Payton MacDonald

Artist Statement

My Sonic Peaks graphic scores resist easy categorization, primarily because they fill a need for me to explore new sonic territory, much of which is through conscious or unconscious multilingual exploration of trans-idiomatic musical grammar. The holy grail of speculative fiction (aka “science fiction” or “fantasy”)— which has had a profound influence on my artistic outlook—is the Sense of Wonder, often explained as an overwhelming experience of awe awakened when one encounters worlds and perspectives that are completely new and force one to reevaluate one’s fundamental understanding of one’s place in the universe and the most pressing existential questions that concern us as a species and a civilization. My interest in various world music traditions, as well as exotic pet husbandry and ultra-endurance sports, and all sorts of forms of avant-garde art are all an expression of my obsession with the Sense of Wonder.

Sonic Peaks score from Halcott mountain, Catskills, NY.

Bio

Payton MacDonald is a composer, percussionist (specializing in marimba), singer, and filmmaker. He explores the frontiers of art in a variety of settings, from Carnegie Hall to remote wilderness locations. He spent his early years drumming along with jazz records, while exploring the Rocky Mountains near his home in Idaho by foot, bicycle, and skis. Eventually he was shaped into a percussionist who plays marimbas, snare drums, bicycles, plants, pots and pans, and anything else that might produce an interesting tone. Along the way Payton discovered Indian classical music, and has studied that music for over 20 years. He often dreams up and executes large-scale, ambitious projects, such as his film Sonic Divide, which shows Payton pedaling his mountain bike 2,500 miles along the Continental Divide, while performing 30 new pieces of music, or his Sonic Peaks project, in which Payton hikes to the summit of hundreds of mountains and creates new music reflecting those experiences. He has released over 100 recordings. Payton studied music formally at the University of Michigan (BFA) and Eastman School of Music (MM and DMA), as well as with the legendary Gundecha Brothers (Dhrupad vocal) and Pandit Sharda Sahai (tabla). He teaches music at William Paterson University, and tours nationally and internationally as a percussionist, singer, and speaker.

www.paytonmacdonald.com