Back in 1954, Bob Moog sat down with his father and began buildingtheremins; after 10 years, Moog met experimental composer HerbertDeutsch, whose quest to find electronic sounds inspired Moog to buildthe first Moog Modular, which premiered at the October 1964 AESconvention. By the time Moog received his Ph.D. in engineering physicsin the summer of ’65, the R. A. Moog Co. (later switched to Moog Musicin 1971) had delivered several modular synthesizer systems, mostly toacademic and experimental composers, including Wendy Carlos, who madeextensive use of the unit on her landmark Switched-On Bach. In1977, Moog left Moog Music to form Big Briar and later served asKurzweil Music Systems’ VP of new product research from 1984 through1989. Last year, Moog reclaimed the rights to use the Moog Music andMinimoog trademarks and immediately changed the name of Big Briar toMoog Music Inc. Commenting on his amazing run, Moog said,“Keeping in constant touch with musicians from all fields ofmusic and from all over the world has enabled us to design instrumentsthat have proven to have enduring music worth.”
Check in next month’s “Current” for more companiescelebrating their milestones.
Send Your “Current” News to Sarah Benzuly at [email protected].
