ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University is celebrating Robert Moog Ph.D. ’65 and his pioneering invention of the Moog synthesizer, which electrified music and sparked a revolution in sound.
In honor of the inventor of the now-ubiquitous Moog synthesizer, the university is hosting “When Machines Rock: A Celebration of Robert Moog and Electronic Music,” March 5 through 7, featuring talks, workshops, an exhibition opening and performances on and off-campus. All on-campus events are free and open to the public. The full schedule of events is available here.
The exhibition “Electrifying Music: The Life and Legacy of Robert Moog” – running through Oct. 16 in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Carl A. Kroch Library – sheds light on Moog’s time at Cornell, where he completed his doctorate in engineering physics; and in Trumansburg, where he founded and ran his first factory.
Artifacts on display include Moog’s student notebooks and his 1965 doctoral dissertation, “Ultrasonic Absorption in Sodium Chloride”; early drawings, circuit diagrams and schematics; marketing and sales documentation (including for purchases by the Beatles and the Beach Boys); Moog’s soldering iron and other tools; and prototypes of synthesizer controllers and modules. Visitors to the exhibition will also have the chance to play a synthesizer and theremin, on loan from Moog Music Inc.
Featured Image: “In Loving Memory” by John Grabowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0