A critically acclaimed violist, composer, and director of the Williston Northampton String Ensemble will give a recital in the Reed Campus Center tonight, December 10, at 7:00 p.m.

Scott Slapin’s perfomances have been praised by American Record Guide, Fanfare, Mundo Clásico, Musical Opinion, and Strad, while his compositions have been performed by violists across the United States and Europe. He has written two albums of viola-centric recital music: All Viola, All the Time and Reflection. Mr. Slapin is also the first person to have recorded the complete cycle of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas on viola.

“An unaccompanied viola recital is a rare event,” Mr. Slapin noted in his artist statement. “One unaccompanied piece on a recital with piano is normal enough, but an entire concert of nothing but you, me, and the viola doesn’t happen every day.”

Mr. Slapin’s program for the performance at Williston includes Chaconne by J.S. Bach and Caprice #13 by Nicolò Paganini as well as the original compositions Recitative and Elegy-Caprice. Mr. Slapin was commissioned to write Recitative for the 2008 Primrose International
Viola Competition. He wrote Elegy-Caprice for his mother’s memorial concert; it was also featured in the award-winning docudrama Secret Life, Secret Death.

As well as at Williston, Mr. Slapin teaches at Mount Holyoke College. and his wife, Tanya Solomon, maintain a private violin/viola teaching studio in South Hadley, Mass. Find more information about recordings and sheet music, as well as an audio file of Chaconne, on Mr. Slapin’s website: www.scottslapin.com.

The performance will be held in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at 40 Park Street in Easthampton. The event is free and open to the public.