Advertisement

Roo News

The Student News Site of University of Missouri - Kansas City

Roo News

Roo News

Amidst the festive spirit of St. Patricks Day, the iconic symbol of luck, the clover, reminds us of the rich traditions and celebrations honoring Irish heritage.
Exploring St. Patrick's Day Alternatives in Kansas City
Aydan Stigler and Grace Beshore March 14, 2024

  The annual St. Patrick's Day celebration is just around the corner, and with celebration comes large crowds.    The annual city parade...

Visit the City Market to explore local vendors.
Smart Saving Strategies for a Wallet-Friendly Spring Break
Emily Wheeler, Staff Writer • March 14, 2024

  UMKC students are ready for the upcoming week-long spring break, but are their wallets?   From travel adventures to staycations, spring...

Earth Mother by Sheron Smith
Her Art/Their Art Explores the Female Experience in the 21st Century
Elyse Bredfeldt, Staff Writer • March 12, 2024

  Her Art/Their Art is a collection that aims to answer the question: “What does it mean to identify, live, navigate, or be perceived by society...

Nina Simone: Four Women” playbook.
The KC Rep’s “Nina Simone: Four Women” is both timeless and poignant.
Maisy Blanton, Staff Writer • March 5, 2024

  The Kansas City Repertory Theater (KCRep) recently performed “Nina Simone: Four Women.” The show follows musician Nina Simone as she...

Around 1 million people were estimated to be in attendance at the parade.
One Dead, Several Injured During Chiefs Parade
Zach Gunter and Jazlyn Summers February 14, 2024

Update:   As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, the number of those injured at the Union Station shooting after the Chiefs Super Bowl parade...

Women’s History Month artist spotlight: Wendy Carlos

Pianist Wendy Carlos sitting in front of her piano with her Siamese cat sleeping on her shoulders
Wendy Carlos, and her cat Pandy, in front of her Wurly II synth setup. (Wendy Carlos)

Co-developer of the first-ever commercially available synth keyboard and composer of the soundtracks for “The Shining,” “A Clockwork Orange” and the original “Tron,” Wendy Carlos remains one of the most influential pioneers of synth music of all time. Now 81, Carlos is a living legend of the music world. 

Wendy Carlos, a transgender woman, is proof of the irrefutable impact trans musicians have on music at large and electronic music specifically. Born in 1939, Carlos has had a career spanning music, engineering, sound design, photography and map making. 

As a child, Carlos showed talent in music and engineering, earning a science fair scholarship for building her own computer. She studied music and physics at Brown University and completed her M.A. for music composition at Columbia University. After graduating, she met and befriended Robert Moog, whom she helped to develop the Moog Synthesizer, the first commercially available synthesizer.  

Carlos used the Moog Synthesizer to create her 1968 debut album, “Switched-On Bach.” “Switched-On Bach” is a compilation of songs by Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, all performed on a synthesizer. The album helped to popularize the use of the Moog and won three Grammy Awards, including “Best Classical Album,” “Best Classical Performance” and “Best Engineered Classical Recording.” 

Giorgio Moroder, the legendary music producer behind many of Donna Summer’s most iconic songs and a pioneer in European dance music, credits “Switched-On Bach” for introducing him to the synth. 

“I discovered the synthesizer when I listened to [Wendy] Carlos,” he said in a 2013 lecture with Red Bull Music Academy. “The beautiful album called ‘Switched-On Bach,’ which was a classical rendering of Bach’s music but only played on the synthesizer.”

“When ‘Switched-On Bach’ was released, it stimulated strong reactions,” Carlos said, relating her music to her transgender identity in a 1979 interview with Playboy magazine. “Those who were comfortable in all forms of music, those who were open to novel variations, loved it. Transsexuality, too, is an emotional, action-prone situation, in that it tends to polarize people, depending on the attitudes one brings to sexuality and human rights. In both cases, there’s no middle ground.” 

Carlos went on to release a number of other studio albums, and Stanley Kubrick invited her to compose the soundtrack to his 1972 film, “A Clockwork Orange.” Later on, Kubrick asked Carlos to also compose the score to his 1980 horror classic, “The Shining.” She also composed the score to Disney’s 1982 “Tron,” which incorporated her own synthesizer music, music from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the UCLA Chorus and the Royal Albert Hall Organ. 

In 2005, Carlos accepted the Life Achievement Award from the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (also called SEAMUS). 

“Wendy always seemed to be the first to grasp the musical potential of new electronic music gear and, at the same time, to accept responsibility for developing the discipline necessary to use the new instruments to produce music of the highest quality,” said Robert Moog, who honored Carlos at the event. 

Carlos’ website includes a collection of articles and resources about her, as well as photographs, drawings and academic papers she has published. While she remains unknown by many, she is an essential figure in music’s history and a highly influential artist.

[email protected]

Leave a Comment
Donate to Roo News

Your donation will support the student journalists of University of Missouri - Kansas City. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to Roo News

Comments (0)

All Roo News Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *