That’s my seat right there on the left
One thing I set out to try and accomplish a few years ago was to find away to combine all the instruments I play and use them in a single event. I found that clients were very welcoming to the idea and it’s been successful at over one hundred gigs since.
Here’s how it works in the most typical fashion. The company has booked the hotel ballroom for a gala dinner. I setup the harp in the foyer or the cocktail reception area and play pleasant welcoming music as the guests enter. After they have been seated in the main ballroom, I play electric violin during dinner or after desert. I can stroll between tables or stay on the main stage.
For the last several years on New Years Eve I’ve played the Dusit Hotel in Dubai. The handsome and talented Food & Beverage manager Suborna always found interesting ways to utilize my talents by setting up the evening this way:
Popular favorites on a gorgeous grand piano located on the the 25th floor lobby lounge cocktail area. A couple of sets on the harp at one of the restaurants downstairs, and then some funky electric violin playing along with the DJ in the disco next door. 3 venues… 3 instruments…1 venue… I had a ball!
And finally… Sometimes it’s just nice to play piano at a small gathering of guests at a residential home for an anniversary. This particular home had a large enough foyer that I welcomed partygoers with a set on the harp first. At a pre-arranged time while playing the piano a little later in the evening, the birthday girl’s husband stood and motioned for her to join him in the middle of the room for a dance. At the same time I discreetly reached down and picked up a violin and began to play. Playing the same song another violinist played he bent down on one knee and asked her to marry him 40 years before. He did the same this time as he thanked her for putting up with him for all these years.
The best ways to get the most from your musician? Having her play multiple areas with various instruments, with different gowns and color themes, all within a friendly budget.
Give me a call and tell me all about the some of the things you have in mind for your event. You may be surprised how I can fit in seamlessly…In more ways than one.
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