Oct 19: lev at auto+matos

Lev with a Moog Etherwave I’ll be presenting Lev, the theremin-playing robot, at the AUTO+MATOS show at New York University on Thursday, Oct. 19. Come see singing, dancing, performing robots! Best of all, it’s free!

Behold sensational innovations in the fields of movement, science, and art in an evening of noise, high impact dance, and robotics. Visitors are encouraged to interact with robots, experimenting with noise and paint, and to observe the vigorous and propellent dance of STREB.
— from the AUTO+MATOS web site

The exhibition will take place the evening of Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 6:30pm in the Eisner Lubin Auditorium of the NYU Kimmel Center (60 Washington Square South, 4th Floor). Get tickets at the door or from NYU Ticket Central.

lev, a machine for playing the theremin

Lev with a Moog Etherwave Lev is a machine for playing a theremin.

Lev is named after Lev Termen (Leon Theremin), a Russian scientist who invented one of the first electronic musical instruments, an instrument which is played without touching, and which bears his name.

Lev is made out of an old floor lamp, some plumbing supplies, a few empty mint tins, and some microprocessors. Lev will never replace the human theremin virtuoso, although, as there are so few of the latter, a mechanical substitute may someday be vital to our economy.