I was excited to return once again to the Mark Hopkins Hotel to play another cocktail hour.  Alexandra happened to be touring the facility while I was setting up for my last gig at the MH in May, so by chance she was able to hear a bit of my repetoire.  Alexandra and Brandon’s wedding weekend was during once of the busiest weekends in recent San Francisco history, with Fleet Week, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, and America’s Cup racing happening all at the same time.  The hotel was packed and getting there was exciting to say the least, but the wedding reception seemed to go off perfectly.  I once again played on the grand piano in the Room of the Dons, which has some stunning views of the surrounding city.

Working with Alix and Brandon was really great; they are a fun and laid-back couple and super easy to coordinate with.  I put together a set list for them including some standard jazz tunes, some Gershwin, and a bit of a local touch too.

2012.10.06 – Alexandra and Brandon Playlist

Thea and Cliff hired me earlier this year to play their wedding ceremony and reception cocktail hour.  They were very engaged, hands-on clients who were very pleasant to work with.  The ceremony was held at beautiful St. Thomas Aquinas, a church just outside downtown Palo Alto, which the reception held at Sharon Heights Country Club in the Palo Alto hills.  It was an absolutely perfect day. Special thanks to Thea and Cliff’s coordinator, Maryann, for very successfully coordinating a crew of vendors on the big day!

I played the cocktail hour for Chandra and Brandon’s wedding at the beautiful Victorian Mansion on the grounds of the Falkirk Cultural Center in San Rafael.  The exquisite decor of the space, along with the classy grand piano made for a very nice setting.  Chandra and Brandon chose an eclectic mix of old and new for their cocktail hour playlist, including a number of songs that I hadn’t ever played before.

2012.09.08 – Chandra and Brandon Playlist

A testimonial provided by Tim’s clients April Mae and Sean:

“We fell across Tim’s website much like you, the reader of this testimonial, probably did, just checkin’ out some piano players for the big day. We spent months looking for a piano player for our wedding. We wanted an affordable, non-cheesy, talented piano player–sounds simple right?! Well, we are here to say that in our searching experience, affordable bought cheesy and talented meant way too expensive. That was until we found Mister Tim Nelson. Tim is so professional and affordable–dreams do come true!

Lemme just real talk for a moment here… First, Tim invited us to his apartment in SF so we could talk about what type of music we wanted for our ceremony. When we arrived at his place he answered the door with a big ol’ smile, then seated us on his couch where the coffee table already had waters and snacks waiting for us. We then discussed our wedding music desires and he explained his capabilities which by the way are endless. He played some songs for us and we listened. After listening to his skills we knew that he had this piano playing business dialed! During the next few months, we emailed back and fourth a couple of times about music selection. (Actually, it was mainly us sending him a ton of youtube links to the songs we wanted him to learn for the ceremony.)

Fast forward…It’s the wedding day and our officiant–god bless her, was almost 40 minutes late to the ceremony, my husband’s aunt somehow got locked into her hotel room and had to be removed by the fire department (she almost missed the entire wedding) and literally minutes before I was about to walk down the aisle our friends were still showing up to the chapel sweaty and breathless like they had been running, BUT you know who was on time and playing calmly, fooling nearly everyone that things were fine and going just as planned!? Mister Tim Nelson, that’s who! He is dependable, affordable and talented! Need I say more?

Tim we hardly got to thank you they way we should have on our wedding day. So here it is… to a very “in tune” piano man, thanks for being the glue of our wedding ceremony…seriously.”

– April Mae and Sean, July 2012

On Wednesday, August 29th I’ll be performing with the St. Dominic’s Contemporary Choir at our annual concert. The concert is open to the public and I invite you to join us!  The program will be approximately 1 hour long.  Regardless of your religious background, I think you’ll find St. Dominic’s a very warm and welcoming place!

What: St. Dominic’s Annual Contemporary Choir Concert
When: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 7:30p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, 2390 Bush Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free!

A dessert reception will follow in the Parish Hall.  Please see the St. Dominic’s Website for more information.  I hope to see you there!

On a gorgeous, sunny July afternoon, I traveled to Old St. Hilary’s Chapel in Tiburon to provide ceremony music for April Mae and Sean.  What a perfect place for a wedding!

Perched atop one of Tiburon’s hills, this quaint structure has an amazing view of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline off in the distance.

April Mae and Sean were a wonderful couple to work with.  They had a clear idea of their ceremony music; a combination of old and new (Beatles, Dylan, Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes).

The ceremony went well – I enjoyed playing in this historical treasure for the first time, and also enjoyed the perfectly tuned Yamaha Grand Piano tucked off to one side of the altar.  Hopefully I’ll have a chance to come back here again in the future!

Stuart and Ashley were looking for a pianist/guitarist duo to provide music for their reception in Healdsburg.  I teamed up with guitarist Francois Nguyen to prepare almost four hours worth of tunes, spanning many genres including alternative, country, and even a little Mo-Town.

Stu and Ash had one of the most unique receptions I’ve experienced to date.  They rented a beautiful home amongst a few Dry Creek Valley wineries and used the entire grounds for their big day.  Francois and I set up on the back patio, a roughly 40’x40′ space that was intended to mimic an “old time” lounge, complete with antique furniture, an upright piano that looked like it belonged in a saloon, and of course the bar.  Francois and I serenaded the crowd all night and had a great time.

The experience was also unique in that I sang for the majority of the gig, with shout outs to artists such as Radiohead, the Beatles, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, and REM.

Stu and Ash Playlist

I worked with Maral and Levon to design a custom set for their cocktail hour at the Mark Hopkins hotel.  They were looking for music that would connect with their diverse group of guests, so we threw in a bit of jazz, a bit of rock, and event some Motown.

This was the first time I ever played at the Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill, and it was a treat.  The cocktail hour took place in one of the main function spaces on the main floor, with soaring ceiling and grand windows that looked out onto the city below.  I played on a beautiful grand piano that seemed to fill the room with music quite well, even when all the guests had arrived.

I very much enjoyed working with Maral and Levon, and I thank them for the opportunity to be a part of their wedding day!

Maral and Levon’s Playlist

Photo: Marcel and Meher Photography (http://www.marcelsieglephoto.com/)

My friend Gary, who I perform with in the St. Dominic’s Contemporary Choir, is celebrating his next birthday by pulling together his old band for a gig or two.  He asked me to join as a fill-in bassist.  I do not play any stringed instruments, but I’ve been playing bass on my Roland AX-9 synth for about a year.  We’ve had a couple of rehearsals and I’m having a ton of fun.  Our first gig will be at the St. Dominic’s Parish Hall for Gary’s official birthday celebration.  We’re also hoping to land a gig at a local bar in San Francisco – stay tuned for more on that!

Special thanks to Ian for the pictures.

I traveled to San Jose, CA on Saturday, May 12 to provide wedding ceremony and cocktail hour music for James and Mimi on their wedding day.  The entire event was held at the  First Unitarian Church, located downtown right off of St. James Park.  This was a pretty unique event for me, as this was the first bi-lingual ceremony I’ve every been a part of.  The officiant spoke in Mandarin, and an English translator repeated everything the officiant said.  Equally unique was that I sang during this ceremony, which is not something that my wedding clients typically ask for.  James and Mimi were great clients; thorough, organized, and direct in what they were looking for.