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Portrait: Will Gregory Moog Ensemble Synthesizer orchestra with a passion for math

Beat/How did you come up with the idea to start a synthesizer orchestra? I understand you‘ve been performing live since 2005.

 Yes, indeed. It‘s been a side project alongside our other endeavors. The inspiration came from listening to Wendy Carlos‘s incredible records, especially „Switched-On Bach.“ I wondered why no one was performing synthesizer music like this live. Carlos multitracked her music in the studio, but there‘s no reason why, if a piece has multiple parts, you couldn‘t gather musicians to play each part live. And that‘s what we did. We initially played some pieces from the „Switched-On Bach“ albums, like „Brandenburg Concerto No. 3“. We simply printed out the music, assigned parts, and played together with mono synths. It was a revelation; the ensemble sounded fantastic. Originally, we aimed for a monophonic sound, but we‘ve since relaxed that rule. Each voice remains a solo voice, maintaining our aesthetic of playing as an ensemble. If orchestras can feature strings, brass, and woodwinds, why not an ensemble

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