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According to David’s sisters Laurie Aker and Valerie Batt, the celebration of David life will be informal and all who are interested in attending are welcome. Friends, colleagues, and family members in attendance who wish to will be able to share their thoughts and memories of David, or just to listen and remember.
David Batt, the former Finance Director of the City of South Pasadena, passed away on October 25, 2018 at age 64. David had served as the City’s Finance Director from 2014 until he retired earlier in 2018. David was also previously contracted through private firms, both as the City’s Assistant Finance Director and Interim Finance Director from 2007 to 2014. Previously, David had performed as the Finance Director for the City of Avalon on Catalina.
Besides his career as a financial administrator, David was also a very accomplished performing and recording musician. David was known to many classical piano fans under his own name, as well as to many New Age music lovers, near and far, as Yrsan Daro, a name he once confided that he chose because he thought it sounded mysterious. In all, he recorded 6 CDs. One of the David Batt CDs was partially recorded during live performances before large audiences on the Library Carnegie Stage of the Eclectic Music Festival in 2012 and 2013.
David Batt was born in South Dakota, but moved to New England with his family when he was 3. His mother was an opera singer, concert violinist, and actress while his father was a doctor. Not surprisingly, David’s siblings are very artistic as well. In fact, everyone in his family had at least some involvement in theater, acting, or singing, although David is the only child to professionally work in music. Growing up, his family house was especially full of records: particularly classical, folk, and soundtrack albums. By the time he was 14, young David had already been taking piano lessons for more than a decade.
David always felt that music and theater would be important aspects of his life. Nevertheless, when he was young, he planned a career in medicine or the sciences. After obtaining a degree in Psychology and completing a year of graduate work in the neurosciences, David skipped out on the Ph.D. program, deciding he wanted to do something different with his life. After that, David played in jazz, rock, and blues bands. During the late 70s he also composed, performed, and directed music for many theatrical productions in San Diego.
The Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m.
