On Saturday, April 28, I provided music for Erica and Aaron’s wedding ceremony in Burlingame, CA. They held their entire wedding at the Kohl Mansion, a beautiful early 1900s Tudor-Style mansion that is now part of Mercy High School. The entire setting was gorgeous and the weather was perfect too. Erica’s bridesmaids walked in to Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and Erica entered with the “Glasgow Love Theme,” a beautiful ballad that was made popular in the movie “Love Actually.” I collaborated with Aaron’s very talented cousin Danielle, who sang Beyonce’s “Ave Maria” at the beginning of the ceremony and Etta James’ “At Last” after Erica and Aaron exited down the aisle. Erica and Aaron were wonderful customers and I wish them all the best!

On Saturday, March 3rd, I traveled to the quaint town of Pescadero, CA to a provide music for Jens’ birthday party.  The event was held at Costanoa, a resort on the Pacific Coast Highway about 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 20 miles north of Santa Cruz.  Jens had reserved a function space in one of the lodges for his event.  The first hour and half of the party took place on an outdoor patio, complete with lantern lights and a blazing fireplace.  I ran through my set of jazz standards as the sun was setting.  Once it got dark cooled down, we moved inside for dinner, where I transitioned to some of my more upbeat, modern tunes from the 70s and 80s.

It was a very classy event at an impressive venue.  I want to thank Jens for the opportunity to be a part of his birthday, and I hope to return for another event at Costanoa.

March 3, 2012 Playlist

I have some exciting events coming up this spring and summer that will be keeping me busy on weekends and taking me to all reaches of the Bay Area.  This Saturday, I’ll be down in Pescadero at the Costanoa Lodge playing an upbeat birthday party.  April and May will take me to the Peninsula, the South Bay, and Nob Hill in San Francisco for wedding ceremonies.  And I’ll be in Marin County in early July for a wedding in beautiful Tiburon.

It’s not too late to make music arrangements for your summer or fall weddings.  Visit the booking page to request a quote for your event!

On January 9th, Tufts University’s President Anthony P. Monaco visited San Francisco to give a lecture to Tufts’ local alumni community. Tufts is my alma mater, and I was very excited to donate my music services to the event.

The event was held at San Francisco’s beautiful de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. I played the cocktail reception in the Piazzoni Murals Room – a bright, open space with very good acoustics. Museum staff set me up with a PA system to help spread my sound, as there were over 200 guests in attendance. This was definitely one of the largest crowds I’ve played for.

A great event with great guests. Thank you, Tufts, for the opportunity to be a part of it!

Helena hired me to provide some holiday music for a party at her home in San Francisco. I’m a bit of a Christmas music junkie, so I of course was very excited about this opportunity. I led a sing-along with her talented friends that seemed to span a bunch of music genres. We started with some traditional Christmas Carols, and then transitioned to some Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi (with some Adele and Kelly Clarkson mixed in as well). Helena is a pianist herself, and she had a beautiful digital piano which I very much enjoyed using.

Gigging at a customer’s home is a completely different experience than a typical wedding cocktail hour or dinner event. I’ve found that guests are more outgoing and more willing to approach me and ask for requests when in the comfort of a friend’s home. I need to think on my toes at these types of gigs, but it ends up being pretty rewarding when you can pull off a “top-40” tune that a guest really wanted to hear.

Many thanks to Helena for the opportunity to entertain her guests!

Stephanie and Oscar hired me to provide dinner music for their outdoor wedding reception at a beautiful estate in Hillsborough, CA.  I had worked with them in the months leading up to the big day to select a custom playlist of 70s/80s/90s rock music – certainly not a typical request but something that was near and dear to their hearts.  My set included songs by Aerosmith, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Nirvana, and Led Zeppelin among others.

Stephanie and Oscar rented a Yamaha Disklavier Digital Grand Piano for me to play on.  I had never played on one of these before and it was quite a treat to use it.  I played during each dinner course with small breaks in between for introductions and speeches. Special thanks to Crystal from Amazáe Special Events for coordinating an extensive crew of vendors, and for the talented and professional DJ Matteo and his crew for helping me with my PA system and seamlessly emceeing the entire evening.

It was a beautiful evening and I’m very appreciative of Stephanie and Oscar for the opportunity!