Geoff Mitchell is a resident of Hudson. In addition to the accordion Geoffrey is playing a contemporary version of the Theremin, made by Moog. The Theremin has the distinction of being the only musical instrument that is not controlled by direct touch but by manipulation of electronic capacitance in the air. This instrument is the invention of Leon Theremin (1896-1993), a Russian electronics engineer and inventor well known as one the pioneers of electronics in the early 20th century. Leon Theremin served in the First War World as a radio engineer and in the years following the war developed, amongst other projects, his eponymous instrument that uses a heterodyning technology to detect relative proximity of a player’s hands to control the pitch and volume of the audio waveform. The instrument was eventually patented in the US in 1928 and commercial production rights were purchased by RCA.
