Mashine Room Dedicated

By
Mike Keefe-Feldman
September 1, 2017

Berklee President Roger H. Brown (left) and David Mash, recently retired senior vice president of innovation, strategy, and technology, cut the ribbon at the dedication of the Mashine Room named in Mash’s honor.

Dave Green

Michael Bierylo (right), chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department, and Brown shared words of gratitude for Mash’s 40 years of service to Berklee.

Dave Green

On September 8, Berklee honored David Mash B.M. ’76 with the dedication of the Mashine Room in the college’s 150 Massachusetts Avenue building as faculty, administrators, trustees, alumni, staff, friends, children, and grandchildren gathered around the retired senior vice president for innovation, strategy, and technology. Mash served as a Berklee faculty member prior to becoming an administrator, and also enjoyed a long career working with companies such as Moog, who presented a Moog Modular IIIc synthesizer to Berklee for the occasion as a salute to Mash. 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.

Michael Bierylo, chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department that Mash founded, 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.”

“What a great honor,” Mash told those gathered, as he struggled to hold back emotions built up over four dedicated decades at Berklee. “Thank you very much.”

Since retiring, Mash has been busy composing and recording music, recently releasing a new album, Seasons, under his Mashine Music moniker.

This article appeared in our alumni magazine, Berklee Today Fall 2017. Learn more about Berklee Today.
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