Clara Rockmore was a theremist. She played the very first electronic instrument called the theremin. It is a fascinating instrument that you play by moving your hands and fingers in the air. It was the precursor to the electronic musical instruments of today.
Rockmore was born 105 years ago in Russia. At the young age of four, she was admitted to the St. Petersburg Imperial Conservatory as a violin student. Eventually her family immigrated to the U.S. where she pursued her love of music. But she developed arthritis that prevented her from playing and it was then that she was introduced to the theremin.
