nashvillesilverstrings

Last Saturday morning I got up bright and early…. well I got up at any rate earlier than usual to drive out to Homestead Manor near Spring Hill to visit Amy Parman, the event coordinator, and to see the place.  And a magnificent place it is.  The house is used as a restaurant and is beautifully kept.  There is a bar in an outbuilding nearby if one would like to continue an evening on the premises.  Can’t wait to go there for lunch one day soon…the restaurant, not the bar.  Er, I mean I’d like to go to the bar as well…just not for lunch.  The grounds, even in the middle of dreary February, are stunning.  A recently completed barn for rustic receptions and a wedding alternative in case of rain graces the grounds lending flexibility to all kinds of events.  Worth the drive.  Go soon.

For a welcome change of pace Silver Strings was asked to entertain at a dinner for Kinder Morgan at the Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville.  Jocelyn Sprouse and Gary Tussing made up the other members of the trio.  For the cocktail hour we played a mix of jazzy standards and contemporary music to warm up the guests.  For the dinner we played background music mixing beautiful classics with movie themes and more relaxed contemporary songs.  It was such a pleasure for us be able to play things like the Faure “Pavane” and Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins”.  What was really nice was to have one of the guests actually comment on how much he enjoyed the first movement of the double concerto.

It was cold outside on the 16th of January but warm in the little Owen Chapel on Franklin Road near Brentwood in anticipation of the wedding of Marianne to James.  The couple chose traditional classics for their prelude and processionals.  The highlight of the music was James’ mother singing “Ave Maria” right before the processionals.  Fortunately for us she was a seasoned vocalist because she was unavoidably delayed getting to the church, leaving only enough time to rehearse a couple of minutes before we had to start the prelude music.  The solo went without a hitch.  Immediately afterward we brought in the wedding party consisting of junior bridesmaids, a flower girl and ring bearer to “A Thousand Years”.  Marianne chose the beloved “Canon in D” for her entrance.  After the vows were said and the marriage sealed with a kiss, the newlyweds made their way back up the aisle to Mendelsohn’s “Wedding March Recessional”.

Congratulations and wishes for a long and happy life together to Marianne and James!

The day after New Year’s Day found Silver Strings as a quartet in Lebanon at the Capitol Theater for the wedding of LeAndrea and Ray.  What a fun place to hold a wedding!  The couple chose classic rock for the prelude and processionals.  We brought parents in to “Don’t Stop Believing”.  LeAndrea came down one aisle with their daughter while Ray came down another aisle, meeting in the middle to progress the rest of the way to the minister to the song “Sweet Child of Mine”.  After the vows were said and the kiss exchanged the now official family made their way back up the aisle to the strains of “Bittersweet Symphony”.

After the ceremony the guests and the quartet made their way to the front lobby where beverages were served with popcorn (what else?) and M&Ms at the concession stand.  The quartet accompanied the entrance of the newlyweds with the theme from Game of Thrones.  Later we played a second request…Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”.  Mine is not to reason why…..

Congratulations to LeAndrea and Ray and their families.  Silver Strings wishes them a long and happy life together.

On the last Sunday in December in the freaky warm weather Barbara and Dale renewed their marriage vows after 23 years together.  The wedding took place at the Buchanan House in Donelson outside in the back yard under a rustic arch draped with white fabric and greenery.  They had eloped 23 years earlier after having had enough of the stress of planning a wedding and trying to please everyone…an impossible task.

Craig Duncan and Paul Nelson joined me in providing music for both the ceremony and the festivities afterward.  Since the wedding was relatively casual, except for Barbara who looked positively stunning in her off-white gown, we dressed in blue jeans, white shirts w/ suspenders and cowboy boots.  After a lovely ceremony of renewal the still happy couple came up on the porch and danced their first dance to “Could I Have This Dance (For the Rest of My Life)”.  For the rest of the evening we played a mix of Country tunes and the couple’s pop favorites.

Congratulations to Barbara and Dale and we rejoice with them that their love is still so strong after all these years.