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.