Polly and Dolly Vinyl are fraternal twin Thereminists associated with performance artist Marla Goodman in Bozeman Montana. The Vinyl twins recall sharing humble beginnings on a Baraboo, Wisconsin silage farm as daughters of former circus personalities. Their first Theremin was a circus hand-me-down, which they learned to play before their family had regular access to electricity. They overcame this obstacle by inwardly imagining musical notes, imitating the Theremin’s uniquely haunting electronic tone by humming.

Polly, the more glamorous of the two sisters, identifies as a former lounge Theremin performer who traveled with members of the Rat Pack and the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Dolly, the more countrified sister, identifies as a cowgirl, and mixes classical and western Theremin playing with her keen interests in figurine collecting, crafting, and animal husbandry. While—due to an unmentioned past incident—the Vinyls never perform as a stage duet, they are available as a double bill, and they do occasionally perform together via long distance video chat.

The Vinyl Sisters Fraternal Twin Theremin Show combines stories from the twins’ unusual upbringing with actual Theremin history and live performance of Theremin repertoire samples spanning from the instrument’s roots in Russian folk and classical music to its use in SciFi, Thriller and experimental genres. Interspersed with a colorful storytelling and fascinating tidbits of Theremin history and technique are visually exciting animations and film clips by Marla Goodman. View promo page.

Marla Goodman has a BFA in painting from Montana State University (1988). After being introduced to the Theremin in 2009, she returned to MSU to study music technology and performance (2018-19). She began studies in theremin technique with Carolina Eyck (Berlin) in 2018 and has continuously studied with Lydia Kavina (London) since 2020. She has appeared in live, televised and web-cast performances since 2020, and premiered the Vinyl Sisters Theremin Show in 2023-24 in Billings, Butte and Bozeman, Montana.

Goodman also uses the Theremin in her multi-generational visual art and electronic music synthesis workshops, Drawing Sound.