Michelle Moog-Koussa, director for the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music, says she discovered the scope of her father’s work in electronic music only after his death in August 2005. Since then, she and a small army of volunteers have devoted a great deal of time and energy to honoring her father’s work. In the following e-mail interview, Michelle gives an update on the work of her foundation, talks about her relationship with her father and the involvement of Moog Foundation curator Douglas Babb with efforts to archive Moog’s papers, tapes and instruments.

NUVO: What are the goals of the foundation? What kind of progress have you made on those goals, and what are some roadblocks?

Michelle Moog-Koussa: Progress on goals includes:

1. Outreach Program: We have begun expanding the minds and musical horizons of young elementary school students by bringing theremins and Moog effect pedals into various Asheville-area classrooms. The results have been astounding. Through this hands-on experience, children have immediately connected with the simplicity and ingenuity of these instruments while being amazed at their sonic capabilities. Once we have further funding, we aim to expand this program to western North Carolina and beyond.

2. Bob Moog Museum: The first step here is preserving dad's archives, a project I am currently undertaking with a variety of volunteers. You can watch a video about the archives on our Myspace page, www.myspace.com/moogfoundation (Doug is included in this video.)

3: Sponsoring unique community events centered around electonic music.

We also regularly participate in outdoor festivals, where we set up an interactive tent where people can play theremins, synthesizers and Moog effect pedals (Moogerfoogers). This not only opens people's minds to the science behind the sound, but gets them connected to the ever-important Moog legacy.

NUVO: What about this recent grant from NARAS to restore some recordings?

Moog-Koussa: The Bob Moog Foundation was awarded a Grammy Grant in the amount of $8,000 to assess the preservation of the reel-to-reel tapes in Bob's archives. The over 300 tapes in the archives, which represent seminal works in synthesis from the mid-1960s to the late ’70s, are in a state of peril due to the wear and tear of time and presence of mold.

The tapes will be assessed by a team of professionals including Steve Weiss, an archivist from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Seva David Ball, a preservationist [specializing in] digital transfer from Knoxville, Tenn.; Douglas Babb, a historian; and Steven Schnedler, a copyright attorney from Asheville, N.C.

If the tapes are deemed physically viable, then the Bob Moog Foundation will reapply for a much larger $20,000-$40,000 preservation grant in the fall.

NUVO: What's your perspective on Bob's work and legacy?

Moog-Koussa: My father held his career at arm's length from the family during my childhood. People are often surprised at this, but I think he wanted his home life to be absent of the "Bob Moog" filter, so to speak. He wanted a place where he was just Dad/Bob.

As such, we all knew the very basics about his career, but not much more. Upon his illness and passing, we were overwhelmed with the international outpouring of love and tributes that we received speaking to how many (thousands and thousands) of lives Dad changed and sometimes transformed through his innovative instruments and through his humble, generous spirit.

It was this legacy of touching people's lives that we knew we had to carry forward. The aim of the foundation is to do just that.

I have learned a tremendous amount over the past two and a half years about my father's legacy, and I can honestly say that I am humbled by him every day. Through my father's 50-year career, which was full of trials, tribulations and pitfalls that come with being a pioneer, he steadfastly pushed the barriers of sonic reality with the sole motivation of giving musicians a wider palette with which to express their creativity. He always adhered to the highest standard of quality, and as such Moog instruments are known industry-wide to be beyond compare for the rich, organic nature of their sound. This is my father's legacy — creating the standard for sound in synthesis, which holds up 44 years after its invention. His legacy also touched and changed thousands of people's lives throughout his lifetime, as discussed above. Is it any wonder that I am awed and humbled by him every day?

NUVO: Why is it important to you to help preserve and tell people about his work?

Moog-Koussa: Very simply, because we want to continue to touch people's lives just as he did. He inspired so many people, and we want to do the same. Above all, my father was a humanist, who believed in music as a means of connecting human beings. There is no higher purpose we can all serve than to touch and inspire each other.

NUVO: What has been Doug Babb's involvement with the foundation?

Moog-Koussa: Doug has been one of our most important volunteers, serving as our curator. He has come to North Carolina a half a dozen times to help us rescue Dad's archives out of a moldy warehouse in the country. Doug has truly been an invaluable resource, as he not only understands the Moog history better than the family does (remember, we knew Dad, not Bob Moog) but he also understands the instruments very well.

Doug's participation was crucial to identifying and prioritizing the archives, which was a big, big job in not-particularly-pleasant surroundings. He is so dedicated and connected to this project and he has been nothing less than a blessing to us.

NUVO: Was it important to archive and move the material stored in that metal shed on the farm?

Moog-Koussa: We haven't archived them yet, so to speak, that will take a lot more money and time, but we have moved them. Yes, it was absolutely necessary to get the archives out of that building before they deteriorated any further. They are now in a climate controlled storage facility awaiting clean-up and archiving.