This fellow is not actually old – he only wants to learn how to hold a violin bow in his paw!

I can play, too!

Winter season is usually the slowest for classical musicians as far as weddings go.  During that time musicians mostly perform with various orchestras, teach and play at events other than weddings.  Our musicians have played this winter at several Christmas luncheons, a couple of private parties at the local lawyers firms, as well as a surprise 50th birthday party.  Winter gives us more time to reflect, to slow down, to create, to think..

My husband and I just came back from a 12-day cruise to the Carribean, stoping in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Haiti and a couple of other islands.  We cruised with Royal Carribean Cruise Line. We have been using them for the past nine years, and are amazed how drastically the service have declined while the prices are going up. After talking to many people on cruise ships, overwhelming majority seems to feel as we do: the quality of food menu has gone down, it is much harder to book things through the Royal Caribbean web site, events that were originally on the ship’s schedule get cancelled all the time. The latest – a big issue with all RC ships having illnesses throughout cruise ships to the point where cruises are cut short and ships are returning early, not able to handle sick people on board. The same goes for musicians on board.  I have heard string trios comprised of violin, cello and piano, violin, piano, accordion, violin, flute, piano. I am sorry to say that most of my private students high school age play so much better!!! As a matter of fact, the same applies to violin and viola students of my colleagues. I was somewhat ashamed that Royal Carribean could not invest into better qualified musicians, or may be they simply do not know what good musicians sound like! My husband who is a police officer with a very limited knowledge of classical music, made several “lemon-like” faces when he heard some of the classical musicians on our cruises.  Personally, I would be ashamed if my business provided musicians to weddings who have such low standards and such minimal training as what we hear on our cruises. When we get home from these vacations, it really makes me feel good to look around Pittsburgh and see the caliber of our local musicians, realizing how good most of them are, how much time and energy they put into their continuos training, and how serious they take every job opportunity, from playing the easiest Canon in D at a wedding, to performing a complicated violin part of a Shostakovich’s Symphony in an orchestra.  It seems as if overall level of classical music training has gone up in the United States in the past few years, starting with the fact that orchestral instruments are being introduced in pubic schools as early as second grade.  Also, there seems to be an increase in children whose parents start them on a violin, viola and cello lessons at a much younger age, around five or six. I really hope the classical music is not dying, as some might attest, but prospering with every year, producing more and more classical musicians who keep music in our culture for generations to come.

Our string duo, violist and a cellist, violist was also doubling on the violin, performed at this place for a holiday luncheon.  It was a very simple, yet elegant setting to play in, very tastefully decorated for Christmas.  The manager was very nice to us, as well as the rest of the staff. It is always a pleasure for musicians to perform in such low stress settings.

From our web site, it is very clear that our musicians mostly perform in groups of two, three and four players.  However, once in a while we send a solo musician. Most often it is for a very small wedding.  Last time we had a violinist perform at a wedding with a total of fifteen people.  Does is sound good? There is really no “correct” answer to that question.  It depends on your taste.  In this case, the bride herself was a classical musician and knew what to expect. For such occasion, there is also an option of playing along with a CD, which although not done often, does help with an overall sound and gives a better impression to the guests. It does not take a big effort to do so – all you need is a small CD player and an outlet.  The only issue is the limited repertoire for a single instrument with a CD accompaniment.  However, most of the standard wedding classical music IS available with a CD, and we can provide that with no problem. 

I have brought up this topic before. However, it keeps coming up as the most asked question by our clients regarding our musicians: “If I hire your musicians, how do I know if they are going to play well? What if  my guests and myself will not like the musicWhat if musicians are not on time for my wedding?  What if I don’t like the combination of instruments that the musicians will play? At this point, I can only respond with this:

What if an asteroid hits the site of your wedding ceremony two minutes before it is about to start?

What  if someone eats the bridal cake before it gets delivered, or if it gets dropped?

What if a bride or a groom gets cold feet a day before the wedding? ( That had happened to our musicians, we still got paid!)

What if the flowers you ordered will come in not fresh but wilted and withered, and not even the ones you ordered?

What  if the bride spills wine on her dress an hour before the ceremony?

What if a photographer drops his camera and all your wedding memories are lost because he did not bring a back up one?

What if a groom gets abducted by an alien on the way to the ceremony?

What if a groom has a heart attack in the middle of the ceremony? ( That also happened while our musicians were playing the processional)

What if a bride gets in a car wreck on the day of the wedding ( We also dealt with that situation, moving the wedding to a different day)

What if a best man gets lost on the way to the wedding ceremony and arrives an hour  late ? (We saw that, too)

What if you decide two weeks after the wedding that the person you married is not right for you?

Please try to remember the old cliche: “IF” is the middle word in LIFE…. 

I don’t have the answers, nor does anyone else. The human race only plan ahead with good intentions and hopes in mind, quite often taking fearsome steps in life  Same goes for our wedding musicians and any other business owner. Life is a risk. Getting married is a risk. Living a risk. Let us all try to enjoy it while we can and do our best to open our hearts and minds to each other. In the process, I promise to play the best music we can, and if you don’t like it – there is always the wedding cake! 

Our Pittsburgh string trio played at the wedding a few weeks ago at this chapel. I hope I don’t have such negative experience again. As a leader of my group I showed up early to set up. Apparently, I was way too early – the bride had indicated incorrect times on our contract. The sad part was how the staff treated me at the chapel. It was a hot, humid day. I have already had a hard time finding parking in Oakland. I showed up on the steps of the chapel with my  viola, music stand, my purse, and a fairly heavy bag with music binders for the rest of the musicians. Once I found out that I was early (there was another wedding in progress), I asked if I can use the restroom and leave my belongings there for a minute. Guess what? The answer was no. The wedding coordinator was rude, curt and had an attitude, pretty much telling me to leave immediately, ignoring my questions. She saw all my bags, and yet told me to use the restroom in the building that was far from the chapel, seeing that I have all the “luggage” with me. Ignorant? Yes. Inconsiderate? Yes.

This a duo of a violist and a cellist playing at the Uniontown Country Club.

An easy drive for our wedding musicians from Pittsburgh, this country club is situated in a secluded area with a scenic view.  The staff was very  helpful in making adjustments for the musicians: tables and chairs had to be moved around to fit them in.  It was a very pleasant atmosphere, conducive to classical music being performed.

There is yet another nemesis that occasionally makes musicians’ job a battle – wind.  Most commonly, it applies to wedding musicians performing for outdoor weddings.  The way musicians look at it – we would prefer rain to wind.  At least with a rain there is a clear solution – run indoors: most brides have a back-up indoor venue where the ceremony can be continued. With the wind, however, the musicians are left to their own creativity to fight it, often losing the battle.  

This year our wedding musicians already had a couple of outdoor wedding ceremonies where it was almost impossible to keep playing!  Don’t get us wrong – we come prepared for outdoor performances: warmer clothes if needed, many “see-through” wind clips, and outdoor instruments. In one recent case, musicians were powerless. The gusty winds were so strong, they blew two music stands away, about fifty feet away from where the musicians were playing the processional for the bridal party. Notice: the musicians’ music stands for outdoor event are very sturdy, designed for uneven and unstable surfaces, and yet – the wind won!  During this wedding ceremony’s “wind battle”, a few wedding guests stood up and held the musicians’ stands down after the initial blast took them away.  

Just like our daily lives are unpredictable, so are the musicians’ jobs, so we learn to “expect the unexpected”, go with the flow (or the wind) and deal with these situations in the most professional manner, with some humor mixed in…

It is a beautiful location with a spectacular view of Pittsburgh, providing a nice setting for a small wedding dinner or anything similar.  The only small negative is parking. You may park on valet only. Our wedding musicians had another job commitment after playing here, and it took them at least ten minutes to get the cars from the valet.