theremins

Mike Adams has a background in mechanical engineering as well as manufacturing, which seemed to fit perfectly when he began working with Bob Moog back in 2002. Bob was looking to expand his small company and to finally complete work on the Mini Moog Voyager, which he has been working on for several years. Mike began working at Moog Music as a consultant and soon became a partner in the business and later the president. He was able to work with Bob for only three and a half years before Bob became ill. Bob passed away in 2005. Since that time Mike has continued to run the company in the direction Bob made possible through his innovative and creative instrument designs.
 

Don Buchla grew up with a passion for music and a passion for engineering. When he combined the two loves, he created electronic musical instruments the world had never dreamed of before. His early synthesizer pre-dates the work Robert Moog was doing on the East Coast while Don was working in Berkeley, California. Composer Morton Subotnick commissioned Don to build an electronic musical instrument for live performances and recording. As a result Don introduced the Buchla Series 100 in 1963 and began selling them three years later. Over the years he has introduced the first digitally controlled analog synthesizer, the Buchla Series 500 in 1971 and the portable Music Easel a year later. 

Jerry Carp has volunteered as a docent for NAMM’s Museum of Making Music and helped spread the history of the music products industry to many museum visitors since its opening in 2000. During his years surrounded by musical innovation, Jerry became very interested in the Theremin, the first electronic instrument, and studied its background, becoming the museum’s expert on the subject. Jerry even put together a kit Theremin for the museum’s interactive gallery for visitors to try first hand.  

Dr. Robert Moog was the father of the synthesizer and perhaps the best-known promoter of the Theremin and electronic music. When he passed away in 2005 after a short illness, he was eulogized as an inventor and lover of music. When his Modular Moog was introduced in 1965, followed by the Mini Moog in 1969, he forever changed the range of tone in modern music, and many would say its attitude as well. The synthesizer celebrated the two things Bob loved most, electronics and music. Before Bob, the idea of electronic music was toy like; today, it is a way of life.

Michelle Moog-Koussa is the keeper of her father’s flame! As director of the Bob Moog Foundation she has worked closely with those who seek as she does to promote the work of her father, who was considered by many to be the premier pioneer of electronic music with the invention of his synthesizer, first introduced in 1965. Michelle has sought to collect and preserve the documents, photographs and instruments her father created and to share his inspiring story to others. 

Paul Tanner has lived a full and successful life in music. As a young trombone player, Paul was hired by Glenn Miller for the famed leader’s popular dance band. In fact, every gig, recording, and movie that the band appeared in, Paul was there! Paul played with the band for the last time right before Miller left to lead the Army Air Force Band. After the war, Paul turned his interest to music education and taught at UCLA for over 30 years. He continued to play throughout the 1950s and 60s, making notable recordings such as playing the Theremin on the Beach Boy hit “Good Vibration” and countless studio recordings.