Michael Slayton

Brief Bio

Michael K. Slayton has composed numerous works in a cross-section of musical genres, with specific emphasis on chamber music. His continuing dedication to the value of artistic exchange has afforded him opportunity to write for distinguished performers all over the world. Published by American Composers Edition, Inc. (BMI), his music is regularly programmed in the U.S. and abroad.

2016 saw the PARMA Recordings release of his first portrait CD, entitled Sursum. A second recording project is being released in 2024, offering musical representations of visual art works. Slayton is also author/editor-in-chief of Women of Influence in Contemporary Music (Scarecrow Press, 2011), a book detailing the lives and music of several of America’s notable women in composition. Women of Influence was the winner of the 2013 Pauline Alderman Award, awarded by the International Alliance for Women in Music.

A member of the American Composer’s Alliance, Society of Composers, Inc., the College Music Society, Connecticut Composers, Inc., and Broadcast Music, Inc., Michael continues to be an active participant in the national and international music community. He currently serves as Professor and Chair of Composition and Theory at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.