On Thursday, August 30, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Grand Gallery, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art presents a free concert by pianist Mary Slaton. Though specializing in over six decades of popular music, for this concert Ms. Slaton will spotlight the 1970s. Her program, “It’s All Coming Back to Me,” will feature music made famous by artists such as Neil Diamond, Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel, Lionel Ritchie, Elton John, Billy Joel, Chicago, The Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, and more. The performance is made possible in part by a gift from Stanley Sistrunk and a gift from Friends of the Series.” The café menu is available online.
Over the years, MARY SLATON has entertained thousands with her distinctive piano arrangements, and is known throughout the southeast as one of the region’s premier soloists. She knows popular music from the 1930s to present day, and specializes in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s including songs from classic movies, radio, and the canon of great American standards. While earning her Master’s degree at Memphis State University, Mary was a regular soloist at the Hilton and the Hyatt Regency. After Memphis, she lived in the Atlanta area where she played the Omni Hotel, the Hilton, the Atlanta Country Club, the Marietta Country Club, the Atlanta Athletic Club, and the 1848 Restaurant. Through her solo piano career, she boasts to have met many famous and colorful characters.
Mary grew up with her six brothers and one sister in Lee County, Alabama, in the Beauregard community on the Lazenby family farm. Her brother remembered her playing by ear at six years old. After earning her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Montevallo, Mary taught choir and piano at Beauregard School, and started bands at Beauregard and at Macon Academy in Tuskegee.
Having returned to Lee County, now in the Auburn-Opelika area, she has been featured at venues such as the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, the Terra Cotta, the Saugahatchee Country Club, and the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at Grand National. She enjoys entering her private students in district and state competitions, and has taught at Southern Union Community College. She leads the Mary Slaton Trio, and founded the East Alabama Community Band in which she serves as coordinator and French horn player.
Mary has one son, an architect in Birmingham. She loves spending time with her two grandchildren and growing flowers in her yard whenever possible.
