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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 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

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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[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

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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

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  • 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

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Films

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Documentary

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References

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  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.
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