The Slapin-Solomon Duo

Forty years ago, twelve-year-old me got a brand-new viola from the great luthier (and now friend) Hiroshi Iizuka! 

Hiroshi Iizuka in his Narberth studio

Scott and Maria in New Orleans

It took me a long time to name her, but…

Hiroshi Iizuka, luthier

Here are some interesting ‘stolen instrument’ stories from our friend and luthier Hiroshi Iizuka (scroll down):

Over the years, my instruments have had several exciting “adventures”.

Four violas were lost or stolen, one “destroyed in a fire”,…

Edinburgh

While we've been to Edinburgh several times (my favorite), we thought we'd try and visit the other Scottish cities. So we got in a few very short visits to each: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Inverness, Aberdeen, and Dundee.

GLASGOW (Lanarkshire):

English violist Lionel Tertis was born in West Hartlepool!

We were invited to participate in the first ever Viola Day in Hartlepool, sponsored by the Tertis and Aronowitz Competitions. It took place on October 5th, 2025. 

We were up…

While Scott was in New Jersey, performing Harold in Italy, I was on my solo trip to Scotland!

This will mostly be a photo tour….and there are TONS of photos :)

Since Scott was flying out of Edinburgh, we…

We arrived in the UK exactly one year ago on May 30, 2024 (via the QM2)! We have really loved being here, and though the home-buying process was a struggle (and took several months), we are finally in…

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

One of my favorite pieces is Hector Berlioz' Harold in Italy, a tone poem for solo viola and orchestra. Having grown up in Hunterdon and Somerset counties in north-central New Jersey, I got to play 'Harold' with…

Both Yorks have too many tourists. Maybe it was especially packed because we came during the Christmas market season. Christmas seems to be a much bigger holiday in England than in the US (and it's also much more secular.)

With…

Scott had his first performance here in England! It was at the Newcastle City Library on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. Here are a few pictures and videos from the recital.

VIDEOS: 

For 3 complete pieces, watch this video:

For a…

Stuff You Might Find Surprising About England (If You're Also a Yank)

To start, although England is much farther north than the US, because of the Gulf Stream coming up from the Caribbean (which may only last a couple more…

Last week was my birthday (Tanya here) and we took a trip up north for the day on the train. The trip was about 1 ½ hours each way on the LNER. Very comfortable. The ride north had almost nobody…

Remember how we sent off our application to Canada on October 29th, 2020 (received in Canada on November 3rd, 2020)? Yeah, we do too. Remember how we heard nothing for ages? Remember how they finally OPENED our application on March…

WE ARE LOOKING TO BUY A HOUSE AND WE WANT YOUR OPINION!!

Both houses are in the same town. Which do you think is more ‘us’? :)

HOUSE 1:

3 BR, 1 ½ bth, 2 floors (could make it 2…

Neighborhood 10: Jesmond and Gosforth

So we once again hopped on a bus to Newcastle City Centre and then took a quick metro ride to Jesmond. It's just north of the city centre and apparently very crowded with students living…

Neighborhood 8: Chester-le-Street

We hopped on a bus south towards Chester-le-Street (bus 21), straight down Durham Road. It was about a 25 minute bus ride from our current home, so, yes, it's a bit far from the center of Newcastle.

…