October 07, 2012

Flute Quartet Wedding Music at Tapestry House

October 07, 2012/ Christen Stephens

This past Saturday I played for an outdoor wedding at the Tapestry House in Laporte, CO. The first snow of the season had arrived that night, and the day remained cold and overcast.

Despite the cold temperatures, Tapestry House was a beautiful oasis. Snow still covered the boughs of the magnificent pines around the ceremony site, providing a lovely winter backdrop for a collage of blooming summer flowers and peak autumn foliage. Twinkle lights added an air of festivity.

Before the wedding began, our flute quartet (flute, violin, viola, cello) entertained the guests with classical prelude music as they waited in the heated reception area. Before the guests proceeded outside for the ceremony, we moved our instruments to the house right behind the ceremony site. With the help of amplification and a few open windows, the guests were able to clearly hear our music before and during the ceremony, and we were able to keep our fingers warm enough to play our instruments.

After the wedding ceremony, we moved back to the reception area where we played oldies and popular and rock music for the cocktail hour. The cocktail hour was in a covered patio which was kept nice and warm with the help of tented sides and long heat lamps on the ceiling.

Wedding Ceremony Music:

Prelude Music ~ Sheep May Safely Graze (Bach), Amazing Grace, Arioso (Bach), Polonaise (Bach), Air from Suite in D Major (Bach) Seating of the Parents ~ Largo from Xerses (Handel) Attendant's Processional ~ Canon in D (Pachelbel) Bridal Processional ~ Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach) Tree Planting Ceremony ~ Simple Gifts Recessional ~ Strawberry Swing (Coldplay), Entrance of the Queen of Sheba (Handel)

Cocktail Hour Music:
When I'm 64 (Beatles), So Happy Together (Turtles) Don't Stop Believing (Journey), Dream On (Aerosmith), In My Life (Beatles), Beauty and the Beast, Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), Tango from Scent of a Woman

July 30, 2012

Flute and Guitar Duo Wedding Music at Mountain Thunder Lodge

July 30, 2012/ Christen Stephens

On Saturday, I escaped the summer heat of the Front Range and headed for the mountains of Colorado to play for a wedding ceremony and cocktail hour at Mountain Thunder Lodge in Breckenridge. The Lodge is a beautiful venue with a rustic mountain feel on the outside and a relaxed elegance inside.

I played the flute accompanied by guitarist Michael Engberg, and the simple elegance of our flute and guitar duo perfectly complimented the mountain setting. The wedding ceremony was outside on the patio which was decorated with bright local flowers provided by Petal and Bean.

The weather was perfect with sunshine and a cool breeze and to my delight, I didn't meet with a single bug while I played. After the ceremony, we moved inside for the cocktail hour where we entertained guests in the library before dinner.

Wedding Ceremony Music:
Selected Prelude Music ~ Simple Gifts, Be Thou My Vision, March (JS Bach), Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (JS Bach), Meneut (Rameau), Two German Dances (Beethoven) Attendant's Processional ~ Rondeau (Mouret) Bridal Processional ~ Canon in D (Pachelbel) Recessional ~ Trumpet Voluntary in D (Purcell)

Selected Cocktail Hour Music:
Fly Me to the Moon, Georgia on my Mind, Have I Told You Lately (that I love you), It's so Easy, Sunny, Under the Boardwalk, The Way You Look Tonight, A Whiter Shade of Pale

From the Bride:
"Our wedding day was everything we hoped it would be. We chose a destination wedding in Breckenridge, Colorado because we wanted an intimate wedding with our family and closest friends in one of our favorite places. We loved the venue we chose, Mountain Thunder Lodge – it was perfect for our size wedding (45 total). The intimacy of our wedding was further enhanced by instrumental music played during our ceremony and cocktail hour. Overall, we loved every moment of our wedding day!"

June 30, 2012

Flute Quartet Wedding Music at Black Canyon Inn

June 30, 2012/ Christen Stephens

This past Monday I had a wonderful time playing the flute for a wedding at the beautiful Black Canyon Inn in Estes Park, Colorado. The wedding was outdoors under a pavilion with a spectacular mountain view. The hot day cooled down with nearby rain, giving us a pleasant breeze and cooler temperatures. I played with the Ribbons and Strings Ensembles, and because the groom was partial to the sound of the flute, the couple chose to have a quartet with flute, violin, viola, and cello.

Wedding Ceremony Music:

Prelude ~ What a Wonderful World (Armstrong), Arioso (Bach), Spring (Vivaldi), Rondo (Mozart)

Processional for the Maid of Honor ~ Canon in D (Pachelbel)

Bridal Processional ~ Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)

Signing the Marriage License ~ "Only Hope" from A Walk to Remember

Recessional ~ Psalm 19 (Marcello), Hornpipe (Handel), Allegro from Spring (Vivaldi), Divertimento in D Major, 1st mvmt. (Mozart), selections from Autumn (Vivaldi)

First Dance ~ "Unchained Melody" from Ghost

We played for the cocktail hour at the Twin Owls Steak House. We played a wide selection of classical, jazz, rock, and popular songs. A shortened sample is listed below.

Selected Cocktail Hour Music:

All You Need is Love (Beatles), Unforgettable (Nat King Cole), Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton), Blue Moon, Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), Don't Stop Believing (Journey)

June 27, 2012

Flute and Cello Duo Wedding Music at The Pines at Genesee

June 27, 2012/ Christen Stephens

Wedding season is in full swing in Colorado, and this past Saturday, I had the pleasure of playing flute for a wedding at the Pines at Genesee in Golden, CO. I played the flute and was accompanied by Marcelo Sanches on the cello. One of my favorite parts about playing for weddings in Colorado is having the opportunity to explore beautiful locations and venues, not to mention enjoying the gorgeous weather. Saturday turned out to be a very hot day, but upon arriving at the Pines, the elevation combined with some helpful clouds cooled things down. With the added shelter of the beautiful towering pine trees, it turned out to be a perfect evening.

With brick pathways, arbors, and towering pine trees, the ceremony location was rustic with a simple understated elegance. The bride's choice of a flute and cello duet complemented the setting perfectly.

Marcelo and I played a selection of classical music for the cocktail hour. For the wedding ceremony, the bride asked for traditional and classical music. Other than the Bridal Chorus by Wagner, this busy bride left the specific song selections up to me:

Attendant’s Processional ~ Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)
Bridal Processional ~ The Bridal Chorus (Wagner)
Recessional ~ Hornpipe (Handel)

April 16, 2012

New Music Samples for Flute and Harp Duo

April 16, 2012/ Christen Stephens

Recording Session at Swallow Hill in Denver, CO

Thanks to Brian Hunter at the Swallow Hill recording studio in Denver, I have replaced my ten year old homemade flute and harp recordings with new professional ones. On the recordings I am playing on my new solid rose gold and silver Powell flute that I bought last summer. I was accompanied by talented harpist, Mary Keener. Our duo is available to play for your Colorado wedding or event.

January 19, 2012

Romantic Music

January 19, 2012/ Christen Stephens

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner and spring weddings drawing near, it’s time to start thinking about romantic music to complete the occasion. With the help of friends, I’ve compiled a list of romantic songs, and I hope you enjoy listening to them. What makes a song romantic? Romantic music mirrors four aspects of romance in life – intimacy, time, conversation, and passion. But just as we all experience intimacy in different ways, we all have our personal preferences in romantic music. Intimacy

Every romantic song has some level of intimacy. Intimate songs tend to be personal and not showy or performance oriented. They frequently have sweeping strings or soulful guitar or piano in the background. Also, most romantic songs fall between the pulse of 60 -100 beats per minute which also happens to be the average heartbeat of a human being. Coincidence? I think not. This gentle pulse is often done with soft percussion, or naturally emphasized in the music. Over this pulse is usually a warm and tender voice or instrumental lead.

Time

Romance flourishes when you give another person your full attention and time. The following songs are all about the element of time and they do this by drawing out words and spacing phrases:

Can’t Help Falling in Love With You, Elvis

Come Away with Me, Norah Jones

Fascination, Nat King Cole

I Will Love You, Fisher

Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers

Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton

Conversation

This is an easy one, because words of love and devotion can be translated directly into music as in the following examples:

Always On My Mind, Willie Nelson

Devoted to You, Everly Brothers

For You, John Denver

I Will Be Here , Steven Curtis Chapman

Longer Than, Dan Fogelberg

Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce

Truly Madly Deeply, Savage Garden

Your Song, Elton John

Passion

Passionate songs have energy, intensity, perhaps a faster pulse than the typical heart rate, and often the element of the unexpected. Some of the most passionate songs are classical, particularly from the aptly named “Romantic Period” of music. Following is a wide range of passionate songs:

Everything I do, Bryan Adams

Hello Young Lovers, Stevie Wonder

Libestod from Tristan Und Isolde (Richard Wagner), Birgit Nilsson

Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet, Henry Mancini and his orchestra

Meditation from Thais (Massenet), Yo-Yo Ma

‎Someone to Watch Over Me, Herb Alpert

For fun I looked for a song from above that, in my opinion best blends all four categories. The result was a tie between “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers and “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” by Elvis. "Unchained Melody" frequently uses the word “time” which enhances its slow development, then crescendos with passion towards the end. “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” brilliantly combines all the elements of intimacy, along with slow romantic words.

June 19, 2011

Mosteller Mansion – Hickory, NC

June 19, 2011/ Christen Stephens

This Saturday I enjoyed playing flute for a wedding at Mosteller Mansion with a wonderful harpist, Jennie Eggleston. It was my first time playing with Jennie and working with her was a pleasure. Jennie's blog about her performances inspired me to write about my own performances in the future as well.

Our Saturday drive to Mosteller Mansion became very stormy with impressive clouds and wind. Because of the rain, we played our prelude indoors as the wedding guests waited out the bad weather. Just in time for the wedding ceremony, the rain stopped and the bride and groom enjoyed a beautiful outdoor wedding like they had planned. The attendants stood on an elegant curving stairways encircling the bride and groom for a grand effect.

The bride chose a combination of hymns and classical music for the prelude, and traditional music for the ceremony:

Prelude ~ Praise to the Lord, Fairest Lord Jesus, On Wings of Song (Mendelssohn), Finlandia (Sibelius), Ode to Joy (Beethoven), Largo (Handel), Sweet Hour of Prayer, Entr’acte from Carmen (Bizet), The Way That He Loves (Mercer), Air from Water Music (Handel), Arioso (Bach) Seating of Grandparents and Mothers ~ Trumpet Voluntary (Purcell) Attendant’s Processional ~ Canon in D (Pachelbel) Bridal Processional ~ Ave Maria (Bach) Recessional ~ Simple Gifts (American Traditional) Postlude ~ Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)

October 14, 2010

Solo Flute Speaks for Itself

October 14, 2010/ Christen Stephens

I recently had a conversation with someone about music, and when I told her I play flute for weddings and events, she asked if I play with other musicians. I told her I do, but she was surprised when I told her that I also perform frequently as a soloist. Contrary to what many people assume, the flute sounds full and complete on its own, and is a beautiful and popular choice for wedding and event music. Solo flute can stand on its own, and here are the reasons why:

It’s Simple - When you listen to music, you probably focus on the melody, and might even hum along with the song, but you probably don’t pay much attention to the harmony beneath the melody. Solo flute gives you a pure and clean melody, and every nuance and expression in the music is highlighted in its simplicity.

It’s Unique - After playing solo flute for weddings, it is common for me to hear people say that they had never heard a flute soloist before and were impressed with its beauty and unique sound. Any time two instruments are played together they blend to create a different sound that is a little like each of the instruments played, but a bit different from both. When the flute is played apart from other instruments, it provides a unique sound that few people have heard.

It’s Affordable – When hiring musicians, it’s important to consider your budget, and solo flute is very budget friendly. With each extra musician you hire, your rates can double, so if you are on a budget, a soloist is the perfect choice.

It’s Versatile - Short on space? A soloist on the flute doesn’t take up much space, and certainly takes up less space than most other musicians

Have an echo? Some venues, particularly churches, have impressive echoes. Locations like Beaver Creek Chapel and Evans Memorial Chapel in Denver are perfect examples. Larger groups may sound muddled if there is too much of an echo, but solo flute has a full and clear sound, that is quite remarkable in these types of buildings.

Outdoor wedding? Flute is an excellent choice for the outdoors because its sound carries better than that of a string instrument. Also, unlike a guitar or keyboard, the flute does not need to be plugged in.

Too many stairs? A flute player has excellent mobility. We are not limited by stairs, grassy lawns, or mountain locations.

Next time you are planning a wedding or event, consider the clear melodies, unique sound, affordability, and versatility of the solo flute.

Listen to Solo Flute Music Samples

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