Gian Slater

Prodigious vocalist and composer Gian Slater is one of Australia’s most sought-after and inventive creative musicians, known for her superb musicianship, pioneering vision for vocal music, and powerful artistic integrity.

She is a prolific composer, with 8 albums of original music ranging from artsong, contemporary classical works, electronica, jazz and rock, to large-scale works for her acclaimed vocal ensemble, Invenio. Gian formed Invenio vocal ensemble in 2010 and has composed five a cappella works for the ensemble as well as arranging works for projects with New York based pianist/composer Barney McAll and treasured Australian singer/songwriter, Lior.

She has been a four-time finalist in the prestigious Freedman Fellowship (2004, 2010, 2014,2015); the Bell Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album (2010,2013) and was the MJFF Apra Composers Commission winner in 2010. In 2012, she received the Creative Australia Fellowship, awarded to emerging and innovative artists across art practices and was a finalist in the Melbourne Music Prize in 2013. She was awarded the 2015 PBS Young Elder of Jazz Commission, which saw her premiere a new work, Māyā at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival as well as Capital Jazz Festival in Canberra.

She has featured on many recordings including Ben Hauptmann’s Ben Hauptmann, Christopher Hale’s Sylvan Coda, Andrea Keller’s Angels and Rascals, Nat Bartsch’s To Sail, To Sing, Kate McGarry’s Smile and Ben Monder’s Hydra. She also features on film soundtracks by Paul Grabowsky, including The Eye of the Storm and Words and Pictures and has recorded for ABC Kids show Giggle and Hoot.

Gian is also a passionate educator and lectures in Jazz and Improvisation at Melbourne and Monash Universities, Melbourne Polytechnic as well as guest lecturing at The Manhattan School of Music and the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. www.gianslater.com