WELCOME!
You’ve landed on the webpage for EMEAPP/MMT’s most ambitious special exhibition to date: Instruments That Talk Back: Celebrating the Legacy of Don Buchla. This exhibition is being funded by a Creative Project Grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and we are incredibly grateful for their support.
Instruments That Talk Back will be a seven-month celebration of the work of Don Buchla, a pioneering electronic instrument designer who revolutionized music technology with unconventional touch- and motion-sensitive interfaces and instruments that blurred the line between human and machine. The exhibition is scheduled to open on September 19, 2026 and will close on April 17, 2027 with a special event commemorating what would have been Buchla’s 90th birthday.
EMEAPP and the Museum of Music Technology will be setting up a special physical exhibit highlighting our collection of rare Buchla instruments as well as several additional pieces on loan to us. Many of the instruments in the exhibit will be operational so visitors can see, hear, and interact with them.
We will even feature one of the MEMS Project’s reproduction EEG Conditioner Modules so that visitors can try controlling a synthesizer with their brainwaves. Guests will also have the opportunity to experience an immersive quadraphonic sound art installation featuring Kurt Kurasaki’s composition A Single Momentary Sound accompanied by video projections from a recreated Buchla slide projector controller module.
A variety of programming will be offered throughout the run of the exhibition and will feature performances and presentations from notable Buchla artists and scholars including Todd Barton, Ezra Buchla, Suzanne Ciani, Joel Davel, Ryan Gaston, Mark Goldstein, Ted Gordon, Steve Horelick, Mike Hunter, Steve McQuarry, the MEMS Project, Ami Radunskaya, Sarah Belle Reid, David Rosenboom, Stephen Ruppenthal, and Barry Schraeder. For more details and the most up-to-date schedule of events, click here. And of course if you’re interested in attending any of these events in person, be sure to sign up for our Shortlist for the earliest chance to register!
We at EMEAPP/MMT are honored to be hosting this exhibition to spotlight the work of Don Buchla and his collaborators. We hope you will be able to join us as we bring his visionary thinking and creative ethos to a whole new generation of listeners and musicians.
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EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
We are excited to present a robust schedule of in-person programming to accompany this exhibition. To learn more and register for in-person tickets, please click the links at the bottom of each event. Some events are still pending final confirmation from the artist and do not currently have registration links. Links to register for those in-person tickets will be added as programs are finalized over the next few weeks.
Please note that admission to most in-person events is free of charge but donations are both welcome and encouraged! (Lectures/workshops are always free. A small booking fee will be added to free concerts/performances to help cover ticketing costs and minimize no-shows.) Seating is limited, so please only register for events that you will definitely attend. If you have registered but find you are unable to attend, please let us know so we can make your seats available to others.
All events will be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend in person. Links to register for the livestreams are also provided below. Registration puts you on the list to receive the livestream link, which will be emailed out approximately 10-15 minutes prior to the event. All times are US Eastern time zone.
Yesterday’s Future: Don Buchla’s Legacy and The MEMS Project
September 19, 2026 1:00pm – 5:00pm
The MEMS Project
The opening afternoon will feature two different lecture-demonstrations by the MEMS Project showcasing their work with two of Don Buchla’s most unusual modules. The first presentation will focus on the slideshow controller module, which Buchla developed in the mid-1960s as part of the psychedelic house lighting equipment in NYC’s Electric Circus. The slideshow controller takes input from a synthesizer and uses it to control old-school slide projectors, allowing the musician to create an immersive audio-visual experience. MEMS will discuss how this module works and how and why Buchla created it. Slideshows created using the module will be demonstrated for the audience.
The second presentation will focus on the 276 EEG Conditioner, a module designed to hook up to electrodes attached to the user’s head that allow the user to control a synthesizer with their brainwaves. MEMS traveled to EMEAPP/MMT to study and reproduce Buchla’s original 276 prototype, which is part of our permanent collection. This first lecture will focus on the evolution of brainwave controllers and how Buchla was inspired to create one. This lecture will also feature a demonstration of the 276 module using volunteers from the audience.
The Instrument That Started It All: Exploring the Buchla 100
September 19, 2026 8:00 pm
Steve Horelick, The MEMS Project
The evening will feature a special presentation by The MEMS Project, highlighting their groundbreaking work restoring the legendary Buchla 100 synthesizer for the Library of Congress. This is the very instrument used by Morton Subotnick to create Silver Apples of the Moon, one of the most influential works in the history of electronic music. In the 1980s, the same Buchla system spent several years at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where composer Steve Horelick worked extensively with the instrument while studying and performing under the direction of Michael Czajkowski.
The MEMS Project will discuss the provenance and configuration changes of the system as it changed hands over the years and share highlights and stories from their experiences working deep within the Library of Congress vaults.
Steve—who later composed the Reading Rainbow theme—will reflect on his time working with the Buchla at Aspen and share how Michael Czajkowski’s original patching ideas continue to influence his approach today. His presentation will draw inspiration from those patching concepts, offering a personal, contemporary response to the instrument rather than a literal recreation.
This presentation will feature The MEMS Project’s exceptionally accurate Buchla 100 reproduction system.
Afternoon at the Movies: SUBOTNICK: Portrait of an Electronic Pioneer
October 3, 2026 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Join us in the afternoon for a screening of Waveshaper Media’s documentary film SUBOTNICK: Portrait of an Electronic Pioneer. This film explores the life of electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick, who worked closely with Don Buchla at the San Francisco Tape Music Center to develop the first Buchla Modular Electronic Music System – the system Subotnick then used to create his landmark 1967 album Silver Apples of the Moon and many other subsequent works. At 90 years of age, Subotnick has become a cult figure for a whole new generation that have come to recognize him as “The Father of Techno.” Featuring live performances captured in surround sound and augmented with innovative liquid-light psychedelic effects, SUBOTNICK is a multimedia experience that highlights and celebrates one of the world’s most influential living composers. This movie makes a great lead-up to our evening lecture on Don Buchla’s place in the cybernetics moment. The exhibit will be open at 2:30pm for viewing before film screening but the EEG module will not be demonstrated.
Due to film copyright laws, this event cannot be livestreamed or recorded.
Note: a standard guided tour of the Museum of Music Technology is available from 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are very limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Don Buchla in the Cybernetics Moment: Exploring Buchla’s Place in 1960s San Francisco with Ted Gordon and Marcia Bassett
October 3, 2026 8:00pm
Theodore Gordon, Marcia Bassett
This event will focus on Buchla’s place within the cultural milieu of 1960s/1970s San Francisco.
Musicologist Ted Gordon, author of The Composer’s Black Box: Making Music in Cybernetic America (University of California Press) will present a lecture and Q&A session on the origin of Buchla’s ideas and technologies within the cultural milieu of 1960s/1970s San Francisco. His talk will incorporate archival material that has never before been presented in public, including audio recordings and other documentation of Buchla’s first system built for the San Francisco Tape Music Center (now held at Mills College) and a system built for the Anonymous Artists of America.
Finally, to conclude the evening, Gordon will be joined by Marcia Bassett, a frequent collaborator and NYC noise legend who regularly performs with Buchla instruments and guitar, to perform an improvised duo, articulating some of the ideas developed in the talk.
Note: a standard guided tour of the Museum of Music Technology is available from 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are very limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Afternoon Open House
October 12, 2026 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Open/free admission to the Buchla exhibit only. MMT Staff will be on site to demonstrate the Buchla EEG conditioner module. No prior registration is necessary.
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Easels and Weasels: A Day with Todd Barton and Stephen Ruppenthal
October 24, 2026 1:00pm – 10:00 pm
Todd Barton, Stephen Ruppenthal
Original Electric Weasel Ensemble member Stephen Ruppenthal and modern Buchla Easel performer Todd Barton will present a day of programming all about the Buchla Music Easel. Stephen will present a lecture/demonstration about his work with Buchla and Allen Strange in the Electric Weasel Ensemble. Stephen will also be showcasing/premiering the new Electric Weasel Ensemble LP due out from Important Records in 2026. Todd will present a lecture on how Buchla’s design choices expand the body’s capacity for creativity and play. Todd will also lead guided hands-on experiences of some of the pieces in EMEAPP’s collection. The afternoon lectures will run from 1:00-5:00pm, when the building will close to prepare for the concert. Doors will open back up at 7:30pm.
In the evening, both artists will perform a solo quadraphonic set, Stephen using his vintage Easel and Todd using his modern one. Both artists will then perform a set together in a special duet performance.
Afternoon Open House
November 11, 2026 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Open/free admission to the Buchla exhibit only. MMT Staff will be on site to demonstrate the Buchla EEG conditioner module. No prior registration is necessary.
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
His Instrument Gave Me Wings: An Evening with Suzanne Ciani and Her Buchla
November 11, 2026 6:00pm
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani, a groundbreaking composer and performer who got her start by building Buchla’s instruments in the 1960s and eventually became one of the world’s foremost Buchla artists, brings her unique voice and history to this exhibition. This event will open with a screening of the documentary film A Life In Waves, an exploration of the life and innovations of composer and electronic-music pioneer Suzanne Ciani. (Due to copyright laws, the film screening cannot be livestreamed or recorded.)
Following the screening of A Life In Waves, Ciani will present an original quadraphonic performance using her own personal Buchla system. Immediately after her performance, Ciani will present a talk where she explains the philosophy, technique, and aesthetic thinking behind her work with Buchla instruments and discusses her synthesis process in depth. She will reflect on her time and friendship with Don Buchla and offer unique insights on his legacy.
***This event offers a rare chance to see Ciani perform and speak in a small and intimate venue and has an admission fee of $50 per person.***
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Don Buchla & the Electric Symphony Orchestra: An Evening of Stories and Performances with Howard Moscovitz and Friends
November 13, 2026 7:00pm
Howard Moscovitz
Join us as Howard Moscovitz shares first-hand stories from his time working with Don Buchla in the early 1970s. Howard worked under Don as an electronics technician for the Electric Symphony Orchestra, a short-lived experiment in electronically amplifying the traditional acoustic instruments in a classical orchestra. Howard will present his own very amusing firsthand accounts of Don’s efforts to “electrify” a traditional symphony orchestra and the somewhat disastrous outcome of those efforts. Howard will also show and discuss some artifacts from his time working with Buchla including The Buchla Machine, the first circuit Don ever built. This presentation offers a unique first-hand perspective on Don Buchla’s way of inventing and interacting with people during what is a relatively obscure period of his career
Throughout the evening, Howard and several musical partners will intersperse performances of new music using both vintage and modern Buchla instruments, as well as contemporary instruments inspired by Don’s philosophies. Additional musicians include Jil Christensen, Bill Fox, Doug Llewellyn, Joel Izquierdo, and Jared Stack.
NOTE: Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available on this date for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Butterfly in the Skylab: An Evening With Composer Steve Horelick
November 14, 2026 7:00pm
Steve Horelick
Composer Steve Horelick presents an evening of conversation and live performance centered on the creation of the iconic Reading Rainbow theme song, “Butterfly in the Sky.” While Steve composed the music for all 155 episodes of the PBS series Reading Rainbow, this presentation focuses specifically on the theme—its origins, structure, and the role Buchla instruments played in shaping its sound. Steve will break down his compositional process and share insights into how the piece evolved from early electronic sketches into one of the most recognizable themes in children’s television.
The talk will be followed by a quadraphonic, live improvised performance using Steve’s Buchla Easel and 200e Skylab systems. Before performing, Steve will walk the audience through his setup and discuss how he integrates classic Buchla modules with modern digital tools, including contemporary DAW workflows.
Note: a standard guided tour of the Museum of Music Technology is available from 2pm – 4:30pm this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are very limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Afternoon Open House
January 4, 2027 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Open/free admission to the Buchla exhibit only. MMT Staff will be on site to demonstrate the Buchla EEG conditioner module. No prior registration is necessary.
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and MUST be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Magic Wands and Morphing Mallets: A Day with Mark Goldstein featuring the Lightning Wands and Marimba Lumina
January 23, 2027 1:00pm – 10:00pm
Mark Goldstein
Mark Goldstein began working and touring with Don Buchla in 1991, the year that Buchla’s Lightning Wands were introduced, and played a key role in the development of the Marimba Lumina, which first appeared in 2000.
Mark will lead a day-long experience focused on the development and use of the Lightning Wands and the Marimba Lumina. In two lecture/demonstrations Mark will discuss the genesis of each controller: how each one came to be and evolved over time.The first session will cover the Lightning and include a discussion of the iconic piece En Plein Vol (a.k.a. Thief) that Mark co-created and premiered with Buchla. Mark will discuss how his playing technique evolved as he started using Lightning to accompany silent movies live with organ and how this led to the idea of “gestural coherence,” a concept that has guided Mark’s exploration of electronic musical expression ever since. The second session will center on the Marimba Lumina. Mark will explain the history of the Lumina (originally called the Chromaphone) including how he envisioned and prototyped it, and then spent a year convincing Buchla to build it. Both sessions will include short performances by Mark demonstrating the capabilities of the instruments and attendees will be invited to come up and try playing them as well. A few volunteers from these sessions who are willing to stay and rehearse over the dinner break will be offered the opportunity to perform with Mark in the evening event.
The afternoon lectures will run from 1:00-5:00pm, when the building will close to prepare for the concert. Doors will open back up at 7:30pm.
The evening event will be an interactive workshop/performance featuring recreations of several historic pieces for Lightning that Mark and Don performed back in the 1990s, along with some of Mark’s own compositions for the Lightning and Marimba Lumina. Volunteers from the afternoon sessions will be featured in some of the pieces and additional participants will be selected on-the-spot from the evening audience. It will be a fun and relaxed event – and if you’ve ever dreamed of playing a Buchla instrument on stage in front of an audience, this is your once-in-a-lifetime chance!
Afternoon Open House
February 15, 2027 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Open/free admission to the Buchla exhibit only. MMT Staff will be on site to demonstrate the Buchla EEG conditioner module. No prior registration is necessary.
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Technology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Lost Atlantis: An Evening with Barry Schrader
February 20, 2027 7:00pm
Barry Schrader
EMEAPP will present an interview with Barry Schrader that was conducted and recorded specifically for this event. The interview will be followed by a live airing of the original quadraphonic version of Schrader’s seminal album Lost Atlantis which was composed on one of the first Buchla 200 systems (Schrader was on the faculty of CalArts, which purchased two of the earliest 200 systems in 1971). This version has been rarely heard publicly and includes the original narration from Plato’s Critas spoken by Nicholas England. The narration was not included on either the LP or CD releases of the work, making this a rare chance to hear the album as it was originally conceived by Schrader.
Note: a standard guided tour of the Museum of Music Technology is available from 2pm – 5pm this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are very limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Bits, Bytes, and Buchla: Exploring Buchla’s Computer Based Instruments
March 20, 2027 1:00pm – 10:00pm
Ryan Gaston, Sarah Belle Reid, David Rosenboom
Join us for a day-long exploration of Buchla’s later and lesser-known digital instruments! The afternoon will consist of three different lecture-seminars. Original Buchla collaborator David Rosenboom will present a lecture, titled Interactive Uncertainties—Instruments as Endless Compositional Networks, highlighting his work with Buchla from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Ryan Gaston will present a lecture tracing the design trajectory of Buchla’s computer-based instruments from the Series 500 and 300 through the Touché, Series 400 and Series 700. Sarah Belle Reid will speak about the compositional techniques and strategies used in her newly composed piece for the Buchla 400 while also exploring the broader Buchla themes of sonic play and performer-instrument relationships. All of these talks will incorporate musical examples and include live demonstrations of instruments from our collection.
The afternoon lectures will run from 1:00-5:00pm, when the building will close to prepare for the concert. Doors will open back up at 7:30pm.
The evening will feature performance sets by all three artists: Sarah and Ryan will debut newly composed pieces for the rare Buchla 400 while David will perform new music featuring a hybrid system combining original 1970s Buchla 200 Series modules with his Touché II software instrument (modeled after the original Touché digital-analog keyboard instrument David co-designed with Buchla in 1979-80).
Afternoon Open House
March 26, 2027 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Open/free admission to the Buchla exhibit only. MMT Staff will be on site to demonstrate the Buchla EEG conditioner module. No prior registration is necessary.
Our standard guided tours of the Museum of Music Techology are available this day for an additional fee. Tour slots are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click HERE to book.
Modern Buchla Reissues with Mike Hunter and Steve McQuarry
April 3, 2027
Mike Hunter and Steve McQuarry
Join us to explore the modern-day instruments based on Don Buchla’s designs that are commercially available to today’s electronic musicians. Mike Hunter aka Ombient and Steve McQuarry aka Synsor will be onsite to showcase their use of modern commercially-available versions of Buchla instruments: Mike uses the modern Buchla Music Easel and Steve uses Tiptop Audio Eurorack modules. The event will open at 2pm with a screening of I Dream of Wires, a documentary film that discusses Don Buchla’s West-Coast approach to design and also highlights the resurgence of interest in modular synthesis thanks to the Eurorack community. Following the film, Mike Hunter will present a lecture/workshop on the Arturia Buchla Easel V, a software version of the Buchla Music Easel that is one of the only VST Buchla instruments to receive the endorsement of Buchla USA.
The afternoon programming will run from 2:00-5:00pm, when the building will close to prepare for the concert. Doors will open back up at 7:30pm.
The evening concert will include a performance set of music with accompanying video projections from each artist: Mike on his BEMI Easel and Steve on his Tiptop system. Following the performances, Mike and Steve will discuss their approaches to music creation using their modern Buchla instruments and take questions from the audience. We will also plan to include video interviews with representatives of Buchla USA and Tiptop Audio who will discuss how their companies continue to carry on Buchla’s legacy.
A Buchla Birthday Tribute
April 17, 2027 1:00pm – 10:00pm
Ezra Buchla, Joel Davel, Ami Radunskaya
The closing event for our exhibition will feature programming from Ami Radunskaya, Don’s son Ezra Buchla, and Joel Davel, an engineer who worked with Don to develop the Marimba Lumina and several other later instruments. The day’s events will include a lecture by Joel Davel about his years working with Don to develop the Buchla Lightning, Marimba Lumina, and 200e series. This will be followed by a lecture by Ezra Buchla discussing Don’s legacy as a creative collaborator. The lecture will also include a technical portion where Ezra examines Don’s circuit designs and demonstrates how his principles can be adapted into DIY devices that audience members can build themselves.
The exhibition’s final concert will open that evening with a performance by Joel Davel featuring EMEAPP’s Marimba Lumina Gold as well as the Buchla Lightning and Thunder. Joel will be followed by Ami Radunskaya, who will be recreating several of her historic Muse & The Fuse performances with assistance from Ezra and Joel. Selections will include the Sili Con Cello piece (featuring Ami’s custom-built Buchla electric cello) and Consensus Conduction (featuring a recreation of Buchla’s Consensus Conduction technology, where the audience helps to control the performance via flashlights). Additional pieces may include Sonatine Chimique and Fontanella Jello.
The closing concert will also feature video clips that look back at all of the other exhibition events as well as a video tribute to Don assembled with the help of all of the exhibition’s collaborators.
CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
TODD BARTON
Todd Barton is a renowned Buchla synthesist, educator, and composer whose decades-long dedication to Don Buchla’s instruments has deeply influenced the modular synthesis community. Known for his exploratory compositions and improvisations, Barton has become one of the most visible ambassadors of the Buchla ethos. His widely popular online tutorials and courses have made Buchla’s design philosophy accessible to learners around the globe, fostering a new generation of sonic adventurers. More info can be found at toddbarton.com.
EZRA BUCHLA
Ezra Buchla is not only Don Buchla’s son — he is also a musician and audio software developer with a deep background in music technology. His work over the past 20 years has included hardware and software product development, as well as a diverse array of custom tools for individual artists and researchers. He worked for Buchla & Associates for over nine years, helping to develop the software and firmware for many of Don’s later digital creations.
SUZANNE CIANI
Suzanne Ciani is a visionary composer, sound designer, and electronic music pioneer whose work with Don Buchla helped shape the very language of modular synthesis. A five-time Grammy nominee and recipient of the Moog Innovation Award, Ciani began her journey in the late 1960s, studying composition at UC Berkeley and working directly with Buchla to build and master his groundbreaking instruments. Her early performances with the Buchla 200 system redefined electronic music as a tactile, expressive art form, and her commercial sound design, most famously the Coca-Cola “pop and pour”—brought synthesis into mainstream culture. More info can be found at sevwave.com.
JOEL DAVEL
Joel Davel is a composer, performer, and instrument designer whose more than 20-year collaboration with Don Buchla shaped the development of Buchla’s electronic instruments from the 1990s through Buchla’s final years. Beginning with enhancements to Buchla’s innovative Lightning controller in 1993, Davel played a key role in the evolution of Buchla’s hardware and firmware—most notably the design and implementation of the Marimba Lumina and 200e series. Davel continues to regularly design, support, and perform with Buchla instruments.
RYAN GASTON
Ryan Gaston is a composer and instrument designer who establishes unusual relationships between performers and sound through novel electronic musical instrument designs. Gaston is part of the Buchla Archives, an independent organization whose mission is to document and preserve Don Buchla’s work. The Buchla Archives assists with restoration and maintenance of vintage Buchla instruments and offers research support to artists, academic researchers, and institutions. More info can be found at buchlaarchives.com.
MARK GOLDSTEIN
Mark Goldstein is a performer, technologist, and instrument designer whose collaborations with Buchla in the 1990s and 2000s helped redefine how humans and electronics interface to make music. Known for his performance work with Lightning—the gestural controller he premiered with Buchla in 1991—Goldstein was also a key developer of the Marimba Lumina. He is a San Francisco-based freelance musician who uses both instruments to perform with a diverse collection of musical groups that includes orchestras, contemporary music ensembles, jazz combos, and samba bands. He’s also helped medical researchers explore innovative musical environments for therapy and played Lightning Wands to accompany silent movies.
THEODORE (TED) GORDON
Theodore (Ted) Gordon is a musicologist and musician whose research combines the study of experimental music/musical instruments with general concepts in science & technology. He has created program notes and interpretive texts for several previous exhibitions including Sounding Circuits, a 2019 exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. His first book, The Composer’s Black Box: Making Music in Cybernetic America, was published in December 2025 by the University of California Press, and his writing has also appeared in Modular Synthesis: Patching Machines and People (Routledge), the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Contemporary Music Review, Organised Sound, Current Musicology, and other publications. Gordon regularly performs and improvises with Buchla instruments, often collaborating with NYC noise legend Marcia Bassett. He is assistant professor at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. More info can be found at ted-gordon.net.
STEVE HORELICK
Steve Horelick is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and electronic music performer whose work spans television, film, and live performance. An early encounter with a Buchla 100 system sparked a lifelong engagement with Buchla instruments, shaping both his compositional voice and performance practice. As a member of the Electronic Art Ensemble, he helped pioneer live electronic concert performance. For television, Horelick composed music for more than 350 episodes of PBS children’s programming, including all 155 episodes—and the iconic theme song “Butterfly in the Sky”—for Reading Rainbow. More info can be found at stevehmusic.com.
MIKE HUNTER
Mike Hunter, known artistically as Ombient, is a composer, performer, and sound designer celebrated for his immersive electronic landscapes and mastery of modular synthesis. As a member of the EMEAPP Board of Directors, Hunter plays a vital role in preserving and advancing the legacy of vintage electronic instruments. His compositions often center on deep-looping improvisations and ambient soundscapes, with the Buchla Music Easel serving as a key instrument in both his studio work and his live performances. More info can be found at ombient.com.
KURT KURASAKI
Kurt Kurasaki is an electronic music composer who is renowned for his compositions created with his Buchla Music Easel and his Buchla 200 system, which consists of vintage 1970s modules mixed with newer modules from the 2000s and 2010s. Kurasaki has licensed the quadraphonic version of his January 2025 album release, A Single Momentary Sound, to us for a sound art installation using his audio accompanied by slide projections from a MEMS-created replica of the slide projector module Buchla installed in the Electric Circus nightclub in the 1970s. More info can be found at peff.com.
STEVE MCQUARRY
Steve McQuarry (aka Synsor) is an avant-garde audio and visual performer-composer renowned for his groundbreaking work in experimental music. With a focus on creating electronic soundscapes accompanied by digital visuals, McQuarry’s music traverses the realms of ambient, drone, noise, and beats. McQuarry’s journey into electronic music began in high school, where an encounter with a neglected synthesizer sparked a lifelong passion. In addition to working alongside legends like Dizzy Gillespie, John Cage, and Laurie Anderson, McQuarry has been a featured artist for the Buchla TipTop 200t series at 2024 conventions of Modular World and the Earth Modular Society. More info can be found at linktr.ee/synsormusic.
THE MEMS PROJECT
The MEMS Project is a group of researchers who reverse engineer rare Buchla modules and prototypes and create period accurate replicas. They hand-trace Buchla’s original circuit boards then translate the board layouts to CAD files so replicas can be fabricated. Period-accurate parts are used when available to emulate the Buchla’s original circuitry as closely as possible. More info can be found at memsproject.info.
HOWARD MOSCOVITZ
Howard Moscovitz received his Bachelors of Music degree in Theory and Composition in 1970 at Jacksonville University. He went on to receive a Masters degree in electronic music, studying under Robert Ashley at The Mills College Center of Contemporary Music in Oakland, California. After working with Don Buchla on the Electric Symphony Orchestra, Moscovitz designed several unique electronic instruments that were manufactured by Electronic Music Associates in the 1970’s. Howard earned a Masters in Electrical Engineering degree at the University of California at Berkeley in 1981 and moved to Pennsylvania to work at Bell Laboratories. There, he was on the design team which developed the first Digital Signal Processor (DSP) chip. In 2003 he founded electro-music.com, a website dedicated to furthering the art of electronic music that currently holds the record as the oldest electronic music site on the internet.
AMI RADUNSKAYA
Ami Radunskaya is a math professor and talented cellist who was the composer and original performer of the piece for which Buchla built the Sili-Con Cello in EMEAPP’s collection. Buchla also built her a custom electric cello (the only one of its kind) that she still performs with today. As “The Muse and The Fuse,” Don and Ami did several famous experimental music performances together in the 1970s including the Sili-Con Cello piece and a performance called Consensus Conduction where the audience could control the pitch, loudness and timbre of the electronic orchestra by shining flashlights onto a screen.
SARAH BELLE REID
Sarah Belle Reid is a composer-performer, researcher, and professor at the University of Victoria (BC), Her research focuses on electronic music composition, instrument design, and human–machine interaction; more specifically, she studies how Buchla’s instrument designs influence the user’s creative process. She is one of the world’s leading experts on Buchla’s Touché and Buchla 400 instruments. Reid works closely with the Buchla Archives. As a performer, she presents original electroacoustic works across North America and Europe. She also runs an online education platform focusing on synthesis and sound design. More info can be found at sarahbellereid.com.
DAVID ROSENBOOM
David Rosenboom is an influential composer, performer, and interdisciplinary thinker whose career in electronic music has spanned more than five decades. His close collaboration with Don Buchla from the late 1960s through early 1980s helped shape the philosophical and technological foundations of adaptive musical instruments. Rosenboom’s legacy includes hybrid interface designs such as the original Touché keyboard, a joint invention with Buchla that reimagined performance as a form of inquiry. More info can be found at davidrosenboom.com.
STEPHEN RUPPENTHAL
Stephen Ruppenthal is an electroacoustic composer, trumpeter, and leading voice in the development of text-sound composition. Ruppenthal has been performing and composing with Buchla instruments since 1971 and was an early member of the groundbreaking Electric Weasel Ensemble together with Don Buchla and Allen Strange. The Electric Weasel Ensemble was a trailblazing live electronic music group whose experimental performances with early Buchla instruments redefined interactive composition and helped establish the Buchla Easel as an important instrument for avant-garde expression. Ruppenthal’s recorded work on Buchla instruments can be heard on ImportantRecords’ Strange Times CD, a collaboration with composer Gary R. Weisberg, and also on the forthcoming Electric Weasel Ensemble LP.
BARRY SCHRADER
Barry Schrader is a pioneering electronic music composer known for his innovative use of analog synthesis. He was appointed to the composition faculty at California Institute of the Arts in 1971 and is currently a Professor Emeritus. His landmark album Lost Atlantis (1977) remains a touchstone of modular synthesis artistry with sweeping textures and richly layered timbres that were realized entirely on a Buchla 200 system. Schrader continues exploring new approaches to electronic music: his first album of new music in more than ten years, Ambient: Aether, was released in September 2025.
MORE INFO
The exhibit and all associated events will be held at the Museum of Music Technology, located at 45 Mainland Rd, Harleysville PA 19438. The Museum is only a few minutes off the Lansdale exit of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-476).
We are less than an hour’s drive from Center City Philadelphia and within 2-3 hours of New York City, Baltimore, and Washington DC. If you are traveling further and require overnight accommodations, there are two convenient hotels less than a five minute drive from our building:
- Courtyard by Marriott Lansdale, 1737 Sumneytown Pike, Lansdale PA 19446
- Holiday Inn Lansdale-Hatfield, 1750 Sumneytown Pike, Kulpsville, PA 19443
Again, to ensure you receive all of the latest updates on this exhibition, sign up for our mailing list here.
THANK YOU!
We are deeply grateful to all of the performers and collaborators who are contributing to this exhibition.
Additional thanks go to Buchla USA, MUSICA PRACTICA / ELETTRONICA VIVA, and Tiptop Audio for spreading the word about this exhibition.
We would also like to thank all the EMEAPP members, supporters, and volunteers who have supported our mission over the years.
And, once again, we wish to extend a special thank you to The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for making this exhibition possible!
