Juliet Shaw’s recorded theremin output spanned from 1936 to 1988 – many dozens of hours of
concertizing were meticulously curated and digitized. Released for the first time in over 70 years,
thereminists, theremin enthusiasts, and electronic music lovers can now hear over two extraordinary
hours of Juliet Shaw (and some special guests) and her theremin.
Music in the Air – The Artistry of Thereminist, Juliet Shaw, Volumes 1 & 2, are now available
as a FREE digital download. Each volume contains over an hour of music and each is accompanied by a
28-page booklet with rare photos and commentary on each track. You can download both volumes at:
An issue that’s plagued many Theremini owners for years is the anomaly known as “flutter.” It takes the
form of very erratic and unstable sounds coming from the instrument. It’s a huge hindrance to playing as
well as being able to use the instrument’s full range. Solutions offered in the past had to do with
grounding, or avoiding outside electrical interference by moving the Theremini to another outlet or even
another room.
But THIS solution was so simple it evaded me until I was on Zoom during a private session and I saw
something so subtle… well, you’ll see… and FLUTTER FIXED! If you’re experiencing this annoying anomaly,
give this a try.
Way back in the olden days, eleven whole years ago, I premiered several segments from my 80-minute
performance piece (the music is available on the CD of the same name), Lessons From Vinegar Mother
at the Electro-Music festival in Asheville, North Carolina. The video segments of the performance,
shot here and in New York City, were somewhat lost since that time (particularly because they were
shot – not my me – but by others in the audience), but they’ve miraculously resurfaced. So, here’s
the first one.
Points On Jazz has its origins in 1958, when Dave Brubeck was on tour in Poland. Its primary melody
was conceived as a way of thanking his audiences for their kind reception. It’s title was “Dziekuye,”
the Polish word for “Thank you.” After hearing the piece on Brubeck’s album, choregrapher, Dania Krupska,
sought permission to use the music for a new jazz ballet. The piece was eventually commissioned by the
American Ballet Theatre.
Nineteen months after the project’s inception in June of 2022, Sandra Shaw Murphy and I have
successfully completed the unearthing, compiling, organizing, cataloging, archiving and digitization
of the vast Juliet Shaw Collection. Of course, the “jewel in the crown” of the collection is Juliet’s
theremin – built specifically for her by the instrument’s inventor, Lev Termen (Leon Theremin).
But for Sandra’s generosity and determination, Juliet might have been totally forgotten. She spent countless
hours combing through the family home to find objects and items she remembered, but also discovering a
vast wealth of materials and artifacts that even she herself never knew existed.
From the outset, in addition to the goal of preserving her mother’s legacy, Juliet’s daughter Sandra was
determined that everyone be able to discover Juliet for themselves. Toward that end, we produced a web site
that was initially utilized for a fundraising campaign intended to cover the expenses for goods and services
that I was unable to provide on my own. Now that the fundraising phase is over, we’ve retooled the site to
function as a means by which thereminists, theremin enthusiasts, electro-musicians (and everyone else for that
matter) can explore Juliet Shaw’s life and career.
Although the items on the site represent less than 100th of the entire archived collection, they, combined with
the text content, are a wonderful way to see, hear and learn about Juliet Shaw. With the advent of the Juliet
Shaw collection and the Legacy Project web site, Juliet’s well-earned place in the theremin’s history is incontro-
vertible. It is a testament to her extraordinary ability, her 55-year performance career, her massive recorded
output, her charitable concerts that raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes, her tireless dedication
to her students and her devotion to her school of music as both a teaching institution as well as a venue for
concerts and other events. She is among just a handful of musicians who, along with Leon Theremin himself,
can truly be counted as one of the first generation of thereminists.
Although it was created four years ago, it’s barely been seen. Now that missions to, and eventual human
habitation on Mars continue to inspire and fascinate, let’s revisit this fantasy…
Original composition until the aviary is open, then the music “montage” is comprised only of snippets of
jazz, classical and popular music about birds. How many can you recognize?
The October 15th concert to honor Juliet Shaw featured her own theremin, custom-built for her by the
instrument’s inventor himself, Lev Termen (Leon Theremin). Since Juliet Shaw’s theremin still works,
it on display during the concert and I used it to play Londonderry Air (aka Danny Boy), a song requested
by her daughter, Sandra Shaw Murphy. Juliet herself can be heard playing the song on Track 8 of Music in
the Air – The Artistry of Thereminist Juliet Shaw, Volume 1.
Following her very fist performance at Yale University somewhere between 1936 and 1937, she learned that
Theremin lived in New York City. With her own RCA Theremin in tow, she was able to meet him at his
apartments on West 53rd St. (an event she describes in several handwritten accounts as well as in recordings
of some of her live concert performances). Theremin was so impressed with herself-taught virtuosity that he
offered to trade her RCA, with it’s range of two and a half octaves, for a custom built instrument that would
have a range of six and one half octaves. She continued to perform on that instrument for the rest of her life.
On October 15th, 2023, a live Concert was given at the Silvermine School of Music to honor the
artistry of first generation thereminist/concert pianist/teacher, Juliet Shaw. The concert was the
culmination of The Juliet Shaw Legacy Project, begun in June of 2022 by myself, and Sandra Shaw
Murphy, the daughter of Juliet Shaw. Two marvelous pianists, Peter and Marianne Lauffer, and myself
presented a full program of both classical music, jazz, and occasional mischief. This excerpt from the
concert, a perfomance of Saint Saens’s Le Cynge (The Swan) includes a bit of mischief. Video of the
complete concert is currently in the works.
For more information about the Juliet Shaw Legacy Project, please visit: www.jshawlegacy.com
The extensive work undertaken for the Juliet Shaw Legacy Project has put quite a hold
on creating new theremin videos. So, for our dining and dancing pleasure, here’s a
reprise of the first video I made using the Moog Claravox…
