Daniel Slatkin

Daniel Alexander Slatkin (born May 16, 1994) is an American composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and music producer known for his concert works, film scores, and television scores. At the age of 23, Slatkin's feature film debut was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and five months later had his symphony orchestra debut with a concert work commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Early life and education Daniel Slatkin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to conductor and 7-time Grammy winner, Leonard Slatkin and Linda Hohenfeld, on May 16, 1994. The Slatkins are part of a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His grandfather, violinist and conductor Felix Slatkin, was the founder of the Hollywood String Quartet and concertmaster of the Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra. His grandmother, Eleanor Aller, was the cellist of the quartet and principal cellist of the Warner Brothers Orchestra, becoming the first female to hold a principal chair in a Hollywood studio orchestra.

Slatkin was educated in the concert hall. He traveled throughout his youth while training classically in piano, watching his father perform on stages all over the world. Slatkin attended Brooks School where he began forming his musical voice, and during this time had his first professional performance as a pianist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17. After high school, Slatkin attended the University of Southern California, studying business, music and film.

Career Slatkin has followed in the footsteps of his family, achieving acclaim at an unusually young age. Slatkin conducted his first orchestral commission, In Fields, at age 23 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, his works have been performed and commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, National Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. His recorded music has been broadcast internationally, with his most recent recording, In Fields, having been released in February 2022.

Slatkin's debut feature film, Making Fun: The Story of Funko, was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and his film music has since been heard around the world, from Netflix to ESPN to PBS to Amazon Prime to festivals, where his work has been nominated for best score.

In 2022, Slatkin wrote and recorded the score for a feature film with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the Max M. Fisher Music Center. The film, about the Detroit bankruptcy, won the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. That same year, his score for independent feature film Neon Bleed won two Best Score awards, with the selections made by Roger Taylor of Queen and Alan Parsons.

On September 27th, 2024, Slatkin's orchestral work, Voyager 130, received its world premiere with the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Ireland. The work features recorded sounds contained in the Golden Record, aboard NASA's Voyager Spacecraft, and utilizes themes from Beethoven's 13th String Quartet (Op. 130). One month later, Slatkin conducted the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of Grand Slam Fanfare, in recognition of his father's 80th birthday and their mutual love of baseball. The performance featured a surprise appearance by St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop, Ozzie Smith. Concert works 2018: In Fields 2019: Paganini Goes To The Movies 2024: Voyager 130 2024: Grand Slam Fanfare

Filmography Films Year Title Director Notes 2014 Never to Return Scott Bergen Espanol Short film 2016 6:15 on a Saturday Night Dianna Ippolito Short film 2017 Nexus Dianna Ippolito Short film 2018 Making Fun: The Story of Funko David Romero Netflix 2018 Dread Hunt Nicholas Kramer Short film 2018 How We Eat Blair Pennington Short film 2018 Millennial Romance Scott Bergen Espanol Short film 2018 Hollywood Checkmate Connor Adams Short film 2019 American Bison Max McGillivray Short film 2019 The Last Piece Will Lowell Short film 2019 Mommy’s Birthday Jacob Arbittier Short film 2020 Dinner Guests Jacob Arbittier Short film 2020 Man’s best friend Pancho Moler Short film 2020 Melissa Jacob Arbittier Short film 2020 Clap Clap Jacob Arbittier Short film 2020 Matches Jordan Nistico 2020 Come F*ck My Robot Mercedes Bryce Morgan Short film 2020 Chestnut Lane Jacob ArbittierIan Soares Short film 2020 Zero Time to Waste Matt Helbig Short film 2021 Fish Jacob Arbittier Short film 2021 PLUM: A Baseball Life Conor Fitzgerald 2022 Slice & Hook Ray Boland Short film 2022 Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit Sam KatzJames McGovern 2022 Bag Lady Max McGillivray Short film 2023 Neon Bleed John Capone 2023 The Chosen One Elazar Fine Short film 2023 Choke Hold Max McGillivray Short film 2026 Boys To Fame Sam Katz

Television Year Title Director Notes 2018 Bread, Salt & The Graphite Kid David Romero PBS 2021 The Kitchenistas David Romero PBS 2023 SC Featured Harry Hawkings Awaken: The Morgan Hoffmann Story 2024 Sunday NFL Countdown Harry Hawkings Left Hand Man 2026 In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America Sam Katz WPVI-TV

Personal life Slatkin resides in Los Angeles with his wife and business partner, Bridget Slatkin.