Second Saturday Concert Series: Internationally Known Synthesizer Experts

Peregrine School starts the 2023 Second Saturday Concert Series on Saturday, May 13, with acclaimed synthesizer experts, authors, and musicians David Battino and Mark Vail. The pair will perform as WSDOR (Within Shouting Distance of Reality). Prior to the concert, Battino and Vail will demonstrate some of the unique sounds and performance techniques their instruments offer. They’ll also discuss inexpensive ways to get into electronic music and how making it opens your ears to a whole new world of sound. Audience questions and participation are encouraged. The presentation begins at 10:00am and the concert follows from 11:00am to noon. Guests are welcome to attend either or both events. The Series is supported, in part, by a grant from the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs program. Additionally, special thanks to Trader Joes. There is a suggested $20 donation, but no one will be turned away due to a lack of funds.

David Battino majored in philosophy at Oberlin but found his epiphany in the college’s electronic music studios. Suddenly it was possible to create both the instruments and the music, and he began writing for magazines to share that excitement. He joined Keyboard in 1994, was the founding editor of Music & Computers, and wrote the popular “Adventures in DIY” column for Electronic Musician. In 2005, he co-wrote The Art of Digital Music, a book and DVD of interviews with 50 artists, inventors, and futurists. Music Tech called it “truly entertaining and informative on both philosophical and technical levels.”

Battino keeps his ears peeled for new music technology, often turning it into novel instruments to share in his “Synth Hacks” column for Waveform magazine. A recent column introduced SwineWAV, a MIDI-controlled sample player he built inside a pink plastic pig. Playful interfaces, David believes, give people “permission” to make music.

As a senior in high school in 1972, Mark Vail learned of the existence of music synthesizers from an article Wendy Carlos wrote for The Last Whole Earth Catalog. Vail earned an MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media at Mills College in 1983. He joined the editorial staff at Keyboard magazine in 1988, assumed the Vintage Synths column started by synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog (1934-2005) in 1992, and continued writing the column after leaving Keyboard in 2001. Mark is the author of Vintage Synthesizers (1993, 2000), The Hammond Organ: Beauty in the B (1997, 2002), and The Synthesizer (2014). He developed and taught a computer music class based on Propellerhead Reason for middle and high school students from 2003 to 2015, and he has performed electronic music at SFO, Golden Gate Park, Sacramento Audio Waffle, Brutal Sound Effect, and the Don Buchla Memorial Concert. Vail jams with other musicians as often as possible.

The gates of Peregrine’s South campus (2650 Lillard Drive, Davis) will open at approximately 9:45am. Seating is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. For additional information, please contact Peregrine School at (530) 753-5500 and www.peregrineschool.org.

A 501(c)3 non-profit, founded in 2007, Peregrine School is an independent school that builds children’s capacity to learn, think and do in our ever-changing world. The school is the only progressive school in the Sacramento Valley. Located in Davis, California, Peregrine serves children from preschool through the 6th grade, drawing students from throughout the Sacramento Valley. Peregrine School educates the whole child, incorporating the latest research on teaching and learning into a child-centered curriculum that integrates hands-on scientific inquiry, critical thinking, wellness and the arts.