ow and why the founder of Scientology came to involve himself so deeply in music may seem difficult to grasp, remarked a critic some years ago. “Nonetheless, he has put together a highly energized big band. And in doing so, has solved a problem the likes of which Buddy Rich and even Woody Herman failed to do. That is, focus the energy of a combo in a big band, a feat which is like harnessing the atom.”

In fact, L. Ron Hubbard accomplished far more, but the how and why of his involvement is not at all difficult to grasp: As a truly universal language, he explained, music is ideally suited “to rejoice the greatest souls.”

Director, arranger, performer and composer -- Ron explored virtually every aspect of musical endeavor. If he never counted himself a professional musician in the strictest sense, his name is still synonymous with cutting-edge innovation. Among the first to tap the potential of computerized music, his incorporation of natural sounds into the actual fabric of songs was at least a decade ahead of its time; while his mid-1970s essays on musical structure and instrumentation continue to influence professionals far and wide. A composer of operettas in his youth, his name finally appears on three innovative albums -- including the highly original literary soundtracks to his bestselling novels, Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth, as well as his Scientology musical statement, The Road to Freedom that has arguably redefined our conception of religious music. Lastly, and particularly among top professionals, the name L. Ron Hubbard typifies an understanding of music -- how it best conveys emotion, how it excites, how it lulls and how, ultimately, as he wrote, “you can do anything you want to with it to make it communicate the intended message.”