Gordon Slater

Bells and Brass/Carillon et cuivres. Canadian Brass. 1978.

Slater, Gordon

Gordon (Frederick) Slater. Carillonneur, b Toronto 22 Aug 1950. He studied piano 1954-64 with Carmel Archambault at the RCMT and bassoon 1968-71 with Nicholas Kilburn at the University of Toronto. His first carillon teacher 1957-68 was his father, James B. Slater (carillonneur at Metropolitan United Church, Toronto). Later, 1973-4, he worked with Robert Donnell in Ottawa. While organist-choirmaster 1969-72 at Riverdale Presbyterian Church, Toronto, and a pipe organ builder, tuner, and repairman 1970-7 at the Legge Organ Co in Islington (Toronto), Slater was carillonneur at Soldiers' Tower, University of Toronto, 1969-77, at Rainbow Tower, Niagara Falls, Ont, 1972-5, and at the CNE Carillon 1975-6. Slater performed as the Dominion Carillonneur at the Peace Tower in Ottawa, 1977-2008. In 1987 he became conductor of Divertimento, a 60-member amateur orchestra in Ottawa; since 1991 he also played bassoon and contrabassoon in local orchestras and chamber ensembles.