Steven Baxter Recital Studio
YST Conservatory 117376 Singapore

20 August 2019 (Tu)
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Dr. Alexei Sourin, presenter

In 1920, Russian scientist Lev Sergeevich Termen (Leon Theremin) invented the first electronic musical instrument. He called it etherphone, but later it was renamed as theremin or thereminvox (termenvox) after its inventor. The theremin is played by the hands of the performer without physical contact with the instrument so that the position of one hand in the air controls the pitch of the sound while the position of another hand – its volume. The theremin was envisaged by its inventor as a musical instrument for every home however it never happened. It went through ups and downs in its popularity and remains perhaps the most curious and fascinating musical instrument. Alexei Sourin will speak about the history of the theremins and play two instruments: Moog Etherwave Theremin and Moog Theremini. This will be also a unique opportunity for the audience to play the theremins.

Dr. Alexei Sourin is Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering of the Nanyang Technological University. He came to Singapore 25 years ago. His teaching and research (with more than 230 papers published) is in computer graphics, virtual reality and new user-computer interfaces. Alexei Sourin is investigating how the theremin, which is often considered as one of the most difficult to master musical instruments, can become an instrument for every home when digital music is combined with computer graphics.

Photo credit: School of Computer Science and Engineering, NTU

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