supersonic
Artist Information
Biography
Celia's performance style evolved over three decades and melds her background in folk, jazz and theatre. Her music was influenced by the topical singer-songwriters of the 60's that she grew up with. At age 16 she left high school to join the peace movement in Washington, DC. A single mother at age 19, Celia managed to put herself through college, earning a degree in theatre and piecing together a career in performing arts. She taught acting, and wrote and directed many original plays and musicals in educational and community settings.
These experiences shaped a dramatic sensibility which found expression as a solo acoustic act, launched at the former Peterborough, NH club, the Folkway. Throughout the 80's, she performed in clubs throughout New England, including Passim in Cambridge and The Iron Horse in Northampton (as well as playing in many lesser known bars and coffeehouses).
Later, she returned to school to earn her Masters Degree, combining Theatre with Voice and Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory. The bars got a little better, including a seven-month stint in 1991 singing at the Bamboo Bar in the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, often cited as world's #1 hotel. (The experience is immortalized in the song, "Bamboo Bar" on her new CD, Cast of Characters).
With help from nationally-known director Bill Castellino, Celia wove her autobiographical songs and stories into a classic tale about growing up amidst the turbulent political and social changes of the 60�s and 70�s, Moving Target. The show toured from 1997 - 2004 at venues such as the Montreal Fringe Festival, First Night Boston, and Jimmy Tingle's Off-Broadway Theatre. Music from the show was featured on Celia's 2001 debut CD, Movin' On.
Mark Shilansky has been Celia's accompanist, producer and songwriting partner for over a decade. A rising star in the Boston jazz scene, Mark holds an M.M. in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory, and has been featured as a composer, arranger, and pianist with such artists as Luciana Souza, Lisa Thorson, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Kenny Wheeler.
In addition to performing, Celia currently teaches voice and performance skills in her private studio and has given workshops and master classes in many settings including New England Conservatory Summer School, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and the Northeast Folk Alliance Conference.
Instrumentation
Celia Slattery - vocals
Mark Shilansky - keyboards
Steve Kirby - guitar
Greg Holt - bass
Dave Mattacks - drums
Discography
Cast of Characters - full length CD Oct 2008
Cover Story - EP 2007
Movin' On - full length CD - 2001
Links
Video
Press
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Boston Globe
talented!
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Boston Globe
Trained in theater, this singer-songwriter does it all.
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New Hampshire Leisure Weekly
A fine musician...Celia Slattery's songs touch not only the ears but the heart.
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Somerville News
A gifted and versatile vocalist...
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Boston Globe
Slattery takes you along for her ride through good times and bad...
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Boston Herald
Celia Slattery offers a woman's perspectives on life's truths in her solo act...
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Boston Phoenix
A One-Woman "Hair."
Setlist
Typical Concert 1 - 2 sets 50-60 minute sets
Currently primarily performing material from upcoming new CD, Cast of Characters supplemented by songs from Cover Story and Movin' On.
Sample Setlist (CD Release, Oct. 8, 2008)
Love Will Come Around - D. Rotheray
Nowhere Fast - C. Slattery
Bamboo Bar - C. Slattery
Anniversary Waltz - D. Rotheray
Farewell, Farewell - R. Thompson
Chinese Café/Unchained Melody - Joni Mitchell
Crazy Love - Van Morrison
Skylark - Hoagy Carmichael
Right in Time - Lucinda Williams
Knocks Me off My Feet – Stevie Wonder
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
Seaglass - C. Slattery
Line in the Sand – Lucy Kaplansky
Distant Thunder - Slattery/Shilansky
Cast of Characters - Slattery/Shilansky
Happy Ending - C. Slattery
Also have longer set list for events, etc. See website for full song list.
