Gregory Slawson

Department/Affiliation: Music
Phone: 330-263-2419
Office Address: 223 Scheide
Email: gslawson@wooster.edu

Degrees

• Master of Music (Piano Performance), Cleveland Institute of Music
• Bachelor of Arts (Music and Psychology), Wittenberg University

Courses Taught

• MUSC 132: Piano (jazz)
• MUSC 232: Piano (jazz)

Biography, Performance, and Research

Greg Slawson was born into a family of teachers and musicians. His early musical experiences included classical and jazz piano along with electronic music. His love of nature can be traced back to his childhood when he spent extensive time at his grandparents’ house in the woods. Nature has always been at the heart of his creative inspiration.

He currently teaches his students mindfulness through music. His instruction includes classical piano, jazz theory and improvisation, recording techniques using virtual instruments and creative guidance.

Greg and his wife, Candice Lee manage Slawson and Lee Piano Studio which serves over 80 students each week. He is an adjunct instructor of jazz piano at the College of Wooster and also gives lectures to teachers about jazz instruction and building positive student relationships.

He has performed regularly since the eighth grade as a freelance pianist and with various ensembles, including the world/jazz quartet, Kassaba. Greg and Candice started Kassaba in 2002 and performed internationally until 2008. Greg wrote the music for this group whose CD, Dark Eye, was played on over 125 radio stations throughout North America and in Europe. Chamber music, jazz, solo piano repertoire, and other eclectic styles are all part of Greg’s diverse performance background.

As a composer, he has written commissions for Arnold Steinhardt (of the Guarneri Quartet), Anita Pontremoli, Lawrence Angell, the Dayton Jazz Orchestra and saxophonist, Harold Ashenfelter. He was a finalist in ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer’s Competition and a prizewinner in the IBLA Grand Prize/European International Composers Competition.

Degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Psychology from Wittenberg University and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Greg’s interest in both nature and technology has propelled his career into creating music and videos that blend nature with his original music and recordings. Greg and Candice started GCCreative Studio.com, an online website dedicated to inspiring people to walk their creative path. The site features a blog about music, creativity, performance and psychology along with all of their inspirational products.

GCCreative Studio.com also spotlights their original recordings and compositions. Just click on GCMusic to hear samples of their recordings which include a diversity of styles: piano/cinematic, jazz/world groove, ambient electronica and meditation/relaxation.