Daily Candy Nominated - Sweetest Sound 2007

Thanks for nominating me Daily Candy's Sweetest Sound 2007! You can vote for me now until February 2008 by clicking here.

It’s Wedding Season in the Bay Area! How to Choose a Musician

No wedding is complete without the music. But, how do you choose the right music and musician?

An important factor in choosing your music is the setting for your wedding ceremony. Take into account the size of the location, the style of the venue and what the facility offers. If you are outdoors, will your musician need an extension cord or will he have to play acoustically? If you are indoors at a church, find out whether it already has an organ or piano. Even if the church does have a piano or organ, you might decide to go with a solo guitarist or string ensemble. If you are considering vocalists, you may want to ask them if they’ve performed in the space and if it’s appropriate for their performance.

What songs should you choose? First, ask your vocalist or accompanist for suggestions. Have them play or sing that song for you. Secondly, ceremony music typically includes processional, recessional and consecration. For a ceremony in a religious setting, you might want to go the traditional route with classical music with a soloist, duet or trio (guitar, strings, flute, woodwinds, etc). For the reception music, you may opt to have pop songs and so hiring a DJ may be more appropriate. If you have a larger budget, you can choose live music, such as a solo guitarist or a band specific to your wedding theme.

Songs are extremely personal. If you want something romantic, you can opt for Spanish guitar. Guitar is also great alternative to piano for complementing vocalists. For example, I recently accompanied two sopranos for songs traditionally accompanied by piano: the processional, excerpt from “Sous le dôme épais” by Leo Delibes, and the lighting of the unity candles, excerpt from “Révons, c’est l’heure” by Jules Massenet.

Before deciding whether the songs suggested by your musicians are really what you want, you should go to a store that sells sheet music and songbooks and browse in the wedding section. Or you can also log onto Apple i-Tunes and listen to clips of the songs.

Daily Candy Recommended!

March 23, 2007

Strummer Boy

In your dreams, you look like Gisele, dress like Kate, and play guitar like Jimi.

The first two may never happen (and just stop, because you look great), but you can chip away at the third with help from guitar teacher Fred Boette.

The master musician teaches rock, blues, and country, though his passion is classical (think Segovia, not “Stairway”). No, you won’t be kissing the sky right off the bat, but if you’re older than 5 and have the right instrument, Boette can teach you to play.

Lessons are usually once a week for half an hour and he can come to you, so there are no excuses for skipping out. Chances are you won’t be making any: Boette loves what he does (you can catch him strumming around town or hire him for a special event) and his one burning desire is for you to love the guitar, too.

Foxy.

Frederick Boette Junior (510-229-9494 or guitarfred.com).

Private Lessons

If you're interested in learning classical guitar in the East Bay, send me an email to discuss rates and what your musical endeavors are. In addition to providing private lessons, I also work with Pleasant Hill Music Studios.

fredboette@gmail.com

Frederick Boette, Jr. (classical guitar) and Jessica Wan (soprano) present “Sweet Hope and Bitter Despair: the Ayres of England’s Golden Age”

Berkeley, CA – The Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea Seminary will be filled with the music of England’s “Golden Age” on Sunday, June 11, when the duo of Frederick Boette, Jr., classical guitar, and soprano Jessica Wan will present songs from Queen Elizabeth’s court and the time of Shakespeare for the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition Fringe. Shakespeare’s life intersected with some of England’s most glorious musicians, such as John Dowland, Thomas Campion, and William Byrd. Their love songs, laments, and dance tunes were all a rich part of the Elizabethan era. The recital will begin at 7:00pm and tickets are $10 general, $8 students and seniors. Call (415) 565-3274 for more information.

This is the first collaboration for Frederick Boette, Jr. and Jessica Wan.

Frederick Boette, Jr. earned his Bachelor of Music Studies at Valdosta State University, and has studied with Bruce Holzman and Nephtali Santiago. He has taken extended master classes with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet as well as Nigel North.




Jessica Wan graduated from Stanford University in 2003 (BA, Music; BS, Product Design), and has recently performed with Pocket Opera in The Bartered Bride and the San Francisco Renaissance Voices’ performance of Candelmas. She currently studies voice with Susan Gundunas.



June 11, Sunday
7:00-8:30PM, reception after performance
St. Joseph of Arimathea Seminary Chapel (corner of Bowditch and Durant)
Berkeley, CA 94704
$10 general / $8 students and seniors