School of Music Visiting Artist
Don Preston began a long collaboration with Frank Zappa in 1966 as the keyboardist of the original Mothers of Invention. During that time he was music director for Meredith Monk. Preston has played and recorded with John Lennon, Peter Erskine, John Carter, and countless others. He also has scored more than 20 feature films and 14 plays. He's the winner of numerous awards, and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic. Known to jazz and keyboard aficionados for his pioneering contributions in the use of synthesizers and piano, clarinetist and composer John Carter dubbed Don Preston the "father of modern synthesis."