| The four-time
Grammy nominated premiere performing
ensemble of UNT’s world-famous jazz
program, directed by Neil
Slater, has received awards from National
Public Radio, VISA International, the International
Association of Jazz Educators and the Dallas
Observer Reader’s Poll. Regarded
as unsurpassed among
university jazz bands, they have performed
at the White House, recently toured the
Pacific Northwest and New York City, and
were the special guest of His Majesty the
King of Thailand.
The ensemble has toured Europe, Mexico,
Australia, Japan and Russia, and past members
have gone on to play in bands led by Branford
Marsalis, Doc Severinsen, Harry Connick,
Jr., Count Basie, David Lee Roth, Woody
Herman and Bill Evans.
Neil Slater…
Award-winning composer and arranger Neil
Slater is chair of the division of jazz
studies at the University of North Texas
(UNT) in Denton, Texas. Mr. Slater is also
the director of the internationally acclaimed
UNT One O'Clock Lab Band. A 1995 National
Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant
recipient, Slater was selected as a Grammy
Award nominee by the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences in 1993. In
addition to creating more than 60 compositions
for jazz ensembles, Slater has written for
symphony, mixed chamber groups, a cappella
chorus and theater.
The American Society of Composers, Authors
and Publishers has bestowed its "Standard
Award" upon Slater each year since
1987. A noted jazz educator, Slater has
shared his expertise in clinics with students
in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada,
Mexico and at universities from Rhode Island
to California. A former clinician and substitute
pianist for the late jazz immortal Stan
Kenton, Slater was a member of the Stan
Kenton Orchestra-In-Residence program. He
has conducted All-State jazz ensembles in
more than a dozen states.
At UNT, Slater was principal advocate in
the establishment of a master of music degree
in jazz studies. More than 400 students
are enrolled in the UNT jazz program, which,
in 1947, was first in the United States
to offer a bachelor's degree in jazz. Prior
to his association at UNT, Slater founded
the jazz studies program and established
master's and bachelor's degree programs
in jazz at the University of Bridgeport,
Conn. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Slater received his Bachelor of Science
in Music Education from Mansfield University,
his Master of Music in Composition from
Duquesne University and pursued additional
study at Columbia University.
Website: http://www.music.unt.edu/jazz/one.html
Recordings: http://www.music.unt.edu/jazz/records.html#one
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