Celebrating Buchla

[mosc]

Don Buchla & the Electric Symphony Orchestra:
An Evening of Stories and Performances
with Howard Moscovitz

Museum of Music Technology (EMEAPP)
Harleysville, Pennsylvania
Friday, November 13
Don Buchla was the tecnical director of the infamous Electric Symphony Orchestra, ESO, in 1972. I was the technical staff. The ESO is said to have originated as a Frank Zappa joke. It was an attempt to electrify and amplify every instrument in a symphony orchestra. "If it's loud enough, the kid's will love it." It ended with its first, and last, performance, 54 years to the day before this event.

I'll tell what happened, the good, the bad, and the funny, and try to share some insight into Don as a human being.

I'll also show some things from my collection that are on loan to EMEAPP, including The Buchla Machine, a small distortion amplifier. Don's first circuit. He gave it to me with distain.

Between the stories there will be original music; some on Buchla instruments, some not. The inspiration for all of the music will be the spirit of Don's independent imagination. Joining me will be Jil Christensen, Bill Fox, Joel Izquierdo, Doug Llewellyn, and Jared Stack

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Admission is free, donations are welcome. There is a small booking fee and seating is limited, so please reserve: Reserve tickets at the MMT. The evening will also be livestreamed; the livestream registration is linked from that

The event is part of EMEAPP/MMT's exhibition Instruments That Talk Back: Celebrating the Legacy of Don Buchla, funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.