KORI BARKLEY
Staff Writer
Fredonia’s community came together last Friday night for the second event of the Ethos’ Newsound Festival to witness a musical phenomenon: an electronic instrument that is played completely without physical contact.
Ethos presented Randy George, one of the handful of individuals in the world with virtuosic theremin abilities. The theremin is widely considered one of the most difficult instruments to play.
The instrument consists of a controlling station of two metal antennas: a loop antennae to the left that controls volume and an upright antennae that controls a five-octave pitch range. The antennas are connected by a small amplifier that sends the sound through a loudspeaker.
It was evident that George is dedicated to developing awareness of the theremin and its technical potential, as it was a very discussion-heavy concert. He explained the complexity of the instrument very thoroughly.
“The player of a theremin uses his arms and hands to interact with two electromagnetic fields surrounding the instrument that continuously affect its pitch and loudness,” George explained while demonstrating.
The audience marveled when experiencing the organic, haunting and otherworldly sounds of the theremin, as most were unaware of the instrument prior to the performance.
“The sound is an instantaneous reflection of the player’s physical motions in the three-dimensional space surrounding the instrument,” he continued. “To perform melodies on a theremin, [one] must constantly be aware of the sustaining pitch, while continuously trimming its position over time, utilizing aural and muscular memory of pitch-spacing to properly place the next note in the sequence. Because tone generation is continuous, a thereminist is not only responsible for crafting the sound but also the silence in between sounds.”
Throughout the performance, George was connected to a wire attached to a piece of felt in his pocket that kept him “grounded to the earth,” so as to not interfere with the electromagnetic waves. He stood stone cold while he was performing, as the instrument is sensitive 360 degrees around. If he were to move, the quality of the pitches would change.
The theremin is a new instrument, but, as an instrument with infinite pitches, there is an opportunity to perform old repertoire. George opened the program with a series of classical songs by Bach, Debussy, Messiaen, Faure and Rachmaninoff.
Admitting that video games and Japanese animation film music influence what he does, he continued the program with an audience favorite, the Super Mario Bros. theme song and a set of songs from anime soundtracks.
His smooth executions of theremin techniques caused the instrument to sound like a human voice or a string instrument. At times it possessed qualities of a wind instrument, though the sound was often pitchy as the notes are literally invisible.
The final performance was an improvised piece he called “Stream of Consciousness.” As it was the only piece on the program not accompanied by a piano or guitar track, the electronic sounds of the theremin reverberated through Rosch.
The evening concluded with a Q&A period, followed by an opportunity for audience members to play the theremin.
George’s technical knowledge of the theremin is a culmination of all his interests, as he also specializes in computer software and logic. This past year, he created “MIDI-Merlin,” a software program that hears a theremin and re-synthesizes the sound to a different instrument (similar to the foot pedal for a guitar). Friday was the first time he publicly announced the program. He is currently working on creating a publication of standard methods for the theremin.