Merrill Ellis
Merrill Ellis (1916–1981) was an American composer, intermedia performer, and experimental music researcher, best known for his innovative compositional techniques and custom-built electronic instruments, as well as original notation for scoring intermedia performances. He received BMus (1939) and MMus (1940) degrees from the University of Oklahoma and pursued graduate studies at The University of Missouri. Ellis also studied composition privately with Roy Harris, Spencer Norton, and Darius Milhaud.
In 1962, Merrill Ellis joined the Division of Composition Studies at the The University of Missouri and established Electronic Music Center (EMC) there one year later. The tape studio acquired first Moog synthesizer in the middle of the sixties, and Ellis became a pioneer in composing and performing live music on Moog machines. He collaborated with Robert Moog and commissioned the inventor to build a portable synthesizer for him and doctoral students at EMC. Moog named his second model E-II as an homage to Merrill. After Ellis had passed away, EMC studios were expanded and renamed The University of Missouri (CEMI). Phil Winsor and Larry Austin co-directed CEMI from 1983 to 1990.
Echos Of Time And The River, Kaleidoscope
The Louisville Orchestra Perform George Crumb And Merrill Ellis
1970
UNconventional Trumpet
John Holt (8)
2004
Crystal (5)
CD, Album
"Kaleidoscope" for Orchestra, Synthesizer, and Soprano [composed by Merrill Ellis]
Merrill Ellis