Mark Slater (composer) explained

Mark Andrew Slater (born 1 April 1969) is a British film composer, conductor, cellist and pianist. He is the composer for the film Flatland, 400 Years of the Telescope.[1], and numerous planetarium fulldome films.[2] He lives in Tokyo, Japan and is a professor of film music at Andvision International Music School, Tokyo[3] .Slater is a sponsored artist of the Make Art Not War Foundation.[4]

Early years

Slater was born on 1 April 1969 in Reigate, Surrey. His musical background includes a father who is a professor of music and conductor, a degree from the London College of Music and five years as a cathedral chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.[5] Slater appeared on Central TV in 1982 as a treble soloist on A Ceremony of Carols filmed as a follow-up to an album issued by ASV Records and on the 1984 Decca release of the Messiah performed by the Academy of Ancient Music.[6] In 1998, Slater made his debut at Dorking Halls, Surrey as a solo pianist performing Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.[7] Slater's "crisp" piano playing was compared to Gershwin in a performance of Rhapsody in Blue.[8] A composition by Slater written for a fund raising concert in 1999 for Kosovo War refugees 'Tempus Fugit' made a "stunning impression."[9] Slater appeared in other Surrey concerts as a conductor[10] and organist.[11]

Recent years

In 2006 Slater scored the animated feature film Flatland: The Film[12] [13] [14] directed by Ladd Ehlinger Jr. In 2007 Tribal DDB commissioned Slater to provide a film score for the Philips Aurea Seduction by Light[15] [16] campaign.[17] The project won prestigious industry awards in the Consumer Electronics category including specific awards for music[18] and People's Voice at the 12th Annual 2008 Webby Awards.

In 2008 Slater scored the music for 400 Years of the Telescope,[19] a PBS special for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, with the London Symphony Orchestra, which garnered Slater a Telly Award. The related fulldome video project, Two Small Pieces of Glass, became the most played planetarium full dome film shown for 3 years in a row.[20] Planetarium Director Andrew Kerr said "it has the most spectacular beginning of any planetarium show", noting the "visceral feeling" created by the score with the visuals.[21] This marked the start of acclaimed soundtracks[22] for the fulldome planetarium world[23] such as Natural Selection (2010),[24] Dinosaurs at Dusk (2013),[25] Edge of Darkness (2015), Mars 1001 (2018).[26]

In 2020, Slater produced music for the Tokyo Olympics VR coverage by COSM Studios[27] and an 8-part VR series for Meta Platforms, Tokyo Origami.[28] The episode "Through the Eyes of an Otaku" won Best Short at the Brno Fulldome Film Festival.[29]

In 2021, Slater collaborated with Argentinian composer Gabriel Lococo on an anti-war concept album about the Falklands War / Guerra de Malvinas: a 10-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over the islands.[30] The album, Temas Unidos,[31] [32] was recognized by the legislature of Buenos Aires as Culturally and Socially Significant in 2022.

In 2023, Slater was the mixing engineer and producer for a live concert album from the Whisky a Go Go nightclub with Uruguayan–Argentine singer Alika and Quinto Sol performing[33]

Awards

Works

Films

Documentary

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 400 Years of the Telescope . Los Angeles Times . 30 April 2009 . 10 January 2024.
  2. Web site: Mark Slater . Fulldome Database . 11 January 2024.
  3. Web site: Faculty Professors . Andvision International Music School . 10 January 2024.
  4. Web site: Mark Slater . Make Art Not War Foundation . 10 January 2024.
  5. Rubin . Judith . 9 September 2012 . Music as a Learning Tool . Planetarian . 41 . 3 . 36 . 11 January 2024.
  6. Web site: Music Record: Georg Friedrich Händel - Judith Nelson, Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Paul Elliott, David Thomas [9], The Choir Of Christ Church Cathedral, The Academy Of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood: Messiah · A Sacred Oratorio ]. 2024-01-11 . Colnect . en.
  7. News: August 27, 1998 . Concert Scene . Surrey Mirror . 25.
  8. News: Elsberg . Max . July 10, 1997 . Gershwin would have approved . Surrey Mirror . 18.
  9. News: Bass . D . July 29, 1999 . Inside Out . Surrey Mirror . 9.
  10. News: Preston . Keith . July 8, 1999 . Review: Slater Orchestra . Surrey Mirror . 9.
  11. News: Elsberg . Max . November 13, 1997 . Sound waves reach force 10 in La Mer . Surrey Mirror . 18.
  12. DVD Review: Flatland - The Film . . Dan . Schneider. August 15, 2007. October 29, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100514111524/https://blogcritics.org/video/article/dvd-review-flatland-the-film/page-3/. 2010-05-14.
  13. Web site: Flatland the Film - DVD Review . Sci-Fi Movie Page.
  14. Web site: Flatland . Dennis . Schwartz . Movie Reviews . 5 August 2019 . 10 January 2024.
  15. Web site: The London Symphony Orchestra plays for Philips Aurea website . Adland . 10 January 2024.
  16. Web site: Philips Seduction By Light . Duncan . Macleod . Postkiwi . 23 September 2007 . 10 January 2024.
  17. Web site: Philips Aurea: Senses Seduced . UNIT9 . 10 January 2024.
  18. Web site: Tribal DDB Worldwide wins 2008 WebAward for SEDUCTION BY LIGHT . WebAwards . 10 January 2024.
  19. Web site: 400 Years of the Telescope . University of Toronto Libraries . 10 January 2024.
  20. Web site: State of the Dome Address 2011 . Loch Ness Productions . 10 January 2024.
  21. Szydelko . Paul . Seven Questions for Andrew Kerr . Vegas Seven Magazine . June 2–8, 2016 . 66 . 11 January 2024.
  22. Web site: Mark Slater Soundtracks for Fulldome Films . Film Score Monthly . 10 January 2024.
  23. Web site: Planetarian, Vol. 41, No.3 . International Planetarium Society . 10 January 2024.
  24. Web site: Natural Selection - Fulldome Show . Fulldome Database . 10 January 2024.
  25. Web site: Dinosaurs at Dusk (Original Soundtrack) by Mark Slater . Plixid . 10 January 2024.
  26. Web site: Weekly Recommendations, Sep 2021 . Reel Music . 17 September 2021 . 10 January 2024.
  27. Web site: NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity: Tokyo Cosm Technology . 2024-01-12 . Cosm Tech . en.
  28. Web site: Experience Life In Tokyo from Eight Unique Perspectives in 'Tokyo Origami,' Available Now on the Oculus Quest Platform Meta Quest Blog . 2024-01-12 . www.meta.com . en.
  29. Web site: Festival 2023 . Fulldome Festival Brno . 10 January 2024.
  30. Web site: Temas Unidos: un disco conceptual antibélico sobre la guerra de Malvinas . Unidiversidad . 10 January 2024.
  31. Web site: Temas Unidos . FM Rock & Pop 95.9 . 10 January 2024.
  32. Web site: Lanzamiento: United Themes / Temas Unidos / . Pampanoise Records . 31 October 2021 . 10 January 2024.
  33. Web site: Aika & Quinto Sol . Whisky a Go Go . 10 January 2024.
  34. Web site: SHORTLIST on Cannes Lions 2008 . 11 January 2024.
  35. Web site: SEDUCTION BY LIGHT . The Webby Awards . 10 January 2024.
  36. Web site: 12th Webby Awards Consumer Electronics . The Webby Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20130307213930/http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12 . 11 January 2024. 2013-03-07 .
  37. Web site: Philips: SEDUCTION BY LIGHT . The One Club.
  38. Web site: Tribal DDB Worldwide wins 2008 WebAward for SEDUCTION BY LIGHT . Web Awards . 10 January 2024.
  39. http://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/entries/?l=interstellar+studios&event=&category=2&award=3 The 32nd Annual TELLY Awards | Winners
  40. Web site: Awards of Merit . Accolade Global Film Competition . 10 January 2024.