The Moogseum
The Moogseum is full of historical, musical, and science-based interactive exhibits that bring Bob Moog’s legacy alive to inspire expansive thinking. Through the space, visitors are invited to play theremins and synthesizers, learn how electricity becomes sound, and delve into more than 1,000 pieces of archival material through custom-designed touchscreen kiosks. Hundreds of those items can only be found at the Moogseum, which is the only entity that has access to the Moog Family Archives.
Who is Bob Moog?
Bob Moog (1934-2005) was an innovator in the world of electronic music for more than 50 years, expanding the boundaries of sonic expression and affecting the lives of musicians and music lovers around the globe. His invention of the Moog synthesizer in 1964 (in collaboration with Herb Deutsch) revolutionized almost every genre of music, offering performers new sonic possibilities in which to express their creativity. For many musicians, the synthesizer transformed their lives and work.
From an early age Bob built small radios, amps, three-note organs, and other such projects in the basement workshop with his father, George Moog, an electrical engineer for Con Edison.
At age 14, Bob built his first theremin, and a life-long fascination was born. Bob was taken by this early electronic musical instrument and dedicated much of his spare time to perfecting his own design and studying the design of his idol, Leon Theremin. At age 19, Bob published his first article entitled “The Theremin” in Radio and Television News, in January 1954. That article spawned requests from readers for theremin parts and kits. R.A. Moog, Co., Bob’s first company, was born.
Bob studied at Queens College and Columbia University in New York City where he obtained his bachelors in physics and his masters in electrical engineering. He moved upstate to Ithaca, New York in 1957 to obtain his Ph.D. in engineering physics while running a successful theremin kit business. In 1963, Bob met experimental jazz musician and Hofstra University professor Herb Deutsch at a New York State Educators Music Conference, and they began talking about new possibilities for composing music with new electronically generated sounds. The rest, as they say, is history.
Exhibit Highlights
The Moogseum represents the convergence of the Bob Moog Foundation’s goals of educating and inspiring people through electronic music, just as Bob did himself. It serves as an educational, historical, and cultural resource to Western North Carolina and the worldwide electronic music community through the following experiences:
There’s more to see at the Moogseum.
