Last weekend (July 30th/31st) I visited Hands OFF 2011. This festival took place in the British seaside resort Scarborough, which made it a very pleasant weekend to begin with.
After arriving in Scarborough, I first met up with my fellow Thereminists, some of which I’ve already met, like Lydia Kavina and Carolina Eyck, and others who I met for the first time, like Barbara Buchholz and Thomas Grillo.
The festival featured many interesting workshops, like the one presented by Lydia Kavina. She discussed the history of the instrument. I hadn’t realized before that although the Theremin has existed for almost hundred years, it’s only been actively been developed further during the last twenty years. During most of the 20th century the only source of information on how to play was Clara Rockmore. Without modern means of communication like social media, Skype and e-mail very few people could access information on how to play or study, let alone buying an instrument, which was almost inpossible!
Thanks to Bob Moog and his initiative to start production again in the 90’s the Theremin became popular again, and the rise of social media increased this popularity a great deal. Now it’s possible to take Theremin lessons (live or using a DVD), festivals are organized all over the world, and composers are writing for Theremin, not only as an individual solo instrument, but also as a part of a classical symphony orchestra. All in all this gives us hope for the future: the instrument has finally come to be developed. Who knows what the future will bring for the Theremin and the musicians that play it? The possibilities are limitless…
As I mentioned before Hands OFF 2011 was a very successful weekend, culminating into a concert at the Scarborough Spa Theatre, a beautiful Victorian building where I shared the stage with Lydia, Barbara and Carolina. After the intermission, the other Thereminists played and the finale was played by a Theremin orchestra.
I’m very curious where and when Hands OFF 2012 will be organized!