Noise Reduction Society is the moniker of James Hegarty.   I have been composing and producing ambient music since the mid-70’s.  At first, the music was piano improvisations recorded to reel-to-reel tape and distributed informally on cassette.

Beginning in the mid-1980’s when I purchased a Yamaha DX-21 and later a EMU Emax, I have been producing electronic music for live performances and recordings –  often incorporating multimedia.

During the 90’s I performed with a Yamaha WX-7 wind controller at colleges and venues throughout the midwest.   Prerecorded background MIDI tracks were mixed interactively using Cubase in a style that predated Ableton Live session practices. 

At the same time, I began using a NeXT computer for DSP processing and programming.  Since that time, my music has centered around the combination of hardware and software.  

“Leaving Venice,” one of my early ambient albums was cited as “An unassuming gem from an American artist with much to say. Unreservedly recommended” by www.AmbientMusicGuide.com.

My work has been presented in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. My opera, The Soul of the Rock, received its premiere in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium of the Harold Washington Library in 1994 with subsequent performances in Chicago and St. Louis. My electroacoustic compositions have been included in festivals throughout the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.

Some of the venues where I have performed include the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum, the Tavern of Fine Arts, Lemp Neighborhood Art Center, The Galaxy, Foam, Three Sinks Gallery, Eye Drum in Atlanta, and the Kemper Museum of Art in Kansas City.