Inspired by the ordinary sounds around us, Brooklyn-based composer Molly Herron has written for instruments ranging from full orchestra to flower pot. That flexible turn of mind makes her a good match for students and faculty in Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering, with whom she’ll collaborate over the next year to create a new piece of music as the Hop’s next STEM Arts-commissioned composer.

On February 23-25, Herron visited Thayer faculty and students as they made and tested things in the Thayer work spaces and laboratories, the first of several developmental residencies that will help her shape the project.