i love chaser & nova

Pictured below is my father's dog Chaser with the host of PBS's NOVA beta, Neil deGrasse Tyson (and  Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History)

Chaser  is being featured on NOVA, February 9th  with my father, Dr. John W. Pilley, Jr's ground breaking research on canine intelligence.  Chaser has a working vocabulary of over 1000 words which is demonstrated on the show.   Plus, she's just so cute and ultra fun to play with.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/how-smart-dogs.html

i love santa

I was asked to write and perform an alternative holiday song for an event at ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and the irreverant product was "Santa, where's my stuff?" It won best holiday song and performance on Garage Band and might bring a giggle to your day.

I wrote it to the chord progression of Heart & Soul by Hoagy Carmichael, so that everyone could play it. It's available at itunes and CD baby under "pilley & ila's dress".

I hope you enjoy!

I love Kathleen Battle during the holidays

At this time of year there is so much seasonal music that I love. Listening to holiday music brings me back to earlier moments in my life that seem to be frozen in time. I would drive from NYC back to my parents home in the south and listen to CD's of Kathleen Battle singing holiday songs.

And of course no holiday season is complete without something from The Messiah.

I love Idan Raichel

This past weekend we did a wedding at Central Synagogue. The bride & groom requested we do an Idan Raichel song Mi Ma'amakim, which means "from the depths." We arranged it for piano, string quartet, flute and we were honored to accompany Cantor Angela Buchdahl who has a voice like rich velvet. It's a gorgeous love song.

From the depths I called to you, come to me
With your return the light in my eyes will return
[It's] not finished, Your touch does not leave
May it come and give light what one hears in your laughter
From the depths I called to you, come to me
By a moon lighting your way back to me
Spread and melted with the touch of your hand
A questioner whispers in your ear

I love St. Bartholomew's Church

We were very fortunate to perform a gorgeous ceremony at St. Bartholmew's Church this past month. The music director there is William Trafka who is without a doubt one of the finest organist's in the world. It is an understatement to say we were thrilled to work with him.  http://www.stbarts.org/organ.asp

The organ itself is spectacular and for over ninety years St. Bartholomew’s Church has been an important factor in American church music with a large professional choir, active music program and one of the largest pipe organs to be found in an American church. Over several decades, the choir's repertoire grew to include many oratorios and other large works, and the organ was enlarged through successive rebuildings to become of an exceptional instrument for choral accompaniment, for the leading of congregational singing and for the performance of a broad spectrum of organ literature. The Organ comprises 168 stops, 225 ranks and 12,422 pipes throughout the church. You can easily take advantage of this amazing music each sunday for free.

In addition, we performed with Anthony Morgan's Inspirational Choir Of Harlem with a special guest appearance by Davell Crawford. http://davellcrawford.com/  Talk about raising the roof. They gave us goosebumps.

Pilley with William Trafka & The Rev. Lynn Sanders going over the processional

Pilley & Davell Crawford

It was a musical high for us on many levels merging all of these different elements for a truly personalized and emotional ceremony.

and more nigel hess!

Now 2 of my favorites, Nigel Hess with Joshua Bell. This is from Ladies in Lavender. We are performing this on Saturday and sooooo looking forward to playing it.

i love nigel hess

Continuing on my choral quest is this gorgeous composition by Nigel Hess. It's the Jubilate Deo for choir and organ. Since we don't always have a choir available, we have transcribed it for quartet and piano.

So amazing....

I love In Trutina

I haven't blogged in a while because our schedule has been so busy.  We've been performing at some amazing Cathedrales in NYC that I will feature in the next few weeks.  Since we've been on sacred ground, I've been exploring lesser known classical works that have been approved by the church.  One of my new favorites and now a staple in our repertoire is "In Trutina" by Carl Orff. 

"In Trutina" originates from the song cycle Carmina Burana.  Carmina Burana, latin for "Songs from Beuern" is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts written by medieval monks at a monastery in Benediktbeuern from the 11th or 12th centruy. Carl Orff (1895 - 1982) wrote a secular cantata, titled "Carmina Burana" based on the poems from the manuscript but did not use any of the original melodies.  It is gorgeous as an instrumental or with Soprano.  We have been performing it in both formats with our own arrangements.  Enjoy.

In trutina mentis dubia
Fluctuant contraria
Lascivus amor et pudicitia
Sed eligo quod video
Collum iugo prebeo
Ad iugum tamen suave transeo

[English translation:]

In my own wavering balance
Desire fluctuates with modesty
But I choose what I see
I bow my neck to the yoke
For the burden is sweeter after all
And so I take it upon me

i love angel orensanz

Last evening I did a gorgeous, intimate ceremony at Angel Orensanz.  Because only immediate family was in attendance, Jung Lee http://www.feteny.com/ filled the space with hundreds of votive candles so that the entire room glittered.  She also brought in a beautiful black baby grand for me to play Chopin & Debussy for this quirky & sublimely elegant European couple.  

It's a fantastic & magical space, but you will definately need a great designer/planner. 

http://www.orensanzevents.com/

i love south carolina

This month I was invited to perform in my childhood town of Spartanburg, South Carolina. I had not been back to perform since I was 16 when I played the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Spartanburg Philharmonic.  Keith Plumley orchestrated the entire event which was at the beautiful Unitarian Universalist Church where he is Music Director. We did a program with 2 pianos (supplied by Case Brothers Pianos, mmmmwwaahhhh) violin & cello. My husband Jay Bianchi accompanied me on piano as well as Bonnie Lee Mizzell on violin & Ted Luckenburg on cello. They did an incredible job!

Local writer, Janice Baynes wrote a wonderful article promoting me which you can find at http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100715/ARTICLES/7151006/1097/entertainment?Title=Renowned-pianist-Bianchi-returns-for-rare-performance  Thank you Janice!

The audience was generous & incredibly appreciative.  It was truly a magical musical experience for me.  I sang mostly covers with our own interpretation and chose the songs to reflect the southern rock/pop music that I grew up listening to.  The Marshall Tucker Band is from Spartanburg, so I did a swampy, ethereal version of Toy Caldwell's CAN'T YOU SEE.  This song is a beautiful & haunting composition that The MTB made famous with their jangly guitars, earthy vocals and jazzy flute.  I was a little nervous about presenting it in such a stripped down, exposed manner, but it was received with open arms & enthusaism from this gracious southern audience. 

I can't wait to come back again and play.  I heart Spartanburg.

i love the manhattan penthouse

I just had a walkthrough today for one of our August brides and I adore the Manhattan Penthouse, located on 5th Avenue at 14th Street.  http://www.greenmansionscatering.com/penthouse.php?p=reception

The views are incredible and the architecture is classic New York.  Perfect for the DIY bride and more intimate events.  They are also one of the very few locations that maintain their lovely grand piano, which sounds fantastic in the space. For performing ceremonies and cocktail hours, it is a musician's dream come true.

i love perlman

I'm preparing for some solo concerts with orchestra and scanning my favorite film score music. I always come back to Itzhak Perlman's recording of the Theme from Schindler's List.  It's so melodic and heartfelt.  Perlman's performance just drips with emotion. 

I was fortunate during my studies at The Eastman School of Music to meet and play for Perlman. 

What an artist's artist.

i love christian oth photography

This photo is from the studio of Christian Oth of the New Orleans wedding that we did together. We end up on many of the same events and their photos are always fresh & stunning. They are one of my favorite photo studios ever.  http://www.christianothstudio.com/

i love joshua bell

For one of our August brides, I was searching for new inspiritation with Puccini's O MIO BABBINO CARO .  I stumbled across this version performed by Joshua Bell. 

In the words of Rachel Zoe.....

I die.

i love Jungle Design

During the summer in my neighborhood of Williamsburg, they block off Bedford Avenue and have all kinds of street vendors set up.  One of the local garden deigners JUNGLE set up patches of sod featuring & sharing their beautiful potted plants for the weekend along with vintage chaise loungers. We had a lovely picnic on the grass right in the middle of Bedford Avenue! 

Thank you JUNGLE!! 

You must visit their beautiful design shop at 61 Kent Avenue (N. 10th & N. 11th Streets)  http://www.jungledesignnyc.com/.  They have amazing artistry with their greenery & remarkable prices.  If you are a DIY bride or simply want help with your garden, you must pay them a visit.

i love gerald finzi

While we were in New Orleans, I got to visit with a very good friend of mine, an enormously talented flutist, Kent Jordan.  We hadn't seen each other post Katrina, so we had alot to catch up on.  My first evening there, we spent a good part of the evening listening to new music together and he introduced me to a composer that I cannot believe I was not familiar with, nor is he on the must study list of 20th century composers.  Gerard Finzi. 

We are very excited to perform his Eclogue for Piano & Strings this summer.  Please check it out below.  His music is cinematic and breathtakingly poignant. 

i love poetry by john korduba

There was a Ukranian street fair in my neighborhood this weekend, with local writer John Korduba signing/selling his collection of poems entitled "Everybody gets lost in Brooklyn."
The book is a glorious, easy, inspirational read that you can just pick up and leaf through or get lost in the entire collection cover to cover.  An excerpt:

HUNTER

In my pursuit of love

I wildly fling arrows

for which later

I will comb the ground

hoping

to come up

one short

Grab a copy of the book as a gift for a loved one or for love of oneself.  www.johnkorduba.com

i love castles

  

This past weekend we performed at Oheka Castle and it's always a slice of a fairytale come true.  The weather was completely perfect for a garden wedding, romance was in the air and we kept the processional equally as romantic and sweet.  The bride is a writer, so even though the repertoire was instrumental, the lyric content was very important to her.  She chose:

Bridal Party - Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flats

The Bride - From This Moment by Shania Twain

Recessional - I Can't Help Falling in Love

i love new orleans

Our event in New Orleans this past weekend was completely magical. I'm not even sure where to begin. The people, the food, the weather, everything was picture perfect. The church, St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian, was acoustically a dream with the soaring ceiling, stone walls & floors and a concert grand Steinway. La Sorelle quartet (Ariana, Hannah, Kate & Lauren) sounded fantastic with elegant arrangements of Amazing Grace for arrivals, Moonlight Sonata & That Next Place for the bride. I also sang "Down to the river to pray" from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" for the service which was very fitting for this southern setting.

There were mounted police that escorted the guests to the bride's family home, right down the street for the remainder of the evening which was drop dead drippingly beautiful. Jung had a sleek & sophisticated Steinway grand set up for me to play & sing cocktails with La Sorelle in the front garden. The groom's only request were a few Grateful Dead songs, which we arranged and performed with our own "stamp". "Fire on the Mountain" is now one of my personal favorites as it is deceptively simple & lyrically a profound work. Rather haunting. I now understand the whole Grateful Dead phenomenon, which I must admit, I never "got" before this event. The songs are so well written and just really fun to play. They are a wonderful addition to our repertoire.

At any rate, we were totally charmed by this graceful southern city that has endured so much. New Orleans is an amazingly spirited town and if you haven't visited, you must go.

We heart New Orleans.

i love palestrina

I have a couple of clients that are having ceremonies in beautiful cathedrales but want something a little different than the standard repertoire and we have to keep in mind that the music still needs to meet the guidelines of the church.

I absolutely adore music in latin and it has sent me on a search in quest of angelic holiness.

I've renewed my love for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. (1525 - 1594) An Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music. His Sicut Cervus is literally devine.

i love film score music

It's a busy May, we've had some beautiful weather and have a packed calendar this month. We have a wedding in New Orleans next weekend and the bride Florie Claire has chosen some film score music for her procession.

It's "That Next Place" from Meet Joe Black written by Thomas Newman and we've transcribed it and arranged it for string quartet and piano. It's now one of my favorite compositions! I was initially introduced to it by one of our brides in January, Sarah Charlotte.

I can't seem to find any recordings other than the Youtube video which I'm posting. However, we are in the studio this month recording it and if anyone needs the music, please feel free to contact me. Enjoy.

I love case brothers in south carolina

The beautiful weather we have been having is making me reminiscent of this time 2 years ago when my new piano was delivered. My search began 6 months earlier. I'd had a very busy career since moving to NYC as a rock keyboardist & singer and our Baldwin baby grand had sufficed as an acoustic instrument amidst the many & varied keyboards I used for touring and recording. The past few years have found me rediscovering my classical roots and the need to really step it up a notch in regards to a beautiful piano finally caught up with me.

While at the Eastman School of Music during my undergraduate training I yearned for a German piano. A Bosendorfer or German Steinway, but as I had always known, once I started researching, I quickly discovered that the german instruments I loved cost as much as a new house and the ones in my price point (which was not a small amount of money) were non-existent. I couldn't believe it.

I looked at piano's all over the east coast. I wanted an older instrument as I lusted for the real ivory keys (now illegal) and the sparkle & depth that came with a piano at least 7 feet in length. I became a regular at all the piano boutiques in NYC and combed the tri-state area for months. At the beginning of my search, however, my first phone call was to Keith Plumley at Case Brothers Piano & Organs in Spartanburg SC, where I bought my very first piano as a child. (and also the largest Steinway dealer in the Southeast) When I was growing up, they had a special room that I could view only from behind a velvet rope. In in it there were beautiful & formidable European instruments. I wondered if they still had them.

When I spoke with Keith he cheerily informed me they had indeed 3 German pianos, 2 of which I actually knew the previous owners. I was so excited. A Bosendorfer, a Feurich and a Grotrian. All creme of the crop. All with wonderful stories. I knew it would take me a couple of months to get there with my schedule, so I was 2 months into my search when I finally made it down to see the instruments.

To make a very long story short, after 2 trips to SC, 6 months & hundreds of piano's later I bought my dream instrument at Case Brothers, the very place my dream began to become a pianist. It was delivered by the owner himself, Tom Case, his wife Ginger and his gracious southern team of Reggie & Levar. They were enhanced with 3 bruisers from New Jersey who carried the 750 lb. piano up a flight of stairs to my studio. (Another story unto itself) A gorgeous 1981, 7 1/2 foot Grotrian. Because the piano was a trade in and because we had history together, they dramatically manipulated the numbers so that I could realize my dream of owning a beautiful German piano.

They are a family owned business of 3 generations, highly skilled with mountains of integrity in a world where there is no honor among thieves and absolutely hands down, the best in the business. If you are searching for a piano, search no further. http://www.casebrothers.com/

I love Case Brothers.

i love bach & glenn gould

There is nothing holier than Bach. I love the Aria from the Goldberg Variations. Glenn Gould is heavenly.

i love april in the springtime

It's been a crazy April and now I can't believe the month is almost over. In addition to our wedding at the Foundry (which we will feature next month when the bride Sherrie forwards some photos) we had events at Angel Orensanz (gorgeous, gorgeous wedding by Jung Lee and Fête), Capitol Theater, The Museum of Natural History, the 21 Club and our artist series at Caffe Vivaldi.

Caffe Vivaldi was wonderful (above photo) and it was standing room only. We were completely overwhelmed by the response and will be doing it again this summer. So thank you to everyone who came out to listen and support us!

i love the foundry

I had a walk through today for one of our April brides at the Foundry in Brooklyn and repeatedly fall in love with the amazing architecture and sheer beauty of this chic industrial space. I'm so happy that our Manhattan brides are traveling to Brooklyn!

Sometimes we perform on the balcony overlooking the main space. It is acoustically and visually gorgeous. Other times, with weather permitting, we perform on the terrace that has amazing views of the 59th street bridge.

It's definitely worth the cab ride to check out. http://www.thefoundry.info/

i love crazy love

I was practicing for our wedding in St. Bart, and was learning Crazy Love by Van Morrison. I had edited the lyrics a little bit to fit the occasion and didn't realize how universal the song was until my son came up and asked if I wrote the song for him. I was a little perplexed and flummoxed and asked him why. He said, "because I give you crazy love Mommy!"

As a songwriter, it's always a rare gift from the Gods to write a song that is universal and speaks to listeners on many levels. I think Crazy Love does just that and I was inspired to create a slideshow to my arrangement, to honor little ones that give us their unconditional crazy love. It is kinda crazy.

i love tori

We have been rehearsing for our upcoming performance at Caffe Vivaldi on April 15th and we're doing a combination of cover songs and original songs, most of which I am singing on. (Yes, alot of people don't realize I've had a career as a singer/songwriter and can check out my original music at www.myspace.com/pilleybianchi)

But back to the point, we're doing our arrangement of "Pretty Good Year" by Tori Amos and it prompted me to revisit her video from her 1994 release "Under the Pink". I could just watch it all day long, it's so beautiful from every perspective. The music, the cinematography, the choreography, hair/make-up. It's totally timeless and such a little vignette of art. She's a total goddess of the piano and voice and if you have a moment, check out the video.

i love the french caribbean

I had a wonderful time in the french Caribbean in St. Bartholemy last weekend performing for Karen & Buck's wedding at Hotel Christopher. (Directly above) It was breathtakingly beautiful and I had a blast exploring the small island in my little rental jeep. I admit I was a little nervous at first, but my french slowly started coming back to me along with my skinny hair-pin turn mountain driving skills. I became quite acquainted with Maya's, the yummy gourmet deli and stocked up my little refrigerator at my Villa overlooking the sea. It was fantastic sipping rich bordeaux, with creamy brie & crusty bread watching the sunsets overlooking the cove above.

Karen & Buck's wedding was elegantly casual and chic. They had wonderful ideas for music choices that were a little retro and completely matched the setting. They were an inspiration to work with. The bridal party & Buck entered to "59th Street Bridge Song", with the children walking to "Linus & Lucy" from Charlie Brown. Karen was a vision when she appeared to Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" which I arranged and sang for her. Their recessional was happy & fun loving, just like them to U2's "Sweetest Thing". It was the sweetest thing as the sun slowly dipped over the Caribbean.

i love phish

It's been a busy March with some very different wedding locations and super fun, creative clients. Our first couple this month was Ronit & Adam, who got married at a sweet, intimate bed & breakfast. They love everything Phish, so we added 2 new Phish songs to our repertoire per their request. Ronit walked down the aisle to the quartet playing "The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday". So sweet and pretty. For cocktails we added "Let me lie" and "If I Could" to our existing arrangement of "Wading in the Velvet Sea." Both are beautiful compositions that naturally lend themselves to orchestration. Trey Anastasio did a performance of "Let me lie" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra that is gorgeous. Please check it out below. We transcribed and arranged this for string quartet and are so loving adding this piece to our repertoire. Thanks Ronit & Adam! They will be sending us photos when they return from their honeymoon and I'll give you info on Ronit's gown.

i love Jung Lee & Fête

I absolutely adore and love working with Jung Lee & Josh Brooks at Fête and their amazing team. (www.feteny.com) Their TV show "Wedded to Perfection" on TLC is airing this week Monday - Thursday at 11:30AM. For the weddings featured on Monday & Wednesday we were very excited to provide the ceremony music.

Jung has exquisite taste and I not only love her musical suggestions, but I always look forward to meetings in her office to see what she is up to with her designs. There is always some new gorgeous color scheme, beautifully set tables, exotic chandeliers sitting about amidst beautiful flowers and lush fabrics. I feel like I am entering a candy shop that is always evolving.

And on the day of the event, arriving amidst the creative chaos that magically comes together at the perfect moment, it is like being on a movie set that on cue delivers the perfect amount of fairy dust for the one and only take.

She's just amazing.

i love William Henry Channing

I came upon this beautiful quote from William Henry Channing and it sums up everything my graceful, southern parents embody. If I come away with half their grace, I will be greatly blessed.

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly...to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; await occasions, hurry never...this is my symphony."

i love finding the perfect fit

We all love finding the perfect fit. Whether it is a shoe, jeans (I'm always on a quest for the perfect jeans!) partner, accessory, hairstyle......you get the idea. I find it equally satisfying and absolutely love the challenge of finding the perfect choice of songs/repertoire for our brides. That perfect combination of personality of the couple (which can greatly vary considering their tastes & styles) with the spirit of the location.

I met with one of our upcoming brides today, whose wedding is in St. Barths, (Designed & planned by the uber-amazing Jung Lee and her team at Fête, www.fêteny.com) and was really inspired to go in search of the perfect song for her to walk down to. Something beautiful, but not too heavy, lyrical but not sappy, romantic but on the sweeter side to match that gorgeous expanse of blue, french caribbean. I haven't found it yet, but I'm loving the search. I'll keep you posted.

i love Lauren & our new artist series

Lauren, our very own cellist, is the first featured artist in our Artist Series at Bianchi Musica. She is an amazingly beautiful player and highly intuitive. (as a side note Mystic, one of my cats below, who is never too adventurous with guests, always sits on Lauren's lap during rehearsals; she's attracted to Lauren's natural warmth) I was incredibly flattered when Lauren recently asked me to perform her original composition "Untitled" with her in her Doctoral Recital at NYU. It is a hauntingly gorgeous piece that takes the listener on a soundscaped journey of emotions. After the performance she was asked by filmmaker Cathryn Davis to record some beautiful tone poems by John Cage along with her own material for the film FULLY AWAKE, which in turn inspired us to create or own collection of improvisations. Please check out Lauren's blog for more fascinating info on her approach to music, food and wine! She is also the goto source on everything Tori. http://foodwinecello.wordpress.com/

The Artist Division is dedicated to performance oriented music, sometimes a little left of center, available for salons and concert series. All of the artists featured, are the talent in the studio of Bianchi Musica. We are expanding this division rapidly, and we will be launching our new performance series at CAFFE VIVALDI on April 15th.

FULLY AWAKE is a film by Cathryn Davis and a wonderful piece about Black Mountain College in Ashville, North Carolina. Fully Awake reflects on the unique educational style and long-term significance of the school using archive photography, interviews with students, teachers, historians, and current artists, and narration. While popularly known as the location for such events as Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome, John Cage's first 'happening' and the publishing of the Black Mountain Review, the film focuses on the unique educational approach of Black Mountain College to balance academics, art, manual labor and communal living to educate the whole person--head, hand, and heart. http://www.ibiblio.org/bmc/bmchomepage

i love my beethoven sonatas

I love my Harold Craxton editions (underneath my cat Mollie who loves to sit on them) of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas with commentaries and notes by Donald Francis Tovey. The actual manuscripts are beautifully printed with linen covers from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London. The notes and comments by Tovey are wonderful and beautifully notated. Each sonata is dedicated by Beethoven to a Count, Countess, Baroness or Archduke, etc. They were commissioned pieces by royalty or high society and quite simply the way Beethoven paid his bills.

Beethoven is a very passionate composer, however not the most romantic, so we don't use him too frequently in ceremonies, however my favorite Beethoven selection from the 32 Sonatas is the Adagio Cantabile from the Pathetique Sonata #8 in C minor, Op. 13. Daniel Barenboim's interpretation below is sublime.



Billy Joel used this in one of his songs (that is now escaping me) but it is gorgeously lyrical & romantically melodic. Perfect for a processional. A great recessional of Beethoven outside of the obvious choral finale of the 9th symphony (also referred to as Joy) is the 1st movement from the Pastorale Symphony. It feels like anything and everything is possible with the light-hearted & magical melody of the opening phrase.

i love Kristen and her VW Fairy Dust gown

We love Kristen and her September 2009 wedding in the Hamptons. She is breathtaking in her Vera Wang gown, just perfect for an indian summer wedding. Here is Vera's description of her gown which was so appropriately called "Fairy Dust":

"INSPIRATION
This collection, as a whole, was inspired by the idea of fairy tale princesses. This wedding dress, in particular, captures the nymph-like innocence that threads through the collection. The words I chose to describe Fairy Dust were carefully chosen: incandescent and magical. In design, I envisioned this as a wedding dress that casts a spell and transports you to another world. The cascading silk organdy pleats of this wedding dress swirl, like dust, when the bride walks. I love this movement, which I find to be uplifting." - VW

Everything about Kristen's wedding was sweet and elegant with a little whimsy, including her ceremony which was a flute trio featuring Tia on flute, Lauren on cello and Kate on violin. The processional was rustically romantically with her choices of "Kiss from a Rose", "Bless the Broken Road" and a recessional of "Sunshine of my Life". Her smile above just breathes sunshine!

i love our very own k8

Our very own violinist Kate got married this past August to her husband Mark, in Harrisville, New Hampshire at his parents' cottage on Silver Lake. The lakefront cottage was bought by his great great grandfather and has been in their family for over 100 years. (Where it will remain for generations to come)

To match the rustic elegance of the lake, she wore a gorgeous, strapless mermaid gown by Nicole Miller which she found in a small boutique in Park Slope.

Kate's husband Mark is an amazing professional musician as well, and she asked Mark to surprise her with the song that she would walk down the aisle to. (Unlike me, who had to dictate every note the musicians played at my wedding, but that's another story) They had agreed that his friend would sing/play whatever he picked on guitar, but when it was time to walk down the aisle, she saw Mark at the end of the aisle, playing a song he'd written for just for her. He simply calls it 'Processional'. How romantic is that?

i love the children of haiti

There is a wonderful orphanage that lost it's buildings from the earthquake. The children are beautifully spirited and primarily HIV+. The money contributed goes directly to fund the new orphanage of these extraordinary children desperately in need. http://www.wecanbuildanorphanageblog.com/

i love yo yo ma

I love anything and everything Yo-Yo Ma. His version of "Here comes the sun" with James Taylor is stunningly beautiful. We have arranged it for string quartet and it's so sweet and fresh. Perfect for children walking down the aisle.

i love Gillian's Wedding

I'm so excited to be posting my first blog. I have the dream job of providing beautiful music for wonderful brides in New York City and other exotic locations. This past Sunday was Gillian Dinstein's wedding to Alan Kessler at Gotham Hall in NYC. Her choices of music were romantic and gothic to match the location and her killer Monique Lhuillier gown.

We custom arranged all the music for string quartet with piano. It is one of my favorite ensembles. Kate, Ariana, Hannah & Lauren performed with me and we wore ivory to match Gillian's winter wedding decor.

i love beautiful things

I've always loved beautiful things. Little things, big things, intangible things. I love this picture of Laura's cello (taken by my sister Robin.) It's hundreds of years old and so graceful and lovely.