March 20, 2011, Beehive Coffee House in Pittsburgh.  

Sometimes musicians forget that classical music IS about music, and not about weddings, orchestra rehearsals, practice room sessions and teaching kids how to play  “Twinkle, Twinkle”. Sometimes, it is simply about getting together and playing. That is exactly what Pittsburgh musicians did on March 20th at the Beehive on SouthS ide.  We had all the string instruments involved: violins, violas, cellos, double-bass, along with clarinet, flute, guitar… Musicians simply put themselves in groups, forming trios, quartets and even quintets, playing whatever they felt like playing. No pressure, no judgment. Surprisingly enough, there were quite a few people listening, even children.  It is a great way for people to learn about chamber music in a relaxed setting, while socializing with friends and drinking a glass of wine. Hopefully, we will have more of these sessions. Here is the photo of myself, a violinist and a cellist. We had fun, no doubt!

With weather warming up and sun peeking out, musicians are getting ready to play at spring weddings.  The most fearful word for this time is “weather”… Regardless of the forecasts weather remains unpredictable: it might be a perfect sunny day for your wedding when you expected rain, or you will be running for cover in the middle of your wedding ceremony due to a sudden thunderstorm, when all your preparations were based on a prediction of a beautiful afternoon!

As wedding musicians we played at many weddings in the spring time when it was us running for cover, right behind the bride and the groom! An advice on this potential problem on your wedding day: regardless of the official forecast – always plan on having an indoor venue as a back up if your ceremony is scheduled to be outside.  Several times we finished playing ceremony music for the couple in the hallways of adjacent buildings, and it was pretty “memorable” time in the negative way.  On a different occasion, the downpour began midway during the wedding vows, but the couple had a back up plan in a form of a erected tent near by, under which we finished playing and they got to the end of their wedding vows mostly dry. 

Obviously, many wedding venues will charge an additional fee for such a back up, but for the peace of mind it might be worth it. Needless to say from our perspective as musicians – under no cirumstances can we expose our instruments to rain, even a few drops can cause damage to the glue and the structures of violin, violas and cellos.

Summary? Plan ahead, don’t trust the weather man ( they get paid whether or not they are correct), and stay dry!

I have been reading numerous articles lately related to wedding ceremonies, especially emphasizing the relationship between brides and their wedding vendors.  I even came across one story where a bride was very displeased with the ceremony musicians that she hired.  One of the main comments from all brides is that “…everyone assumes that we know exactly what we want, as we have been planning our dream wedding since we were five years old…”. 

I see their point. Many vendors quite often assume that brides have it all figured out and just want to hand over their money to a vendor to get whatever it is they “figured out”.  I have to say I am glad I work with our clients, especially brides under a completely opposite assumption: a bride wants to have ceremony music for her wedding.  Usually a bride has no idea how many musicians she wants, she likes some music in our wedding repertoire, but  not sure which ones would suit her wedding ceremony the best; she might not know the difference between a string quartet and a string trio.  I really feel that my job as a professional wedding musician is to explain everything in as many details as needed to a bride, then give her time to process all the information. After that, make my suggestions on ceremony music, music for the prelude and postlude, and any relevant advice pertaining to wedding music.  

I used to think that in our “internet-oriented’” society I do not need to be so involved and detailed with brides.  After all, they can find and listen to any wedding song on the web.  However, it is a very different feeling when instead of trusting a computer screen to decide on your wedding music, you get a chance to discuss it at length with a wedding professional. 

In the enormous world of wedding industry I think it is pretty hard to be a bride and I do whatever I can to diminish the stress that brides go through in their preparations for the big day.  I will spend as much time as needed with every bride discussing their wedding music, their song choices and any music related topic.  It is my job to which I am dedicated and it is their big celebration and i truly want it to be memorable for each and every one of my clients! 

I decided to put a few excerpts from different articles which define chamber music.  Quite often there is a confusion between chamber musicians and soloists. Although we do perform solo at times, our main line of work consists of playing in chamber groups, ranging from duos to quartets.

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part. The word “chamber” signifies that the music can be performed in a small room, often in a private salon with an intimate atmosphere. However, it usually does not include, by definition, solo instrument performances…

Thought by most to be “music written for a small ensemble,” this definition is correct, but incomplete. A form of classical music, chamber music is generally written for a small group of instruments, with no two parts doubled and no conductor in sight. Initially created for performances in a bedroom or palace “chamber,” the art form gained fashion as an intimate activity among friends…

Some of history’s greatest composers used chamber music as a vehicle to create their most profound and important works. Others used the medium as an outlet for fun and lighthearted entertainment. The best composers often did both. Many string quartets of Haydn and Mozart were cheerful and humorous, intended for intimate groups, of which they were each a member. Beethoven had a different agenda altogether, creating in his late years some of the most challenging music for string quartets in the history of the genre… 

Although the art form takes its name from those early performances in “chamber” settings, it was eventually elevated to the concert hall. While the works of Haydn or Mozart could often be undertaken (if less than professionally) by amateurs and were well suited for the private homes of friends, Beethoven’s works were much more technically complex…

Although string quartets overshadow other chamber music combinations in their popularity, there are a tremendous variety of instrumental groupings. String trios (violin, viola and cello), piano trios (violin, cello and piano), and piano quartets (violin, viola, cello and piano) are but a few of the additional string combinations.  Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, which are different from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works…

With summer weddings and other events taking place outside, one of major concerns for us as musicians is to protect our violins, violas, and cellos from harsh weather, especially sun, and even in Pittsburgh it can get very hot in the summer!

It is easily understood by everyone that wood cannot be allowed to get wet, but sometimes we are asked why can’t we play in direct sun.  Here is an excerpt from an article on instrument care. 

…”Heat joins sudden change as the other serious menace to instruments. Luthiers purposefully use wood glues which soften when heated (to 145F) so that an instrument can be disassembled for service when necessary. Direct sunlight is hot enough to soften the glues in your instrument and weaken or destroy the joints in the piece. Do not display any instrument anywhere that will be exposed to sun as the light  will damage glue and varnish…”

Here are some things that can be done for musicians if we are to play outdoors.  Provide a tent, gazebo or any sort of overhead protection where the musicians will be playing. There are times when it is impossible.  In that case – position the chairs under a tree or in a shady area: if you are setting up in advance,  you may calculate where the sun will be during that time of day.  You may also consider a second “playing site” in case if the sun moves and starts beating on the musicians.  We have played at weddings, where very thoughtful brides had ready for us two playing areas: one was for the beginning of the ceremony, and the other was preset in case if sun rays reaches us, which they did. Overall, we have never encountered a problem with playing outdoors, and were always able to move our positions based on the sun…

I had a phone conversation a few days ago with a bride who hired our string quartet musicians for her June wedding in Pittsburgh. We ended up talking for a long time since she is a musician herself. We talked about her anxiety about the wedding, making sure that everything is ready – the usual stress that comes with it. She mentioned something that she does before any big event: ..” get ready as much as you can, and about two weeks beforehand – step away, don’t do anything having to do with it, give your brain a break, almost a wind tunnel, where things can get settled and aired out. Then, a week before you will see everything with a fresh set of eyes, and will be able to make last minute decisions and changes much easier..” I thought about it later, and felt that it is true: by giving yourself a break – you start seeing things from a different angle, with a fresh outlook. I know without thinking I already do so in teaching kids: whenever I give them a break from lessons for a week or two – not only they sound much better upon seeing me again, but I tend to teach with a different prospective and seeing new trends in kids, things that I might have missed before, or dismissed as unimportant. It turns out – small details are the most important once… So, take your time to “step away” from your projects, give yourselves a break for a while. Things will  become more clear when you come back, just like Sudoku, all the numbers will fit. 

Recently our group was mentioned in the Pittsburgh Wedding Magazine, after our musicians performed at a local wedding…