Gary Gould
Woodwind artist Gary Gould performs a unique combination of musical styles including jazz saxophone, klezmer clarinet, Irish penny whistles, and tonight... the spooky sounds of the electronic Theremin. Born in Detroit, Gary’s passion for music has been acknowledged since childhood. During high school he won the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and was listed in Who’s Who in Music. Before graduating from Cal State Fullerton he was awarded the Most Outstanding Jazz Musician. And in 1995 he entered and won the "KTWV The Wave" Saxophone Contest for Southern California. He has since written dozens of educational and entertaining lectures/performances which he presents as a 1-man show for schools, churches & synagogues, service organizations, senior groups, and other special events. Please visit www.garygould.com to see the demonstration movies. When he's not performing, Gary teaches music classes privately and at the Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana.
About the Theremin: Invented by Russian inventor Leon Theremin and patented in 1928, the Theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments. It's eerie sound was made popular in movie soundtracks such as Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day The Earth Stood Still. It consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands. The looped antenna controls volume and the vertical antenna controls pitch. This "sensing" technology led to the automatic doors that open when you approach at a supermarket. The theremin is unique among musical instruments in that it is played without physical contact. It's a difficult instrument to play perfectly, and though modern keyboards can approximate the sound, a real theremin performance offers a unique expressiveness and novelty, especially appropriate on the night before Halloween.
About the Theremin: Invented by Russian inventor Leon Theremin and patented in 1928, the Theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments. It's eerie sound was made popular in movie soundtracks such as Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day The Earth Stood Still. It consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands. The looped antenna controls volume and the vertical antenna controls pitch. This "sensing" technology led to the automatic doors that open when you approach at a supermarket. The theremin is unique among musical instruments in that it is played without physical contact. It's a difficult instrument to play perfectly, and though modern keyboards can approximate the sound, a real theremin performance offers a unique expressiveness and novelty, especially appropriate on the night before Halloween.
Cynthia Ellis
Pacific Symphony
