Edith Piaf made La Vie En Rose one of the most memorable French songs of the 20th Century. This is my solo harp version. Enjoy!
Year: 2016
Wedding Music in Seattle: Top 6 Seattle Wedding Musicians
Peak season for weddings starts in June and wedding ceremony locations in WA State are abundant. Having lived in Seattle for 15 years, I have many favorite locations to play wedding ceremony music. I also planned my own wedding here in 2008. As a wedding harpist, I have a solid tool kit for how to work as a wedding musician. My opinions on wedding ceremony music and wedding reception music come from nearly 20 years of experience.
Although my first (humble!) opinion would be to consider harp music for your ceremony, harp may not be what you are looking for. I know and play with a diverse and talented community of musicians in Seattle. I’d like to recommend some other wedding musicians to you in this article. If you are looking for quality wedding ceremony music or wedding reception music, this article highlights my favorite Seattle musicians for your day!
Wedding Ceremony Music and Wedding Reception Music Recommendations
1) Vocal Band, The Lonely Coast – Friends (Valerie Holt & Anne Mathews) perform sublime close-harmony duets. They sing lullabies, folk and traditional music from Europe and the Americas. They have been blending voices for over a decade and it shows! If you want singing at your wedding that is heartfelt and unique, The Lonely Coast will be one of your most memorable investments. In addition to many private events, they have sung on public stages in the King County Library System, outdoor festivals and beyond.
2) Pianist, Josh Rawlings – This co-owner of J&J Music is a highly talented pianist and good friend. He and I have played harp & piano duets at The Sorrento Hotel and Overlake Country Club to name a few venues. Josh has toured with Alan Stone and is an Earshot Golden Ear Award recipient. If that was not enough, he received a Grammy for playing on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “the Heist.”
3) Trumpeter, Jason Parker – The other half of J&J Music, Jason is an excellent jazz player and band leader. I’ve known Jason through the Seattle music community for several years, and he’s always wearing a smile. He is the band leader of The Jason Parker Quartet, which has recently won “Best Wedding Bands” in KING 5’s “Best Of Western Washington” poll in 2015, and was nominated in 2013 and 2014 at #3. See the many testimonials he and his ensemble has received playing for people’s wedding day.
4) Cover Band, The Nines – My friend Shane Peck is the drummer for The Nines. He is an exceptional musician! For a few years, we played in a band together called Pretty Abandoned. Currently, Shane plays in several bands; his main wedding band is The Nines. The Nines are the 2015 WINNER “Best Reception Band” in Seattle Bride Magazine. This band puts on great public and private shows. On their website, they share a tremendously diverse songlist, a FAQ page, and past client reviews.
5) Cellist, Maria Scherer Wilson – Maria and I have a harp & cello duo. We have played for many weddings together in the Seattle area. Additionally, we regularly work together on other improvisational, experimental and chamber performances, such as Ahamefule Oluo’s comedy/musical show, Now I’m Fine. Maria has also worked with artists such as Florence Henderson, Jody Watley, Eyvind Kang, Jherek Bischoff, and Cat Power and she plays in other chamber combinations for weddings.
6) Guitarist, Julian Catford, has p
erformed in Mallorca, Spain, Scotland, Tahiti, and Mexico. He has accompanied Rosemary Clooney and Cab Calloway! As one of Seattle’s top guitarists, his specializes in playing classical, Spanish, Brazilian, gypsy jazz and swing and flamenco music. I met Julian while working at the Musicians Association of Seattle where we are both members, and we’ve both participated as vendors for many years at the Seattle Wedding Show. Julian is recipient of the Wedding Wire Couples Choice Award in 2014.
About the author:
Harpist Monica Schley is a classically-trained musician, specializing in new music, chamber, improvisation, avant-garde, jazz and rock. She has collaborated as a composer and performer for several multi-media public shows and has worked with artists such as Butch Morris, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Jherek Bischoff, Secret Chiefs 3, Eyvand Kang, Christina Vantzou, Hey Marsailles, and Kanye West. Currently, she composes, sings and performs in her modern chamber pop trio, The Daphnes and is a Certified Clinical Musician, playing harp in hospitals and hospice. Her poetry has appeared over a dozen literary magazines and her chapbook “Black Eden: Nocturnes” (Pudding House Press) was published in 2010. She is a contributing writer at Pyragraph.com. She has received support from the Espy Foundation. Monica has played for over 350 weddings.
Fire & Ice
Here’s a new ditty for the day: Fire & Ice. This solo harp excerpt is from a longer vocal and multi-instrumental track I’m working on. Today, I have only a few hours to record and I wanted to hear some instant results!
https://soundcloud.com/harppoet/fire-ice-harp-excerpt
I started writing the piece on a snowy December day and eventually added lyrics. You can listen to The Daphnes singing it (at the end of this stream from February 8, 2016)
Who are we but ice / Part of the snow
Who are you to ask / Don’t you know
That we were stars once / And we were on fire
https://monicaschley.com/
I did a little research and Robert Frost wrote a poem of the same name. Nice that he’s got the name to go along with it. His poem is brief too:
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
– Robert Frost
Now I’m Fine
I just returned home to Seattle after a week of playing music in New York. I play harp in Ahamefule Oluo’s monologue/musical, Now I’m Fine. Words cannot describe the amazing week we had performing across the country! For me, something about it was life changing, life affirming. This trip’s capacity to open something up in me makes me feel like anything is possible. It was fun and exhilarating and I got to play with the best musicians that I know.
I’ve been playing Aham’s music since about 2006. I met him when we were in another band together. He said he was writing some tunes and asked me if I’d like to join his band too? Aham is forthright, a trait I greatly admire, so I immediately agreed.
When I got the music, I fell in love with the groove of the songs. Even though compositions were for a modern brass band, and I am a harpist, I knew it could work. We laugh now, because you could barely hear me on our first gigs (this was before I had my Dusty Strings pick-up put in).
This group has taught me so much about how to hear my instrument with fresh ears. It has taught me how to be a better improviser and how to just have fun and PLAY. Beyond that, the talent of my peers in this group is extremely inspiring. I am wowed and grateful.
The show received so much positive attention while we were in New York. Reviews came pouring in from the New York Times, from Time Out NY. After this NYC trip, I now feel bursting with optimism, creativity and motivation. I am so happy for Aham and what he’s created and worked so very hard at. These days, no one makes it in the entertainment industry without busting their butt. And he does.
Its a long story on how the show got to what it now is. For that, you’ll just have to come and see for yourself! We are playing a special ONE NIGHT ONLY show in Seattle’s oldest theater, The Moore on April 2, 2016.