We are playing a wedding in Denton this weekend where the bride has decided to change the location from outdoors to indoors.  The reason?  The forecast calls for 103 that day.  103!

This is a smart bride.  She will be creating a comfortable experience for herself, her bridal party, and her guests.  Everyone will benefit.

Dallas and Fort Worth brides, do yourself a favor and seriously consider indoor weddings if it’s over 90 degrees.  You can thank me later.

The Meridian String Quartet, www.meridianquartet.com, performs many weddings, especially in the high season, summer.  Many of these are closed, private events.  Normally though, we would love to have you come hear us.  Please know that we have several free events, open to the public, at certain times of the year.  These will be announced in advance or on our website, www.meridianquartet.com.

  You might also consider attending one of the many bridal shows in the Dallas and Fort Worth area.  www.bridalshowsinc.com. These bridal shows give many couples a chance to hear live music and make up their minds on the spot.   If you don’t want to go through the hassle of attending one of these events (including big, loud, noisy crowds and the uncontrollable urge to buy everything you see), you might just consider visiting The Meridian String Quartet website to listen to our recorded live, unedited audio clips.  These are basically what you would hear at the bridal shows anyways.

Some people focus on price only.  Especially in this down economy, price can become a very important factor.  But just know what you are getting for the price.  These clips, www.meridianquartet.com/clips, are unedited and include the core members of the Meridian String Quartet.  What you hear is truly what you get.  I think these string quartet recordings are beautiful, but please, judge for yourself.   Price is an important factor, of course, but what you get for the money is also very, very important.  Some people only look at price without realizing they might hire a string quartet and not realize they are in, I don’t know, Junior High School and have 4 years of experience just playing their instruments.  They find out the day of their wedding what they have truly purchased.  The Meridian String Quartet is backed by two decades of service to the Dallas and Fort Worth community through excellence in music.  We have a strong and varied background, including attendance at some of the most prestigious conservatories in the world.  This is what you will have payed for with us.  

But we also believe that beautiful should be affordable.  We don’t want to price anyone out of that experience.  It is our vision to serve the North Texas community in beautiful, professional, affordable classical string music.  

One last note: For the wedding on a really tight budget, you might consider a string trio.  While you have less volume of sound and less music to select from, the price is considerably less than that of a quartet. 

Happy Wedding Planning!

After much thought, I had finally made the decision that after five years with these three symphonies, this has to be my favorite program.  Truly.  And we’ve played a lot of music.  But the orchestra just keeps getting better and better.  The musicians are working harder than ever and the caliber is the best it has ever been.  I am proud to say that I am a member of this symphony.

The Meridian String Quartet also played/performed for a wedding in Waco, TX.  Yes, we do commute for weddings outside of the Dallas and Fort Worth Area!  www.meridianquartet.com.  We are scheduled to perform weddings in the next couple of weeks in Dallas and Crossroads, TX.  We might need help finding that last one.

OK.  Back to my Martha Argerich recording of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto.  She’s the best…

That said, there are times when the string quartet members are asked to perform for events besides weddings.  Some of these events are just as special and uplifting as weddings in their own right.

This past weekend Meridian Quartet members performed at the Potter’s House in Dallas, www.thepottershouse.org, in a graduating ceremony for graduates of TORI.  You can read about the TORI program here, http://www.thepottershouse.org/v2/content/view/276/253/, and here, http://www.wfaa.com/community/Ex-inmates-graduate-from-help-program-85780027.html.  Also here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D9E5IFSG0.html

This was an incredibly moving event.  People who had made poor choices, ended up in jail because of them, working very hard for a year to turn their lives around…that’s what TORI is.  I was blessed to be able to participate in the music making for this event.  Meridian Quartet members played Pomp and Circumstance as graduates entered The Potter’s House for the graduation ceremony. 

How cool is that?

Marcela and I (www.meridianquartet.com/aboutus) will be performing for a young SMU pianist’s concert featured at Caruth Auditorium in SMU.

Additionally, both Marcela, Drew, and I will be performing with the Las Colinas Symphony next week, www.lascolinassymphony.org, with a fantastic program featuring movies scores and Vivaldi’s Concerto for violin and orchestra!

Las Colinas Symphony musicians perform in Las Colinas/Irving, Dallas, Garland, and Arlington.

We are set to perform multiple weddings this coming spring all over the DFW area.  Brides need to gear up for the bridal shows in both Dallas and Fort Worth!  We know we are!