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3/30/19 Wedding at Wightman Chapel, Scarritt

April 15, 2019 at 5:36 pm (Gary Tussing on cello, Jocelyn Sprouse on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Scarritt Wightman Chapel, Toni Ferguson on violin)

In the late afternoon of 3/30/19 Caylor wed her sweetheart, Cody, in a lovely ceremony at Wightman Chapel on the Scarritt campus. Silver Strings quartet was present to play an eclectic mix of light classics, Country and Broadway songs.

The prelude started off with “Cowboy Take Me Away”, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and a mashup of “Perfect” with “Canon in D”. Mothers processed to “The Prayer”, lighting candles placed on a table to one side of the stage to honor loved ones who had gone before. Assuming it was Cody who listens to Country music, the groomsmen and he entered to “Friends in Low Places”. Next came the bridesmaids and children to “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera after which Caylor made her entrance on her father’s arm to “All I Ask of You”, also from Phantom.

During the ceremony Caylor and Cody had a unity rite that consisted of pouring together glass beads of black and white that would later be melted into something beautiful to signify the permanence of their union. During this rite we softly played “The Lord Bless You and Keep You”.

After their self-penned vows, exchange of rings, the kiss and the presentation of Mr. and Mrs., we launched into “Forever and Ever, Amen” to end them back down the aisle as newlyweds. The picture below is of Caylor’s stunning bouquet. What a gorgeous idea!

Congratulations and best wishes from Silver Strings to Caylor and Cody!

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Wedding at Hermitage Hotel 1/26/19

January 30, 2019 at 8:06 pm (Craig Duncan on violin, Gary Tussing on cello, Jocelyn Sprouse on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Modern Vintage Events, Uncategorized)

On Saturday evening, 1/26/18, at the Hermitage Hotel, Pamela wed her sweetheart, Zach, in a lovely ceremony on the veranda. Silver Strings was a quartet this time playing mostly contemporary selections such as “When I Fall in Love” and “All of Me” for the prelude. For the processionals Pamela chose the Royal Wedding rendition of “Stand By Me” for the grandparents and her mother. Next as we played “Canon in D” Zach entered after the minister to place roses on two chairs to honor his parents and was then followed by the attendants. Pamela entered on her father’s arm looking absolutely stunning in her white gown with an enormous, wide train to the strains of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”.

As Zach is a proud member of the United States Navy, he and his groomsmen were dressed in uniform. Very sharp! After a short ceremony they recessed to the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love”. Then to the delight of the guests Pamela and Zach entered the festivities through an arch of swords, being stopped by every pair of swordsmen with the demand that Zach kiss his bride. Pamela was duly welcomed into the Naval family.

As young people these days are incredibly busy I worked mostly with Pamela’s mother, Vickie, on the music selections. She and Becca from Modern Vintage Events were a joy to work with, telling stories over coffee and making the music selection a lot of fun.

Congratulations to Pamela and Zach and their families with many wishes for a long and happy life together.

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Awards Dinner at the Hilton 1/18/19

January 30, 2019 at 7:41 pm (Uncategorized)

On Friday evening 1/18/19 Silver Strings quartet, fleshed out with drums and bass, entertained the Tennessee Bar Foundation members during their annual Awards Dinner at the Hilton Hotel downtown. We played a mix of classical and low key contemporary pop for the dinner. Tunes included Piazzola’s fabulously sensual tango, “Oblivion”, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, Khachaturian’s “Masquerade Waltz” and a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.

After dinner we let our classical hair down and launched into a dance set that included “String of Pearls”, selections for tango, cha cha, rhumba, waltz and songs like “Born to Be Wild” and “Devil With the Blue Dress” for good old rock and roll. One of the guests asked to sing Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” which we were happy to oblige and were pleased to hear a very acceptable rendition of that classic.

Congratulations to the award winners and thanks to the Foundation for having us back again this year!

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12/29/18 Wedding at Granny White Church of Christ

January 22, 2019 at 5:05 am (Craig Duncan on violin, Keith Nicholas on cello, Linda Davis on viola., Toni Ferguson on violin)

Silver Strings had an end of the year wedding at the Granny White Church of Christ where Ashleigh wed her sweetheart, John. On my way to the wedding I found myself singing “Get Me to the Church On Time” as my car suddenly started to run very roughly a few blocks from the church. At the last stop light with my heel on the accelerator, toes on the brake and the clutch in, I was able to keep the car from stalling until I could limp the last few blocks to the church.

The wedding was lovely, Ashleigh’s train one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, and the music which included hymns and Disney favorites favorites letting the guests know exactly who Ashleigh and John are. For the mothers’ processional we played “Annie’s Song” which was played for Ashleigh’s parent’s wedding. The beautiful Canon in D was played for the bridesmaids after which a fanfare brought everyone to their feet for the entrance of the bride to “Trumpet Voluntary”. Vows were said, rings exchanged and as an accompaniment for their Communion, friend, Andy Flatt sang a very stirring rendition of “In Christ Alone” with the quartet accompanying. Soon the newly married couple were joyfully returning down the aisle to Mendelssohn’s Wedding March as Mr. and Mrs.

Congratulations to Ashleigh and John and their families! May they enjoy a long and happy life together.

P.S. I managed to coax my little car to a gas station half a mile away, parked it and got a ride the last mile home sure that my car was going to cost an arm and a leg to spring from the station. Turned out to be fouled spark plugs. Whew!

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11/17/18 Wedding at Schrader Lane Church of Christ

December 17, 2018 at 1:09 am (Cheri Drummond on violin, Gary Tussing on cello, Linda Davis on viola., Toni Ferguson on violin)

On November 17, 2018 Silver Strings quartet convened at the Schrader Lane Church of Christ to bring music to the nuptials of Janean and Trey. When we entered the church we were struck by the gorgeous drape on the stage that would frame the couple as they said their vows. The music was mostly classical for the prelude and processionals. Janean chose Canon in D for her entrance. After the couple mounted the steps to the stage a friend, DaJanae Burnett, sang “A Couple of Forevers” accompanied by Silver Strings. After the exchange of vows and rings, DaJanae and her cousin, Rayshan Booker, gave us all goose bumps as they sang a very stirring rendition of “The Prayer” during Janean and Trey’s unity ceremony. After all was said and done Rayshan sent the newlyweds back down the aisle singing “Fly Me To the Moon” with the quartet.

Congratulations to Janean and Trey from all of us with Silver Strings. We wish them much happiness together!in the years to come!

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11/3/18 Wedding at Homestead Manor

November 13, 2018 at 12:07 am (Angelina Ruiz of Velour Premier Events, Gary Tussing on cello, Josh Shepherd on violin, Uncategorized)

On 11/3/18 Jessie and Max were wed at Homestead Manor in Thompson’s Station, TN in the beautiful barn…yes, the barn and there are pictures to prove it. Silver Strings was a trio this time with Josh Shepherd, Gary Tussing and myself. The ceremony itself went fantastically under the able guidance of Angie Ruiz and her team from Velour Premier Events.

At Angie’s suggestion I arranged a mashup of Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Ed Sheehan’s “Perfect” which we used for the first time at this wedding for the entrance of the family as well as the wedding party. Gary did a beautiful job with his solo in the middle of this tune of an excerpt from the Canon, which allowed him to play something besides the usual eight notes over and over. Jessie then met Max at the altar to the strains of “Wedding March” aka “Here Comes the Bride”. After the vows were recited and the rings exchanged, their unity ceremony was the braiding of three cords while we played a verse of “The Prayer”.

After all was said and done Jess and Max, now husband and wife, made their way back down the aisle to Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”. Congratulations to the happy couple from Silver Strings!

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10/27/18 Wedding at Scarritt

November 12, 2018 at 11:10 pm (Gary Tussing on cello, Jocelyn Sprouse on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Uncategorized)

On 10/27/18 Silver Strings convened at Wightman Chapel on the Scarritt Campus for the nuptials of Shannon and Eduardo. Jocelyn Sprouse and Gary Tussing joined me in a mostly classical setting in this beautiful chapel. Grandparents and mothers took their places to Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” after which the attendants arrived to the no-so-classical Coldplay tune “Clocks”. Shannon met Eduardo at the altar to “Trumpet Voluntary”.

Two friends of the couple lent their beautiful voices to moments during the ceremony. At the beginning of the ceremony Maribeth sang “Blessed assurance”, accompanying herself on the piano. After a scripture reading Dennis sang “In Christ Alone” with the trio along with the piano as accompaniment. Both of them gave me goosebumps with the beauty of their singing. After the vows and exchange of rings Maribeth and Dennis sang “The Prayer” with the trio in another goosebumpy moment.

When the Newlyweds were introduced we sent them back down the aisle to U2’s “Beautiful Day”. And indeed it was a beautiful day for everyone. Congratulations to Shannon and Eduardo and their families with wishes for a long and happy life together!

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10/13/18 Wedding in Burns, TN

November 12, 2018 at 10:49 pm (Craig Duncan on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Paul Nelson on cello, Susan Mullen on violin, Uncategorized)

On 10/13/18 Silver Strings had the honor of playing for a wedding of a colleague from Wisconsin at a farm in Burns, TN. Heather is a cellist in her Wisconsin city doing the same thing we do, but was here to be married to her sweetheart, Adam. She provided the music for the processional and we were very impressed with her arranging skills. Everyone who was part of the service entered to “Higher Ground” in which we played along with a track created by Heather of an oboist friend of hers who couldn’t be at the wedding but wanted to participate.

But I’m ahead of myself. The wedding took place in a freshly mown meadow down from the house of her fiance’s brother in rural Burns. Chairs for about 25 guests were placed in a circle. At the beginning of the ceremony the officiant gave the rings to a guest to start the “Ring Warming” where the rings were passed around the circle of guests with each person silently conveying prayers, good thoughts or wishes as the rings were in their hands while the quartet played “The Book of Love” (Heather’s arrangement). After the vows were recited and rings exchanged we sent them and the guests up to the brunch tent to the strains of “In Your Eyes/Solsbury Hill”, another of Heather’s arrangements.

We soon followed to play fun stuff for their gourmet brunch, pulling out songs like “Uptown Funk”, “Istanbul”, Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Another One Bites the Dust”. Toward the end of the brunch Heather asked if she could sit in and would Paul Nelson mind if she played his cello. He happily let her have his place so he could warm up with a hot cup of coffee, it being quite cold that day. When we were done we were invited to enjoy the buffet at a table set specifically for us….something only another musician would think of.

Congratulations to Heather and Adam! It was wonderful meeting them, seeing that they were properly married and hopefully we’ll see them again when they visit Adam’s brother again.

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9/29/18 Wedding at King’s Chapel

October 12, 2018 at 5:40 pm (Gary Tussing on cello, Linda Davis on viola., Susan Mullen on violin, Toni Ferguson on violin)

This wedding ranks as one of my all time favorites. Mother of the bride, Wendy, was a joy to work with. We immediately bonded over coffee at our first meeting with a lot of laughter and animation. I threatened to wear my vampire teeth to smile at her when she was seated to keep her from crying and running her mascara.

But this is about Katherine and Rod tying the knot at King’s Chapel, a tiny but lovely chapel near Franklin. We were a quartet for this wedding, playing beautiful classics such as the Bach “Air from Suite in D” and the Delibes “Flower Duet. We also mixed in the more contemporary “Hymne” by Vangelis and the gorgeous theme from “Ladies in Lavender”.

Hymns were the order of the day for the processionals with “For the Beauty of the Earth” for the mothers, “Come Thou Fount” for the wedding party and “All Creatures of Our God and King” for Katherine. After the vows were repeated, the rings exchanged and the celebration of the first kiss as husband and wife, we sent them back down the aisle to Handel’s joyful “Allegro” from Solomon.

Congratulations to Katherine and Rod and their families with many wishes for a long and happy life together!

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9/1/18 Wedding at Cheekwood

September 11, 2018 at 7:21 pm (Ashley Porter of Posh Occasion, Gary Tussing on cello, Linda Davis on viola., Susan Mullen on violin, Toni Ferguson on violin, Uncategorized)

On 9/1/18 Silver Strings also was in attendance at the wedding of Valery and Bill in Will’s Garden at Cheekwood. Ashley Porter of Posh Occasion did a super job coordinating the ceremony and reception. I think maybe she might have even had some pull with the Big Man Upstairs to hold off the rain until the ceremony was over. The garden was beautiful and the ceremony went flawlessly, maybe with the exception of the PA system not working very well but then I can’t remember a time in Will’s Garden when the audio didn’t have problems. I think the garden must be haunted.

The couple chose traditional selections for the prelude, processionals and recessionals but then left the music up to us for the cocktail hour later on at the Hillwood Country Club. Susan, Toni, Gary and I had entirely too much fun playing tunes like “Shut Up and Dance” and “Uptown Funk”.

Congratulations to Valery and Bill with many wishes for a long and happy life together from Silver Strings.