From press release:
ASHEVILLE, NC – June 9, 2014 – Moogfest 2014 may have ended over a month ago, but the festival’s impact still resonates in the minds of area students and teachers. Through the Educational Scholarship program and the generous support of sponsors, over 250 of them from Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools were able to attend the festival’s daytime programming on Friday, April 25th. Moogfest worked in partnership with both the Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools Foundations to identify students and teachers who would find the most value in the experience.
According to Lisa Adkins, Executive Director of the Buncombe County Schools Foundation, Moogfest gave Buncombe County students a chance to hear speakers and engage in hands on activities they would not normally get to experience in Asheville. They truly enjoyed and learned from this opportunity.
Those who attended are currently in classrooms working with technology, robotics and STEM education initiatives. They were excited to see real-world applications for what they’d been working on at school.
Students and teachers were able to participate in panel discussions with Jerome Glenn, co-founder and director of The Millennium Project, and Professor Joseph Paradiso with MIT Media Lab’s New Musical Frontiers.
They also explored Synthesis, the tech expo highlighting North Carolina technology companies and the Modular Marketplace, which showcased innovative instrument makers.
Kate Pett, Executive Director of the Asheville City Schools Foundation, said, “We are so grateful to Moogfest for including students and teachers in this year’s festival. Kids connected with different parts of the festival – some loved the futurist, others loved the music, some connected with tech programs at nearby universities – but all the students gained a more rich understanding of where this community, and our world, are headed.”
A favorite among the group was interacting with Moogfest Conductar, by Odd Division, an immersive augmented-reality installation layered on top of the entire city of Asheville. Additionally, many tested their musical skills at the exhibit Odd Harmonics, Theremins by François Chambard of UM Project, where they could experiment and play with a collection of theremins that were both instruments and design objects.
Said Kay Mcleod, K-12 Science Coordinator for Buncombe County Schools, “As an educator, I felt Moogfest offered an excellent portrayal of the future possibilities available in music, technology and science. Our students truly enjoyed this experience.”
About Moogfest:
Since 2004, Moogfest has been a gathering for the musicians that worked closely with Bob and his instruments. In 2014, Moogfest amplified its vision by becoming a 5-Day event dedicated to the synthesis of technology, art and music. Moogfest honors the inventiveness of Bob Moog and the legacy of the analog synth with an experimental line up of daytime conference programming and landmark nightly performances. Moogfest took place April 23-27th, 2014 in downtown Asheville, NC.
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