88 Keys on the Road - Blog

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

When I received a phone call from a gentleman who needed a pianist to provide piano accompaniment for an opera singer from Albuquerque, I was immediately intrigued! 

The event was a memorial service for the gentleman's mother.  He lived in Albuquerque and his mother had spent the last several years of her life there as well. She had lived most of her adult life in a lovely home deep in the woods on the shores of one of Minnesota's beautiful lakes and the family wished to host her service in this beautiful setting!

A particular opera singer, Denise Wernly, had become a favorite performer of the mother and family while in Albuquerque. Denise was invited to come to Minnesota to perform for the memorial service....and to the family's delight, she agreed!  She sent me her music ahead of time and arrived a day before the event giving us a chance to practice together. 

The family put a lot of thought into the music choices. The service began with Bach/Gounod's 'Ave Maria' followed by 'Pie Jesu' from Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Requiem Mass'.

Denise's voice soared and the guests were touched with the emotion and beauty of the music.

The beautiful setting of the home reflected a place where many of the guests had spent time and had wonderful memories. Some of the guests shared their personal memories during the service.

'Silent Night' is not a typical song to be performed for a funeral or memorial service, but this song had particular importance and was the concluding piece.  

The guests were then treated to some lighter musical fare with the beautiful melody of 'La Vie en Rose'. The atmosphere really came alive with some opera favorites . . . 'Voi che Sapete' from Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro' followed by 'Habanera' and 'Seguidilla' from Bizet's 'Carmen'.  

It was a pleasure to provide piano accompaniment for Denise. I enjoyed her music and talent immensely!  Her music and the thoughtful comments of the guests memories made this service a unique and beautiful celebration of a life of a special woman who will live on in the hearts of many. 

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

It is so helpful to have BOTH the bride and groom attend the meeting when I met with them to plan their wedding piano music.

They each get a chance to express their feelings about the music and are sometimes surprised at what they find out about each other and their music assumptions!

The life of a bride and groom can be incredibly hectic and overrun with hundreds of details and decision making. Sharon's music planning meeting gives the bride and groom a relaxed hour or so to listen to my beautiful music and a chance for them to talk about their ideas and bring each other and me 'up to date' on their thoughts.

Wedding #1.  The wedding ceremony and reception that I played for last weekend was greatly enhanced due to the fact that both the bride and groom had attended our music planning meeting. At the meeting the bride had great music suggestions and felt strongly about the music she requested. The groom liked country music but knew his bride disliked it and that the bride did not want any country performed. I asked the groom to tell me the titles of a few of his favorite songs and encouraged the bride to 'hear' the music out as I played it on the piano. She was amazed that hearing those songs on the piano were actually lovely and not the 'country' feel that she disliked. The groom and I were delighted that she approved those specific songs to be played during the reception. The groom had a Latin heritage, so I asked if they would enjoy me performing some Latin songs during the cocktail and dinner time. It hadn't crossed their minds. I played some samples and they both loved it!  Latin jazz is so much fun to play! It added an upbeat atmosphere to their cocktail celebration. I included several beautiful Latin love songs during dinner. It made me very happy that both the bride and groom were able to experience music that each of them enjoyed!

Wedding #2. This evening I met another bride and groom to plan their music.  They are getting married in a couple months. It was great fun learning their 'story' and hearing their aspirations for their ceremony music. I was glad that both of them were present. The groom has been the person communicating with me by email up until this point and he had expressed the desire to have all of the music be classical. So at our meeting they selected a number of classical pieces for processional, recessional, prelude, and postlude. But as we talked on, I learned that the bride had a Kenny G song that she absolutely loved and wanted it highlighted as a stand alone piece during the ceremony. She has a relative that is a talented alto sax player that will join me on the song. Having the saxophone carrying the melody will sound awesome! I can't wait! The bride also wants a Josh Groban song performed with my violinist. This will complement their unity ceremony nicely. The bride was hoping that I would include a few elegant love songs during the prelude music as well as the classical music. The groom approved. I felt really good that the music choices reflected the wishes of both the bride and groom.

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Being invited to share my live piano music for events in people's lives is such an honor.  The relationship with a client can start as far out as a year away or as short as a few days.

As I start down the music planning path with each person, I love to discover how their unique personalities and interests will shape the repertoire I will design for their event.  Weddings, receptions, funerals, milestone celebrations . . . each event becomes a meaningful and beautiful musical journey!