With Dedication of Mashine Room, a Moog Gift That Will Keep on Giving in Honor of David Mash
David Mash and custom Moog synthesizer IIIc at the dedication of Berklee's Mashine Room
Image by Dave Green
On Friday, September 8, Berklee dedicated one of its new Electronic Production and Design (EPD) labs to David Mash B.M. ‘76, the recently retired founding chair of the EPD Department who most recently served as Berklee’s senior vice president for innovation, strategy, and technology, capping off 40 years at Berklee. The newly christened Mashine Room pays homage to Mashine Music, Mash's long time artist moniker, through which he records and releases his own compositions, including his newest release, the album, Seasons.
Coinciding with the dedication, EPD received a limited edition Moog Synthesizer IIIc, built specifically for Berklee. The modular synthesizer, worth $35,000, is a reissue of the historic original Moog. The instrument took weeks of steady crafting to complete—using all-original documentation, art, and circuit board files. The instrument was funded through a $20,000 donation in Mash’s name from Chris Halaby, CEO of KVR Audio and a member of Berklee’s Presidential Advisory Council, and an in-kind donation from Moog Music. The console is inscribed to Mash: “a champion for the power of technology to expand the creative potential of all humans.”
Michael Bierylo, chair of Berklee’s Electronic Production and Design Department, noted that, among Mash’s many contributions, “one of the most important is that he got this bright idea in the 1980s that every musician would be using technology and that the synthesizer was an instrument that deserved recognition and study as any other.”
In addition to Bierylo, Berklee President Roger H. Brown, Moog Brand Manager Jonna Humphries, and Boston-based entrepreneur David Friend were on hand for the dedication, as were many other colleagues, Berklee administrators, and friends, as well as Mash’s wife, children, and grandchildren.
“What a great honor,” Mash told those gathered for the dedication ceremony, struggling to hold back emotions built up over four dedicated decades at Berklee. “Thank you very much.”