about us
Track 1: Duo for two violas by Rolla
Track 2: Nocturne for two violas by Scott Slapin
“...the playing is of a ferocious virtuosity...the astonishing thing is how equally at home the Slapin-Solomon duo appears in any given type of repertoire.” - Colin Clarke
The award-winning Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo has expanded the repertoire for two violas through numerous premieres, commissions, recordings, and their own pioneering transcriptions. Scott and Tanya can be heard on The Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo: A Twenty-Year Retrospective, which draws from more than ten of their duo albums recorded over two decades. Their recordings for Eroica Classical Recordings, ISG, AVS, PVS, and Violacentric Productions have garnered critical acclaim in such publications as Fanfare, Strad, the New York Violist, the All Music Guide, and the Journals of the American and Canadian Viola Societies.
As one of the few long-term viola duos in the world, Scott and Tanya won 'Best Chamber Performance of 2008' at New Orleans' Big Easy Entertainment Awards. They have been featured at international viola congresses, and they can be heard performing Scott's popular Nocturne in the final scenes of the award-winning docudrama Secret Life, Secret Death. In addition to dozens of Scott's compositions, Scott and Tanya have premiered and recorded duos by such diverse composers as Gerald Busby, Robert Cobert, Richard Lane, Rachel Matthews, Patrick Neher, Frank Proto, and David Rimelis. Their debut CD 'Sketches from the New World' was hailed as "absolutely brilliant" in Strad Magazine.
Scott and Tanya have also performed extensively as soloists, chamber musicians, and as members of full-time orchestras, sharing the stage with legendary names ranging from Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma to Randy Newman and Dave Brubeck. They bring their broad experience from the musical world and from teaching at various colleges and academies to their private viola and violin teaching studios based north of Burlington, Vermont. They also teach on several continents via Skype, with students ranging in age from eight to eighty and in ability from beginners to advanced professionals. Scott also teaches composition. Click here for some of their Technique Tips at YouTube!
“This is at once a celebration of a viola duo, and a celebration of the viola itself.” - Colin Clarke
