@lminiero I enjoyed reading about your process and journey. I also enjoyed listening to your work "Lost Horizon".
My explorations are a lot smaller and intimate - 3-4 horns. Typically I am playing them live into the DAW through Swam VSTs in Bitwig using a Touche for expression. I put quite a bit of effort into making certain each part is slightly (a few cents either way) out of tune and time with one another and that they all use different vibrato rates (which are modulated with expression).