Mark Slater (composer)

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Mark Slater and London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios
Mark Slater conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios

Mark Andrew Slater (born April 1, 1969, in Reigate, Surrey) 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[edit]

Slater’s 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[6] 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.[7] In 1998, Slater made his debut at Dorking Halls, Surrey as a solo pianist performing Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.[8] Slater's "crisp" piano playing was compared to Gershwin in a performance of Rhapsody in Blue.[9] A composition by Slater written for a fund raising concert in 1999 for Kosovo War refugees 'Tempus Fugit' made a "stunning impression."[10] Slater appeared in other Surrey concerts as a conductor[11] and organist.[12]

Recent years[edit]

In 2006 Slater scored the animated feature film Flatland: The Film[13][14][15] directed by Ladd Ehlinger Jr. In 2007 Tribal DDB commissioned Slater to provide a film score for the Philips Aurea Seduction by Light[16][17] campaign.[18] The project won prestigious industry awards in the Consumer Electronics category including specific awards for music[19] and People's Voice at the 12th Annual 2008 Webby Awards.

In 2008 Slater scored the music for 400 Years of the Telescope,[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] This marked the start of acclaimed soundtracks[23] for the fulldome planetarium world[24] such as Natural Selection (2010),[25] Dinosaurs at Dusk (2013),[26] Edge of Darkness (2015), Mars 1001 (2018).[27]

In 2020, Slater produced music for the Tokyo Olympics VR coverage by COSM Studios[28] and an 8-part VR series for Meta Platforms, Tokyo Origami.[29] The episode "Through the Eyes of an Otaku" won Best Short at the Brno Fulldome Film Festival.[30]

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.[31] The album, Temas Unidos,[32][33] 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[34]

Awards[edit]

  • Cannes Cyberlions Grand Prix (Seduction by Light)[35]
  • Webby Award (Seduction by Light)[36][37]
  • The One Show (Seduction by Light)[38]
  • Web Award (Seduction by Light)[39]
  • Telly Award (400 Years of the Telescope)[40]
  • Imiloa Fulldome Film Festival (Natural Selection)[25]
  • Accolade Competition (Saved by Grace)[41]
  • European Independent Film Award (Saved by Grace)
  • Virgin Spring Cinefest (Saved by Grace)
  • Fulldome Festival Brno (Tokyo Origami)[30]

Works[edit]

Films[edit]

Documentary[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "400 Years of the Telescope". Los Angeles Times. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Mark Slater". Fulldome Database. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Faculty Professors". Andvision International Music School. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Mark Slater". Make Art Not War Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ^ Rubin, Judith (9 September 2012). "Music as a Learning Tool" (PDF). Planetarian. 41 (3): 36. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ^ TV "A Ceremony of Carols" (Britten): Christ Church Oxford 1982 (Francis Grier), retrieved 2024-01-11
  7. ^ "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". Colnect. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  8. ^ "Concert Scene". Surrey Mirror. August 27, 1998. p. 25.
  9. ^ Elsberg, Max (July 10, 1997). "Gershwin would have approved". Surrey Mirror. p. 18.
  10. ^ Bass, D (July 29, 1999). "Inside Out". Surrey Mirror. p. 9.
  11. ^ Preston, Keith (July 8, 1999). "Review: Slater Orchestra". Surrey Mirror. p. 9.
  12. ^ Elsberg, Max (November 13, 1997). "Sound waves reach force 10 in La Mer". Surrey Mirror. p. 18.
  13. ^ Schneider, Dan (August 15, 2007). "DVD Review: Flatland - The Film". Blogcritics. Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  14. ^ "Flatland the Film - DVD Review". Sci-Fi Movie Page.
  15. ^ Schwartz, Dennis (5 August 2019). "Flatland". Movie Reviews. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  16. ^ "The London Symphony Orchestra plays for Philips Aurea website". Adland. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  17. ^ Macleod, Duncan (23 September 2007). "Philips Seduction By Light". Postkiwi. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Philips Aurea: Senses Seduced". UNIT9. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Tribal DDB Worldwide wins 2008 WebAward for SEDUCTION BY LIGHT". WebAwards. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  20. ^ "400 Years of the Telescope". University of Toronto Libraries. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  21. ^ "State of the Dome Address 2011". Loch Ness Productions. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  22. ^ Szydelko, Paul (June 2–8, 2016). "Seven Questions for Andrew Kerr". Vegas Seven Magazine: 66. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Mark Slater Soundtracks for Fulldome Films". Film Score Monthly. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Planetarian, Vol. 41, No.3" (PDF). International Planetarium Society. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Natural Selection - Fulldome Show". Fulldome Database. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Dinosaurs at Dusk (Original Soundtrack) by Mark Slater". Plixid. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Weekly Recommendations, Sep 2021". Reel Music. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  28. ^ "NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity: Tokyo | Cosm Technology". Cosm Tech. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  29. ^ "Experience Life In Tokyo from Eight Unique Perspectives in 'Tokyo Origami,' Available Now on the Oculus Quest Platform | Meta Quest Blog". www.meta.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  30. ^ a b "Festival 2023". Fulldome Festival Brno. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  31. ^ "Temas Unidos: un disco conceptual antibélico sobre la guerra de Malvinas". Unidiversidad. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Temas Unidos". FM Rock & Pop 95.9. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  33. ^ "Lanzamiento: United Themes / Temas Unidos /". Pampanoise Records. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Aika & Quinto Sol". Whisky a Go Go. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  35. ^ "SHORTLIST on Cannes Lions 2008". Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  36. ^ "SEDUCTION BY LIGHT". The Webby Awards. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  37. ^ "12th Webby Awards Consumer Electronics". The Webby Awards. Archived from the original on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  38. ^ "Philips: SEDUCTION BY LIGHT". The One Club.
  39. ^ "Tribal DDB Worldwide wins 2008 WebAward for SEDUCTION BY LIGHT". Web Awards. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  40. ^ The 32nd Annual TELLY Awards | Winners
  41. ^ "Awards of Merit". Accolade Global Film Competition. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

External links[edit]