eastern Nurseries, and Evo-lation One (2020) on Evo Natura.
Currently, Treglia is compiling a book of interviews with leading figures in contemporary new music, aiming to provide insight into the methods and ideas driving current experimental practices.