6/12/10 Wedding in Atlantic City

UPDATE (2/4/11): There are two youtube videos of Bollywood music with solo violin:
1) Ek Ladki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkySIyxEMjY
2) Tujhe Dekha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7-xNqakX08
     I was thrilled when Rachael from Events by Firelight called me to play for an 400 person wedding at One Atlantic. Then she asked if i could play an hour of Bollywood music and wear traditional Indian clothing. Now THAT'S my kind of party!
      Full disclosure: I'm an avid student of South Indian (Carnatic) violin, taking lessons since 1998. Before I found a teacher, I always felt that Indian music expressed my soul's music perfectly and looked for any type of Indian music I could find. This included film music, traditional music (both North and South), Bhangara (the BEST workout music), devotional music, you name it!
      A request for an hour of Bollywood, though, brought me back to 1997, so I had to do about 20 hours of research to put a list together. I tried to make a mix of older and newer songs out of respect to different age groups. Wading through CDs and youtube was a joyous way to spend a week.           
    The wedding was a candlelit dream high above water in Atlantic City, NJ. It was beautiful, like a fairy tale. I was so happy to be a part of it. Everyone tolerated my cheat sheet and loved my Salwar Kameez! Really lovely crowd.                         
     So here's the list. A client recently asked if I could bring a string quartet to do some of these, which is fine if my time arranging the music is considered. Also, if you have a favorite (or two or three) which is not on the list, I am happy to learn them for you:
1) Hum Kisise Kum Naheen
2) Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se)
3) Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana
4) Ye Dil Na Hota (Jewel Thief)
5) Dil to Pagal Hai
6) Dholna (Dil to Pagal Hai)
7) Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain (Pardes)
8) Kabhi Yun Bhi (sung by Jagjit Singh)
9) Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (plus 9a, Albela Sajan)
10) Chand Chupa (Hum Dil De...)
11) Jhoka Hawa Ka Aaj Bhi (Hum Dil De...)
12) Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To (1942)
13) Pyar Hua Chupke Se (1942)
14) Do Lafzon Ki (The Great Gambler)
15) Vada Karle Sajna (Haath Ki Satai)
16) Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Top requests for the evening were numbers 2, 5, and 15. I hope to do an event of this nature again soon!

7/18/10 wedding in Cape May

First off, I would like to give a shout out to Susan Salmon, mandolin (www.myspace.com/susansalmon) and Kahlil Gunther, piano (www.gunthermusic.com), without whom I could not have pulled off such an amazing musical event. This is the blog post I've promised you for so long!

Our bride, Laura, chose the Peter Shields Inn in Cape May. First of all, sometimes Kahlil plays there for the dinner hour (and his music is on their website), so please contact them: www.petershieldsinn.com. I digress, though.

Laura was the most fun bride in the WORLD. Because the Peter Shields has a 1920s vibe, she asked for a 1920s jazz cocktail hour. Also, since the front porch has a gorgeous balcony over some steps, Susan and I played the ceremony on the balcony and she got married on the steps! It was stunning. She selected "Is This Love" and "In My Life" for processional music, and "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads for the recessional. Way too much fun. Beforehand, she came to the screen door behind us to chat and requested "Freebird". We laughed and played it for her. I was worried a little about what the guests would think (runaway bride), but they LOVED it! What a fun bride.

The 1920s music is not in most musicians' repertoire. It took me 20-30 hours to organize 4 hours' worth of this music. Kahlil joined us at the piano inside and we rolled through songs like the Charleston, Sheik of Araby, 5 foot 2, and Blue Skies. It was some of the most fun I've ever had on a gig, and it was rollicking and sweet music. Thank you, Laura! As a side benefit, I have all this 1920s jazz music compiled now, which not many people outside of a Dixieland band would have ready to go. Fun and productive, just the way I like it! If you really love what you do, you will put extra time and love into it. I wish Laura all the best and am so grateful she hired us!

Cape May wedding, October 9

UPDATE, 2/2/11: There is a short video clip of us at this wedding, plus 4 audio clips HERE:
www.gigmasters.com/violin/catherine-boyd

We had a trio on the beach for David and Caitlyn: me (violin), Susan Salmon (mandolin), and Reid Alburger (guitar). It was just too much fun. We got there an hour early to set up. Our couple wanted the classic wedding music with a twist. The bridesmaids came down the aisle to "The Way You Look Tonight," and we gave Caitlyn a heavy metal version of Pachelbel's Canon (on acoustic instruments, though, so it's not TOO heavy)! My source was TSO's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_924414&v=wQNirj6lbGY&feature=iv, and click again in the video for sound. At the end, we did a jazzy version of Mendelssohn's Wedding March. The weather was perfect, we played a little reggae and jazz beforehand, and what a blast we had!

New Website, www.catherineboydviolinist.com

Please let me introduce myself: I'm Catherine Boyd, and I'm a violinist living in South Jersey. I play weddings, I teach violin, and I'm happily married to Steve Kuzma (who is an internationally known artist: stevekuzma.zenfolio.com). I'm brand new at web design and took a stab at it recently: www.catherineboydviolinist.com. I love playing weddings, and even though it's scary to learn something new, I love having a brand new website. It's a joy knowing that it's all mine, and that if I need to make changes to it at 3am, I'm not bothering someone else! It's a relief to have your own thing, you know? 

I would keep going, but I have weddings and gigs all weekend and I need to prepare for them. So please exchange links with me, and I'm very happy to share what I'm learning about web design. You can watch me as I improve and develop. And please: if you're getting married in South Jersey, I LOVE playing weddings and I am happy to help you! Thank you!