Library Person

Jon Appleton

American composer whose need for a better instrument at Dartmouth instigated the development of the Synclavier.

Jon Appleton directed Dartmouth College’s electronic music program, where his dissatisfaction with existing synthesizers set students Cameron Jones and Sydney Alonso to work in 1976 on what became the Synclavier — Appleton stayed closely involved in defining its user interface and musician-facing ergonomics as the two engineers built it. He went on to compose extensively on the instrument, including The Sweet Dreams of Miss Pamela Beach.

Works in the Library