Geary Yelton assists in moving into the new Moogseum space at 56 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC in 2018

Dedicated to the Bob Moog Foundation: Making a Bequest 

Written by Geary Yelton

Like most older electronic musicians, I recognize Bob Moog’s contributions to the path my life has taken. Without Bob, it’s unlikely that synthesizers would have become such an important element of popular music during my formative years. It’s personally important to me that his legacy continues. I’ve tried to give back by volunteering and supporting the Bob Moog Foundation in any way I could. Every year I host a Facebook fundraiser for the BMF on my birthday, for example, and I currently serve on the foundation’s Board of Advisors.

Another way I’ve found to contribute is by remembering the Bob Moog Foundation in my will and making the BMF a beneficiary of my retirement account. That way, I know I’ll continue to support the foundation’s mission after I’m gone. I figure it’s the least I could do. If you recognize the value of the Moogseum, Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, and other efforts to preserve Bob’s legacy, then I urge you to consider contributing to the Bob Moog Foundation now and in the future.

First Contact

My first real interaction with Bob was when we worked on a book together. It was a follow-up to my 1989 book Music and the Macintosh, an anthology called The Musical PC [MIDI America, 1992]. As the book’s editor and a contributor, I collaborated with seven other authors. Bob wrote the sections on music education software. We became acquainted via phone and email during our conversations on that project. He invited me to visit him at his workshop at Big Briar in Leicester, but regrettably I failed to follow through.

After that Bob and I always spoke to one another at NAMM Shows, both in Anaheim and in Nashville. I’d been writing for Electronic Musician since its first issue in 1985, and by 2000 I was working full-time as an EM editor. When Bob and his company introduced the Minimoog Voyager in 2002, I was assigned to review it. At the time I lived in Charlotte, so we arranged for Bob and Moog engineer Steve Dunnington to give me an overview of the Voyager before I took one home to explore. On a later occasion Bob and I had lunch in Asheville with EM’s publisher and some of the Moog Music staff.

Bob Moog with Moog Voyager

In 2005, like everyone else, I learned that Bob had a brain tumor. I hoped for the best and feared the worst. On August 21st my worst fears were realized when Bob passed away. Immediately after his touching memorial service at the Orange Peel in Asheville, I was invited (along with Wendy Carlos and a few other out-of-town visitors) to visit the home he shared with his second wife Ileana Grams. A year later, Bob’s daughter Michelle Moog-Koussa, whom I’d never met, announced the formation of the nonprofit Bob Moog Foundation.

Because I was Electronic Musician’s senior editor and I always held Bob in such high regard, my relationship with the foundation was probably inevitable. I lived only two hours from Asheville and synthesizers were my beat, making me the obvious choice to report on any stories about Moog Music or the BMF.

Event Horizons

The first foundation event I attended was Enter the Mind of Moog, a fundraiser at the Orange Peel in November 2007. I had my video camera and interviewed several of the event’s organizers, including executive director Michelle. The event was quite a success and attracted a sizable crowd of supporters.

Vintage Moog synthesizers at Enter the Mind of Moog Event, November 2007

In February 2009 I traveled to Knoxville to cover the very first Big Ears Festival. The BMF had a booth distributing information, and I ended up hanging out with Michelle and several foundation volunteers. Three months later I attended another fundraiser at the Orange Peel, this time in celebration of Bob’s 75th birthday. Again, I interviewed several of the foundation’s volunteers and supporters on camera. As I had with her father, I also spoke with Michelle every year when I attended the NAMM Show.

In May 2010 I relocated to Asheville. Three people showed up at my new home to help me unload the moving truck: Michelle, her son Gregory, and then-marketing director for Moog Music Chris Stack. The next afternoon Michelle invited me to her home to celebrate her mother Shirleigh’s birthday, and Shirleigh gave me a copy of her cookbook. I quickly realized that moving to Asheville had been an outstanding decision. Less than four weeks later, the BMF held another successful fundraiser called Moogus Operandi, featuring Erik Norlander and his massive modular Moog, the Wall of Doom. Echo Mountain Recording hosted a VIP party for the BMF the night before.

Erik Norlander and his “Wall of Doom” at Moogus Operandi. Photo: Jon Leidel

As luck would have it, October 2010 was the first time that Moogfest was held in Asheville, and Keyboard magazine assigned me to cover it. The BMF was a big part of the festival, of course. I served on two panels during the festival—one the foundation organized and one Moog Music organized. I covered subsequent Moogfests in Asheville the three following years, as well as a similar festival called Mountain Oasis in 2014, where I was invited to interview electronic rock legend Gary Numan on stage in front of 500 people. The Bob Moog Foundation was an integral part of those four festivals, as well.

The following year, Michelle recruited Erik Norlander to host a synth training video, and I was part of the camera crew. Unfortunately, the video never got past the editing stage and was never released. The year after that, Michelle invited me to join the team putting together the curriculum for Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool. We met for several weeks in a row, and I focused mostly on preparing second-grade teachers to teach schoolkids about the physics of sound.

Words of Advice

At some point Michelle and I began taking walks together in downtown Asheville. We’d discuss whatever issues the foundation was facing, and she would consider my opinions. She suggested the idea of creating an advisory board and asked me to draw up a proposal. Eventually BMF’s Board of Directors agreed to recruit a group of industry luminaries to serve in an advisory capacity, and the BMF Board of Advisors was born.

As a BMF volunteer, I’ve also written and edited press releases and other materials, folded T-shirts in the Moogseum store, helped move the foundation’s offices and its archival collection from one location to another, taken part in many fundraisers, and generally beat the drum in the press on behalf of the BMF. I’ve even pitched any pop stars I met to support the foundation whenever I had the chance.

Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool installation at UNC-Asheville event

Every step of the way, I helped disseminate news about the BMF in Electronic Musician, Keyboard, and Synth and Software, doing whatever I could to draw attention to their important work. For a couple months in early 2019 I was an actual paid BMF staffer, selecting the instruments and then researching and writing the Moogseum’s history of synthesizers. I wrote a cover story about the Moogseum in the inaugural issue of Synth and Software and another major story about the Moogseum’s grand opening, an event called Moogmentum, the following month.

Launching the Moogseum was the realization of a dream that began by restoring Bob Moog’s archival collection, including prototype instruments, drawings, photos, schematics, recordings, and other ephemera from his life. That effort continues to this day. In addition, the foundation’s educational efforts have enriched the lives of thousands of schoolchildren by giving them hands-on experience that helps them understand the connections between music and science. Please join me in doing what you can to ensure that the Bob Moog Foundation’s efforts continue into the future.

The Moogseum is proud to announce Fifty Years of Bob Moog Theremins, an additional three-part digital exhibit highlighting the importance of the theremin in Bob Moog’s life and work, to their Google Arts and Culture’s Music Makers & Machines exhibition. Released the day after the anniversary of Leon Theremin’s death, the new exhibit pays tribute to him and the inspirational force that Theremin was in Bob’s life, with historical narrative written by Mike Buffington and Andrew Baron of RCATheremin.com. 

Bob Moog built his first simple theremin from a do-it-yourself magazine article at age 14, and at age 19 in 1954, had his design published in the same publication. Moog’s Model 201 theremin design was a more refined version than the original DIY theremin, and although only about 20 assembled Model 201s were sold, this launched his company RAMCO/R.A. Moog with a higher demand on theremin kits and parts. These early assembled theremins were constructed with his father, George Conrad Moog, who made the wooden cabinets while Bob hand-assembled all of the components. 

Fifty Years of Bob Moog Theremins explores the many different models of theremins that Bob created in his expansive career, weaves in manuals and schematics, and features rare photos and video clips. Organized into three parts, The Birth of Moog Theremins leads with the early years 1953-1956, Bob’s love of learning and affinity for the craft of building musical instruments.

Part 2, The Evolution of Moog Theremins 1957-1964 continues the journey as model numbers such as 305 and 351 were superseded by names like Vanguard and Professional, and Bob’s instruments embraced the latest transistorized “solid state” technology.

As in earlier years, Bob offered two price points, making the “Professional” model available with additional functions like timbre control. 

The Big Briar Theremin Years and Beyond final section explores 1978-2004 with the theremin as a main source of inspiration for Big Briar’s goals of “…designing and building electronic and computer music controllers, as well as musical instruments and systems using electronic and computer technology.” This section includes the addition of MIDI and some of the newer technologies of the day, and the design of the Etherwave Pro, the final theremin designed by Bob. 

Google Arts & Culture’s Music, Makers & Machines features exhibits from 55 partner museums and non-profits from around the world, sharing historical and educational artifacts from their vast collections. The Moogseum created 13 original exhibits, sharing over 275 pieces of material from the Bob Moog Foundation Archives.

Explore Music, Makers, and Machines: g.co/musicmakersmachines

Explore the Moogseum’s exhibits: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/moogseum

In alignment with its mission to bring the pioneering legacy of Bob Moog alive for people of all ages, the Moogseum is sharing exhibits that explore Bob Moog’s life and career; evolutions in synthesis over a 100-year period; the history of Moog synthesizers; the use of Moog synthesizers in pop, rock, funk, jazz, and early pioneering works; the fundamentals of synthesis as explored through Moog circuitry; the early history of the Minimoog, Blacktronika, a special exhibit curated by professor and electronic musician King Britt and featuring Black innovators in electronic music, and more. Through the Google exhibit interface, the Moogseum has been able to integrate a wide variety of videos hosted on YouTube to enrich each experience. 

Recommended Reading:

Moogseum Announces Exhibits as Part of Google Arts & Culture Exhibition: https://moogfoundation.org/moogseum-announces-exhibits-as-part-of-google-arts-and-culture-exhibition/

Our donors are a vital part of the Bob Moog Foundation’s work, and we are excited to offer yet another powerful way to support Bob’s legacy! We are now able to accept gifts in the form of appreciated stock or mutual funds. You can easily transfer your stock to the Bob Moog Foundation through three easy steps. In less than 10 minutes you can make a tremendous impact on the growth and sustainability of the Bob Moog Foundation.  

Stock gifts are also one of the most tax-savvy ways to give because:

• You may not have to pay capital gains tax 
• You may be able to take a charitable deduction on the current value of your shares
• You may avoid incurring brokerage fees because you are transferring stock rather than selling 

We recommend that you consult your broker and tax professional for any specific questions you may have. 

We are extremely grateful for contributions of all sizes. If you would like to support us in other ways, you can donate through our secure online portal.  

Your donation helps keep the Bob Moog Foundation strong!

The Bob Moog Foundation is thrilled to announce the realease of Moogmentum, a new dynamic, elegant, and emotional synthesizer-based album from internationally acclaimed recording artist, composer, modular synthesist, sound designer, educator, and clinician Lisa Bella Donna. The album will be released Saturday, August 21, 2021 in a collaboration between the Foundation and record label Behind The Sky Music, and will benefit the Bob Moog Foundation which is celebrating its 15th anniversary and the second anniversary of opening the Moogseum. 

“This record is a very special dedication to the life and work of Robert A. Moog,” states Lisa Bella Donna. “I wanted to tell a story coming from a musician who never had the privilege and pleasure to meet and speak with Bob personally. Rather, this is a story from someone who started on Moog synthesizers very young; about all of the doors it opened in my music and my perception of sound from that point onward.” 

Order Moogmentum in digital format: https://fanlink.to/moogmentum

Order Moogmentum from our Online Store: https://bit.ly/moogmentumcd

Watch the trailer

The 12 stunning tracks on Moogmentum pay homage to the timeless elegance, beauty, and craftsmanship that marked Bob Moog’s 50-year career as a snythesizer pioneer. Weaving together a phenomenal array of vintage and modern Moog synthesizers and sequencers, Bella Donna also incorporates ARP synthesizers, concert percussion, and reel-to-reel tapes. 

“Bob Moog’s work takes us right to the way sound sets the stage for composers of all walks of life,” says Bella Donna.  “The Moog synthesizer is that instrument. The one instrument that connected musicians and free-thinking artists of sound. All through my early years of working with Moog synthesizers, I would think about Bob’s journey and process; how amazing and exciting it must have been dreaming of such far reaching ideas to be so fully realized so quickly. His instruments and his designs have everything to do with the way I compose and realize my own work.”

Launched exactly one year after Bob Moog’s passing on August 21, 2005, the Foundation is celebrating 15 years of preserving Dr. Moog’s legacy by inspiring children and adults of all walks of life to embrace creative thinking through Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, and the Moogseum. 

“To be invited to collaborate on this record with The Bob Moog Foundation is a thing of miracles,” continues Bella Donna. “It’s also another beautiful way to celebrate the opening of the Moogseum, something I was so grateful to be a part of two years ago. My hope is that this record moves the listener through a series of chapters that gets them in touch with how they first discovered Moog synthesizers and the remarkable impact that they made.”

Lisa Bella Donna performs and teaches “Synthesizer Alchemy” Workshop at Moogmentum 2019. Photos by Tristan Whitney

ABOUT LISA BELLA DONNA:  

Lisa Bella Donna is an internationally acclaimed recording artist, composer, modular synthesist, sound designer, educator, and clinician.  She has decades of experience as a session musician, educator, as well as developing extensive techniques with musique concreté, modular synthesis, analog & digital recording techniques, microtonal music, orchestration & film composition. 

Lisa currently tours all throughout the USA, Japan & Europe performing concerts and conducting workshops and clinics. She has been commissioned for many multichannel audio art installations in the USA and Europe. Lisa continues to inspire synthesists across the world every day from her recording studio in the Appalachian Mountains.

ABOUT BEHIND THE SKY:

Behind The Sky is a record label created by established electronic producer Bluetech, which is committed to releasing high quality limited-edition vinyl presses of analog and modular synthesizer music.  Paying homage to the history of modular synthesizer music and inspired by sci-fi, retro utopian art and futuristic illustration, Behind The Sky aims to showcase artists looking forward to the future of analog synthesizer music.   

Recommended Reading: 

Moogmentum Wows Attendees with Celebration of Music, History, Creativity and Innovation

Announcing “Moogmentum” Grand Opening Celebration of the Moogseum 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THOMAS MULHERN FROM

CALIFORNIA, USA, THE WINNER OF THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY

MINIMOOG RAFFLE!

The Bob Moog Foundation is thrilled to announce its 15th Anniversary Minimoog Raffle featuring a vintage, archetypal Minimoog Model D synthesizer, serial number 6572, signed by Bob Moog himself.

“The Bob Moog Foundation is excited to offer this extraordinarily special Minimoog synthesizer with Bob’s distinct signature in concert with our upcoming 15th anniversary later this month,” remarked Executive Director, Michelle Moog-Koussa. “The Foundation formally launched on August 21, 2006, exactly one year after Bob’s passing. Since that time, his legacy and spirit have been the inspiration that fuels our work in education, archive preservation, and the creation of our beloved Moogseum. We hope that the winner of this Minimoog will also be deeply inspired by Bob’s spirit.”

Tickets are $20 each, six for $100, 14 for $200, or 40 for $500

The 15th Anniversary Minimoog Raffle is open internationally from August 2, 2021 until 11:59pm EDT on August 30, 2021 or until all 5,000 tickets are sold, whichever comes first.

Please review the Rules and Regulations before entering.

The vintage Minimoog Model D being offered is serial number 6572, and was built at Moog Music’s Williamsville, NY factory during the mid 1970s. This synthesizer has an estimated value of over $9,500, and due to the highly coveted nature of this archetypal synthesizer, and its iconic signature from Bob Moog, it will only go up in value.

This Minimoog has been meticulously restored by venerated synthesizer technician Wes Taggart of Analogics, and is in excellent technical and physical condition, with minor flaws that are normal with the age of the instrument. 

Watch synthesist and composer Jil Christensen play the Model D

“It’s a really big sound with a small footprint.” – Jil Christensen 

Our 15th Anniversary Minimoog Raffle is Over 60% Sold Out!

Bob Moog’s connection to the mountains of Asheville, NC

The Minimoog Model D is widely regarded as the most iconic analog synthesizer of all time, and has been recognized as such by the likes of MusicRadar and SonicState.com. Its internal wiring configuration and front panel layout have defined the general synthesizer configuration for decades. It is renowned for its robust, incomparable bass and lead sounds, which are rooted in its three voltage controlled oscillators (one of which can be used as a low frequency oscillator) and its legendary filters. The Minimoog uses a 4-pole (24 dB/octave) low-pass filter with cutoff, resonance, ADS envelope, and keyboard tracking controls. To this day, Moog’s filter design is widely regarded as the standard to which all others are compared.

Funds raised from the raffle will be used to continue growing the Foundation’s hallmark educational project, Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, currently inspiring over 3,000 elementary school students per year through the science of sound, and poised to grow nationwide in 2022. The raffle will also help support the Moogseum, an immersive, experiential facility located in Asheville, NC, which brings Bob Moog’s pioneering legacy and the science of sound and synthesis alive for people of all ages. The Moogseum opened in late May of 2019, and has welcomed tens of thousands of  visitors from all over the world.

June 23, 2021

“In recent years, the BMF has increasingly touched the lives and minds of young people interested in electronic sounds, as well as preserving her father’s legacy for current and future generations to enjoy and draw inspiration from via the Moogseum located in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.” – Sound On Sound

Join host Rob Puricelli and Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa in conversation for insights into the making of the Moogseum, unusual items in the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, the impact of the Minimoog, and much more! Listen below, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Listen to Episode 14

Read the accompanying feature: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/bob-moog-foundation-podcast

The Bob Moog Foundation is proud to announce two new members to the Board of Directors in a time of exciting growth for the Foundation. Dr. Yvonne Spicer, the first Mayor of Framingham, MA, and two-time Emmy award winning composer Michael Whalen join the current Board that consists of David Mash, President; Bill Sautter, Vice-President; Daniel Keller, Secretary; Marc Willis, Treasurer; Chris Halaby, Jerry Kovarsky, Dr. Henry Panion, III, and Sally Sparks.

Prior to being sworn into office as the first Mayor of Framingham, MA in 2018, Dr. Yvonne Spicer served as the Vice President for Advocacy and Educational Partnerships at Boston’s Museum of Science. Dr. Spicer has worked with a variety of organizations, including the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer Economic Empowerment Trust Fund, and the Framingham Standing Committee on Ways and Means, and has served on the Board of Directors to the International Technology Engineering Education Association (ITEEA). Additionally, she has worked in the Framingham and Newton Public School systems, both as a teacher and administrator, and served several terms on the inaugural Massachusetts Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.

Michael Whalen is a two-time Emmy award winner, BMI award winner, and Grammy nominated composer and music supervisor who’s television / theme clients include HBO, Netflix, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo, ABC/News Good Morning America, BBC, NHK, Inside Edition, PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, A&E, NBC, CBS and many more. He has 850 TV and film scores, thousands of commercials and an extensive collection of TV themes and corporate identity pieces to his credit. He has scored advertisements for Apple, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Texaco, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Reebok, Advil, Ford, and many others. Michael has released 36 solo and soundtrack recordings as an internationally renowned recording artist and producer, and his song “I Have Loved you for a Thousand Lifetimes” has over 38 million streams on Spotify.

“The Bob Moog Foundation is immensely proud to have Yvonne Spicer and Michael Whalen join its Board of Directors,” noted Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation and the Moogseum. “Together they bring combined powerful expertise and networks in areas ranging from STEM education to the music industry, from the history of music technology to business development. We are excited to begin working with them to advance the Foundation’s mission to inspire people of all ages through the intersection of science, music, and innovation.”

To read about the full Board of Directors, visit https://bit.ly/BMFBOD

Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa recently sat down with London-based electronic music magazine Resident Advisor to discuss forming the Bob Moog Foundation, archiving her family history, the Moogseum, and the Moogseum’s exhibits in Google Arts & Culture’s Music, Makers & Machines.

Listen to the conversation.

Read the accompanying story: https://ra.co/exchange/561

The Bob Moog Foundation is excited to unveil a special new exhibit opening at the Moogseum: Minimoog Voyager Signature Edition serial #002 signed by Bob Moog.  In addition to being signed, this legendary synthesizer was hand-built, was the first ever sale from the current Moog Music, Inc., and was recently donated to the Bob Moog Foundation Archives by the Board of Directors President, David Mash, who has been its sole owner.

The new First Minimoog Voyager Ever Sold exhibit is part of the Moogseum’s Bob’s Workbech exhibit focusing on modular synthesis and featuring a legendary modular that includes prototype modules from the late ’60s.

“We are thrilled to have this unique synthesizer within the Bob’s Workbench exhibit in the Moogseum,” remarked Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. “Alongside the 1967 Moog modular synthesizer, the Voyager represents one of the first, and one of the last of Bob’s synthesizer designs.”

Considered to have been Bob Moog’s crowning achievement, the Minimoog Voyager is a handcrafted, all-analog performance synthesizer that incorporates the features and vast sonic range of the original Minimoog, while adding an exstensive number of new functional improvements to its design. 

In addition to the synthesizer, the new exhibit includes a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Bob Moog, a written reflection about working on the development of the Minimoog Voyager from former Moog engineer August Worley, and a letter from President/CEO of Moog Music, Inc., Mike Adams, detailing the instrument’s origin. The back panel of the Voyager has been carefully removed, and the exhibit has been backed by a mirror to allow visitors to visually explore the intricacies of the synthesizer’s circuitry. 

“In 2002, Berklee awarded Bob an Honorary Doctorate in Music for his lasting contribution to the world of sound and music,” recalls David Mash. “To further honor Bob, Berklee put on a student concert that featured music inspired by Moog synthesizers. I called Bob to ask if he wanted us to use some vintage instruments on stage, and he preferred that we use his latest synthesizer design, a new Minimoog that would be called the ‘Voyager.’ He sent me the instrument in an early stage of completion, including boards labelled ‘Big Briar’, and we used it in the concert. After purchasing the instrument, I sent it back to the factory so it could be completed and brought up to production standards (including replacing the Big Briar boards with updated Moog Music, Inc. boards).”

“This year, I decided that this special instrument should have a special home,” continues Mash, “and where better than the Moogseum, for all to see? It is a small way for me to give back to Bob’s legacy, for all he did to impact my life for the better. It’s a way for us to honor all he did to inspire countless musicians to create new music with his instruments, and all the other synthesizer creators who were moved to design and build their own, furthering the art of electronic sound. I am grateful to have called Bob a friend, and to serve as President of the Bob Moog Foundation Board—whose mission is to ignite creativity at the intersection of music, science, history and innovation.”

A birthday wish to Bob from Board of Directors President, David Mash, reflecting on their friendship and detailing his donation of the Voyager

“As someone who worked alongside Bob to develop the Minimoog Voyager, It is a great pleasure to me that David Mash has graciously donated this first-run MiniMoog Voyager S/N:002 to the Moogseum and that this instrument has come home to Asheville. This instrument is an excellent example of the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into creating a Moog synthesizer, and it is an instrument that should be shared with the patronage of the Moogseum as a tribute to Bob Moog and his timeless legacy.” – August Worley, former Moog engineer

Make advance reservations to visit the Moogseum: https://bit.ly/moogseumtickets

Support the Bob Moog Foundation: http://bit.ly/ContributeBMF