The Instrument That Started It All: Exploring the Buchla 100

The Instrument That Started It All: Exploring the Buchla 100

The evening will feature a special joint presentation by The MEMS Project and EMMY-nominated composer/performer Steve Horelick, centered around the legendary Buchla 100 synthesizer that now resides at the Library of Congress. This is the very instrument Don Buchla created for Morton Subotnick that was used to create Silver Apples of the Moon, one of the most influential works in the history of electronic music. The Buchla later spent several years at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where Steve Horelick worked extensively with the instrument over four summers under the mentorship of composer, educator, and electronic music pioneer Michael Czajkowski, first as a student and later as his teaching assistant.

This presentation will showcase the MEMS Project's period-accurate reproduction of the Buchla 100, built to match Subotnick's legendary system. MEMS' reproduction system is the result of years of research examining multiple Buchla instruments and documentation held in colleges, museums, archives, and private collections — work that culminated in March 2024, when MEMS was granted hands-on access to study and repair Subotnick's original system. The circuit boards and electronic components in the reproduction were selected to exactly match those of the historic system, ensuring that the MEMS 100 is visually and sonically indistinguishable from the real thing. Subotnick's system, now fully restored by MEMS, resides in the Music Division collection at the Library of Congress, where it can be viewed and even played by contacting the Library's Music Division team for an appointment. The MEMS Project's restoration of Subotnick's system was supported by Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Funding from University College London as part of a broader initiative to research and document the equipment. 

For this evening's presentation, the MEMS Project will highlight their groundbreaking work restoring the legendary Buchla 100 synthesizer for the Library of Congress. They 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 iconic Reading Rainbow theme, one of the most widely recognized pieces of music to feature a Buchla synthesizer—will reflect on his years working with the Buchla 100 at Aspen and share how Michael Czajkowski's patching concepts and performance techniques continue to influence his work today. He will also present an overview of the Buchla 100's patching paradigm and discuss how he approaches sound design on the system. 

The presentation will be followed by a live quadraphonic performance by Steve inspired by his years of work with the original San Francisco Tape Music Center Buchla 100. Combining historic Buchla techniques with contemporary electronic performance practices, the concert will immerse listeners in a four-channel sonic environment where sound travels, evolves, and unfolds throughout the space. More than a demonstration of a legendary instrument, the performance will reveal why Don Buchla's vision continues to inspire electronic musicians more than half a century later.

There is no admission fee but donations are encouraged.  Seating is limited, so please contact us if you have signed up and can no longer attend so we can make your seats available to others. 

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.

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.

This event is part of EMEAPP/MMT's special exhibition Instruments That Talk Back: Celebrating the Legacy of Don Buchla. Funding for this exhibition has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. We are deeply grateful for their support.