Brian Slawson

Since his scholarship studies at the Juilliard School, Brian Slawson has continued to pioneer innovative paths in percussion. Grammy-nominated as "Best New Classical Artist," Brian has appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show, Entertainment Tonight, the CBS Morning News and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Slawson’s extensive discography includes solo releases on Columbia, Sony/CBS and Belltone records. His smash debut, “Bach On Wood,” hit Billboard's Top 10 and remains one of the world's premier vehicles for exposing new audiences to classical music.

Slawson has performed with classical luminaries Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, recorded with pop icons from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Marie Osmond, and punctuated jokes for comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher and Eddie Murphy. In addition to performing on hundreds of national jingles (American Express, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Chevrolet and IBM, to name a few), Slawson has recorded with the world’s finest drummers including Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Steve Ferrone, Anton Fig, Dave Weckl, Chris Parker and Grady Tate.

Brian is the voice of “Gusto the Bulldog” in Warner Bros. Music Expressions and a featured artist in McGraw-Hill’s Spotlight on Music. In addition to serving as principal timpanist of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Slawson is a featured performer at Lincoln Center's, Meet the Artist Series. His Slawsongs multi media company has won Golden Reel, Tele & Addy custom music awards for feature films, television and radio.

Mr. Slawson proudly endorses Ludwig-Musser, Zildjian, Vic Firth, Remo, Grover Pro Percussion, Rhythm Tech, Alternate Mode and Humes & Berg. His teachers have included Saul Goodman, Buster Bailey, Alexander Lepak, David Smith and Drew Grouse.

Legendary vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton, described Brian as “one of the finest percussionists to come along in many years.” Modern Drummer magazine hails Brian Slawson as "a visionary, be it performer, producer or composer."