Music from the Dawn of Digital
Music from the Dawn of Digital
Of Planets and Planetariums
This is the first in a continuing series…
Here’s an advance story from1987 written by our friend Julie Gammack. The story described my venture into thematic music with my friend and collaborator Teja Bell. We were taking on a special set of projects for the Science Center of Des Moines
Teja and I started making friendship and music together in the early 60’s first with the YMCA Boys Chorus and later at North High School. [I’m the class of ‘67 and Teja the class of ‘68] our lives and careers became interwoven in ways we 15-year-olds could not have foreseen.
Following high school Teja dedicated his life to deep study of metaphysics.
From his bio:
“In his youth, Teja Bell began bridging the traditions of Buddhism and the qigong and yogic practices of Taoism in 1965 by studying martial arts (Judo and Kung Fu) with Tatsumo Makami. Later, his studies included yoga, meditation, and Theosophy. In 1971 Teja began his Aikido training parallel with earning black belt ranking in Tae Kwon Do Karate with Grand Master In Mok Kim – 9th degree.
In 1975 he expanded his training to include Yang style Taijiquan and qigong taught by Li Leita, a lineage master in the “Yang” style. He also studied many Neigong systems and the esoteric martial art and meditation system known as “Liu He Ba Fa”. Concurrent with his Taoist qigong and martial arts training, Teja has trained across the three major Buddhist traditions: Theravadin, Mahayana Zen, and Tibetan Vajrayana. As early as 1969, he began reading Zen texts and visiting spiritual teachers and centers. Upon meeting Rinzai Zen Lineage Master Roshi Junpo Denis Kelly of the Hollow Bones Zen Order, and after four years of intense training with Roshi Junpo he was ordained as a Zen priest. Years later Abbot Junpo conferred the mantle of transmission of Zen Master to Teja as the 84th ancestor of Zen in Rinzai lineage.”
For over 35 years, Teja has served as a veteran retreat and workshop leader at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, CA. Those looking for connection and community in person or online will find Spirit Rock a fine resource for spiritual enrichment.
Earlier in our careers we both found significant career opportunities in the Chicago music scene. I’ve written about my experiences with trumpet star Bill Chase, While Teja Bell went to the Windy City in the 1990’s to tour as a guitarist with the late Jazz piano legend Ahmad Jamal.
By 1984, Advancements in digital audio recording and editing tools provided us the resources to create deeper, sonic palettes for our audiences. Art, science and healing became a singular pursuit. After moving to California in October ‘87, it didn’t take long before we performed in San Francisco with flautist Paul Horn and contributed to an album written and produced by pioneering synthesist and composer Suzanne Ciani. [History of My Heart (1989)]
Teja: Guitar melodies, production - Dartanyan: Keyboards, Percussion, Arranging
We actually produced two sets of programs for the Science Center of Des Moines. One planetarium show called Prehistoric Skies (seen above). We actually persuaded our high school drama teacher Mr. John Thompson to do the narration for it. He nailed it.
The second program was a planetarium show that promised a journey into “a time before time began” as Program Director Dave Elliott wrote in his program notes for the show. We decided that the narration should be sufficiently other worldly so naturally we got…William Shatner to do the reading for us.
It was, as you might imagine, a little disconcerting sitting in the control booth of an Los Angeles voice-over studio asking Captain Kirk to “take that last line a little slower please..”
[Tech Notes]
Featured below is another audio sketch for the Science Center of Des Moines produced here in Des Moines at Audio Art Recording Studios. After returning from Montana to Iowa in 1986, entreprenaur and musician Roger Hughes offered me the opportunity to be a recording engineer, sound designer and producer for a new studio at the south end of the Ninth st. viaduct.
“Called Audio Art, it was a grand experiment for 1986-87. We were Iowa’s first recording studio to employ the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). In creating the mood specifically for the science center planetarium/theater, I used my Macintosh 512K computer with a MIDI interface to simultaneously control three different synthesizers: The revolutionary Kurzweil K250, the Yamaha DX-7 and my Roland JX8-P 6-voice synthesizer.”
Take note of the authoritative presence of the Kurzweil’s unparalleled Acoustic Piano underpinning the sizzling modulations from the Yamaha and Roland synthesizers. 1983-89 was a great time to be a computer music geek.”
That was one of the last pieces I created at Audio Art Studios before Teja Bell lured me to Marin County in October 1987 for what would be a 30-year visit!
Forever grateful to recently retired Journalism School Dean Kathleen Richardson, for inviting me in to serve as a visiting professor of Journalism and Music in the 2022-23 academic year. In addition to performances with the Drake Jazz Band and discussions with Journalism students, I was pleased to bring Teja back to Drake as part of my “League of Extraordinary Iowans” lecture-performance series.
In addition to Teja Bell, the League includes Grammy-winning musician and composer Michael Boddicker and former Drake music student Peter Otto, now a Google Fellow specializing in audio research. They brought new perspectives to Drake students and faculty alike. In the days ahead I’ll be eager to further introduce them and other Iowans who do cool stuff out here to you, my substack community.
To be continued…
Read it; then re-read it. I well remember Thompson from the local thespian scene. And greatly appreciate the many links you employ.
Thanks, Dart; great to have you back in Iowa--". . . .somewhere in our youth, or childhood . . . ."
The heaviest