electronic music

Will Alexander worked for Oberheim in the heyday of the synthesizer boom of the 1970s. He helped engineer the Oberheim Four Voice System as well as the popular OB-X units. He soon realized the role computers could play in music making and by using the early Apple products he began engineering instruments on his own. Over the years he played a vital role in designing and maintaining the electronic instruments for performers such as Keith Emerson. In fact, Will’s engineering helped create the sounds used in Emerson’s recordings of “From The Beginning” and the first hit for Emerson, Lake and Palmer entitled “Lucky Man.”
 

Dr. John Chowning is known throughout the world for his discovery of FM sound synthesis, which, when used in the context of electronic musical instruments, provided an alternative to the way synthesized music was being created. The technology was first used with great success in the Yamaha DX7, which not only sold extremely well and was a success in the market place, but it changed the way the world thought of and used electronic keyboards. As a professor at Stanford University, Dr. Chowning also designed a number of other applications for FM sound synthesis and similar electronic musical concepts.  

David Cockerell designed one of the earliest synthesizers produced in the United Kingdom. The Synthi was introduced in the late 1960s by EMS Ltd. The unit, which came in a case with a KS keyboard, used patch cords to root reverb and ring modes. David also included two oscillators both with shape and level controllers as well as a frequency control. The design marked the beginning of many contributions to the industry over the years including his work on guitar effects pedals for Mike Matthews in the 1980s.
 

Philip Dodds seemed to always be drawn to electric musical instruments as a teen, so it was no shock that he made a major contribution to the field of keyboard and synthesizer development over his long and successful career. He was hired by ARP in 1970 as the world was first being introduced to the many new sounds being produced electronically. He worked his way to vice president of ARP and years later held that same position at Kurzweil Music. One of the many fun parts of his career took place in 1977 when a young movie director named Steven Spielberg requested that an ARP technician set up a large unit for an upcoming movie. Philip worked on the synthesizer on the set and gained the directors attention with his knowledge of the instrument.

John Eaton spent the latter part of the 1960s composing for electronic musical instruments such as early synthesizers developed by Robert Moog and Paul Ketoff. His microtonal music included several works for live performances such as “Song for R. P. B” in 1964 in which John played the Syn-Ket and “Duet” in 1967 using the Moog synthesizer. John’s music career also includes composing over 20 operas and serving as professor of composition at the University of Chicago.
 

Keith Emerson is the British rocker who in the early 1970s helped define live performances on electronic musical instruments such as the modular Moog. He gained fame as a musical composer and clever keyboardist for The Nice before forming Emerson, Lake & Palmer and recording a string of hits for the influential supergroup. With high profile tours and live performances all around the world, Keith helped set the standard in high-tech gear. With towers of keyboards and large patch chord towers, the stage often looked like a spaceship, with sounds to match.

Wally Evans grew up in Wales with music all around him. He played piano and sang in church. He later learned to play the guitar and worked in several bands at night and worked in a power plant by day. For two years he studied electronic musical instrument technology in London before being hired by Rose-Morris Company as the assistant factory manager. In 1970 he joined the Rosetti Company as an electronic engineer and worked closely with the Yanagisawa flutes before forming his own company, A&W Ltd. The flute line went along with Wally when he joined the Barnes & Mullins Company with a close focus on the Yanagisawa line.

Larry Fast is best known as the innovative keyboardist and synthesizer composer who helped bring electronic musical instruments into pop music, beginning in the 1970s. His Synergy series of synthesizer music albums beginning in 1975 brought great popularity to the instruments, which were being invented and improved by the likes of Moog, ARP and Oberheim. In later years Larry played a key role in many of Peter Gabriel’s recordings as well as those with Foreigner. 

Beverly Grigsby was enrolled in medical school in Los Angeles when on the way home from class one day she stopped into a small music studio. There she met electronic composer Ernst Krenek who would later become her mentor after she decided to drop out of medical school and focus on becoming an electronic music composer. She composed the famed “Mast of Eleanor” (1984) as well as the opera “The Vision of Saint Joan” (1987). Her electronic and computerized music scores also include “A Little Background Music” (1967) and “Occam’s Razor” (1985).

Kazuo Kashio was president of the Casio Musical Instrument Company during the heyday of electronic keyboard sales. The company produced some innovative products during that time and continues today to focus on product design and innovations. Mr. Kashio provided the rich history behind how the company was formed and his vision to lead the company into the technology driven electric keyboard market in the 1970s and 80s. With the focus on digital technology, Mr. Kashio then created a series of products covering several musical and non-musical products, keeping Casio among the creative innovators in the industry.