Deutsch played in side bands throughout his time at Hofstra, and received an undergraduate degree and later a Master’s at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1961 he began teaching at Hofstra. The following year he met a talented young musician named Nancy — a student in one of his classes — who would become his wife 20 years later.

By 1963, Deutsch was teaching classes that ranged from harmony and music theory to electronic music and music history. That year, at age 31, he traveled to Rochester to attend a New York State School Music Conference, a convention featuring talented student-musicians from across the state.

While at the conference, he spotted a man sitting at a table who was selling a Theremin. Deutsch introduced himself to the man, who introduced himself as Bob Moog.

Developing the synthesizer

The two men shared an intense fascination with music. While Deutsch himself was a musician, Moog made instruments, having earned his Ph.D. in physics engineering at Cornell in the late 1950s.

But when it came to electronic music, Deutsch recalled, Moog was something of a neophyte. “He really didn’t know much about electronic music,” Deutsch said.

During their conversations, however, the two planted the seeds for what would become the Moog synthesizer. “We kept talking about the fact that it would be great if there was an inexpensive, small instrument that could create electronic music,” said Deutsch.

The two eventually parted ways, but reunited — and continued their conversation — at a concert in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village in January 1964. They agreed to meet again that summer and brainstorm ideas. Moog wrote a formal letter to the Hofstra administration, outlining their plan in the hope that the university might give Deutsch a research grant. It did: $200.

“So for Hofstra’s $200, we got together in the summer of ’64,” Deutsch recounted, “and within about three weeks, we developed what was going to be the Moog synthesizer.”

To see a clip of Deutsch playing the Moog Synthesizer, check out part two, coming soon.