I do not even know where to start! A called Gretchen and Kerry with ad odd request - I needed music for my open house. They responded quickly and with enthusiasm. They arrived on site and I knew that I had the right partnership with them. Their music was amazing and even humored me with allowing me to sing a number with them. WHAT A TREAT! Not only that, they have continued to support me and my lovely home online and continue to stay in touch. I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to connect and work together! I look forward to the next adventure with them! read more

The most beautiful live music we could have imagined! We hired Musical Heart Strings for our wedding in Sonoma, and they were absolutely incredible. We first heard them play a few years ago at our friends' wedding and were completely blown away, so booking them for our own was a no-brainer. Their music brought such warmth and elegance to our ceremony and cocktail hour, and they struck the perfect balance between timeless classics and modern favorites. On top of being incredibly talented, Gretchen and her team were also so kind, professional, and easy to work with. If you're looking to add something truly magical to your wedding day, this is it! read more

Fantastic!!! Gretchen and Kerry played for our wedding in Santa Cruz and we could not be more happy. To this day we have people that attended coming up and saying how great they were. Just the wide range of musical genres they played, there was something for everyone all the way from Metallica for me, classic wedding song for the walk, to Mario since we and our friends like to game. And just as people, they are so nice. This was a great choice and one of the highlights of our special day. Thanks Gretchen and Kerry!! read more

We had a wonderful experience working with Gretchen and Kerry! They were professional and so talented. They played our ceremony and cocktail hour music, and they were terrific! Gretchen was super clear and responsive to all emails and questions. We had a few conversations with her before the big day to review our favorite songs and discuss the timeline. We also loved that they had a wide range of music selections, so we didn't waste much time thinking about what song to play. It saved a lot of our time. They were prompt, professional, and very talented. Their music was beautiful, and we could not have been happier! We are so glad they were part of our big day. We highly recommend them! Danica and Adriel Wedding 4/10/24 Photo by Big Day Memories read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

Look no further and hire Musical Heartstrings, full stop. We had Gretchen and Kerry play cello and violin respectively for our November wedding at the Brazil Room in Berkeley. I love stressful situations only because they tend to be very revealing in terms of people's character, and great character is important when you're working on a potentially very stressful event like a wedding. Well, two weeks before the wedding, the groom decided to veto a key piece of music that was going to be part of my vows. Within a tight timeframe (and our limited budget), Gretchen took the initiative to search for a musical score that would suit a backup piece of my choosing and got me and Kerry into her home for a last-minute rehearsal. They didn't have to do any of this and yet they did. I am forever grateful for their grace, support, and willingness to accommodate us when they didn't have to. From the beginning, Gretchen was so communicative and well-organized, and I just loved the sheer volume of samples on their website (which was also very mobile-friendly). Other than our caterer, Gretchen was the most communicative and on-top-of-it vendor I worked with. It was so enjoyable working with both her and Kerry and they played beautifully for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. They played everything from pieces from The Hobbit to Lady Gaga, and many other selections from their extensive repertoire. Now, I am looking forward to hopefully having Gretchen as my cello teacher. Excellent musicians, excellent people. Lots of love to musical heartstrings! read more

See all

If you are looking to add some beautiful music and something special and unique to your wedding, you have found what you are looking for. Stop searching and reach out to Gretchen, now! My fantasy of having strings play as guests arrived, while I walked down the aisle and during our cocktail hour was brought to life and then some by having Gretchen and Kerry at our wedding at a private home in Oakland this month! Their music was stunning and flawlessly performed, and they really went the extra mile to support me in planning and executing what I had dreamed of for the day! As others have mentioned they have an amazing repertoire of modern and classic music - I was so impressed by the breadth of what they offered and truly struggled to narrow down my song list (we started with something around 50 songs that I was excited to hear played - Gretchen had to reign us in a bit ;p). I was so tickled that Everything Is Awesome was int their repertoire and they happily indulged me by playing it a second time, when I missed it being played while we took family photos. They also exceeded my expectations in their composing of a song that I wanted for my processional, but was not in their repertoire. Not only are they musically wonderful, they are kind, clear and prompt communicators and very organized, which made the whole process a pleasure. My parents helped me plan my wedding and Gretchen and Kerry personally made all of us feel special and appreciated, and made my new husband and I feel celebrated and cared for before, during (Gretchen saved the day with a pair of nail clippers when the groom forgot to clip his nails before arriving to the venue ;P) and in the weeks since the wedding - they really do it all! If I lived in the area, I would find excuses to hire them again and again, in a heartbeat! read more

Hiring Musical Heart Strings was one of the best decisions we made while planning our wedding. Gretchen was an absolute pleasure to work with. During the week leading up to our wedding, we had a zoom meeting with Gretchen and our DJ where she asked detailed questions and made sure she and the DJ were on the same page about sound / wiring / timing / etc. Gretchen gave us the reassuring feeling that we were in good hands. On the day of our wedding, Gretchen and Kerry played all our favorite songs and set the atmosphere to our liking before, during, and after the ceremony. My only regret was not being able to enjoy their music during cocktail hour as I was pre-occupied preparing for the reception. But hearing their music from down the hall gave me chills and I loved every minute of it. Many of our guests were pleased with the music and we were so happy with outcome. If you are looking for something that will elevate your wedding in a classy and memorable way, Musical Heart Strings is the way to go! read more

Musical Heart Strings was a pleasure to work with for our wedding. Gretchen was super responsive any time we messaged her. Their repertoire is so varied that the inner nerd in my wife and I got to enjoy some studio ghibli songs added to our ceremony. We commissioned 2 songs from them and they delivered beautifully! Would definitely recommend Musical Heart Strings! read more

See all

Musical Heart Strings created the magical ambience that we envisioned for our wedding! We had so much fun and ease picking out songs from their repertoire. When our wedding day came, we were absolutely in awe hearing the music come to life as they delivered on every song. From beginning to end, we appreciated their responsiveness, thought and care. They were extremely personable and detail oriented. We are so grateful that Musical Heart Strings was able to be a part of our wedding day to make it so special and memorable! read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

Musical Heart Strings are the best! My wife and I reached out to a couple of different violinists to see who could play at our wedding ceremony. We got some responses back but none made us feel as comfortable as Gretchen did. From the very first meeting, she understood our vision. She knew exactly what was required to give us the best service possible. With the many meetings we had with Gretchen, she would always assure us that we had nothing to worry about, and she could not have been more right about that. Musical Heart Strings has a long and extensive repertoire of songs to choose from, which is one of the biggest reasons they drew our attention. We wanted a very specific song for myself to walk down the aisle to (Regalo De Dios by Julion Alvarez) and unfortunately, they did not have that song in their repertoire. When I mentioned it to Gretchen, she assured me I had nothing to worry about. We found the music sheet online and with ease, they were able to learn it and play it for us. It was beautiful. Our guests even told us how their music added to the ambiance and how every time they hear those songs on the radio, it reminds them of the ceremony. And these are the types of moments that I will cherish forever. And it was all thanks to Gretchen and Kerry. You can not only see the chemistry, but you can feel it between them as they are orchestrating. The professionalism and care given to my wife and I during one of the most stressful times of our lives, was second to none, and I cannot be more grateful for them. With that being said, I would absolutely recommend them to anyone and everyone! read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

We have known Gretchen and Kerry for years and have the pleasure of listening to their amazing performance at a local cafe so when it comes the time to finding entertainment for my husband's and mine joint 50th birthday celebration, it was a no-brainer to book them. The booking process was seamless and professional. We were blown away by the huge selection of music in different genre. Both ladies arrived at our party early to set up and prep. They are total pros and we deeply appreciate that. We 100% will recommend them to everyone! Thank you! read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

Musical Heart Strings made my daughter's wedding a very special event. My daughter wanted to walk down the aisle to a specific song and she commissioned Gretchen and Kerry to learn it. It sounded magnificent and made the couple very happy. People at the wedding commented on how beautifully they played during the outdoor ceremony. Then we wanted them to move to the deck for the cocktail hour when they used an amp. They did it seamlessly and were so warm and accommodating. Gretchen was very responsive by email before the wedding and she and Kerry were perfectly prepared, so friendly and helpful during the entire process. We couldn't recommend them more highly read more

Simply the best! We cannot say more good things about this team who played for our tiny ceremony in the woods. You are in excellent hands here. read more

The ladies performed at a holiday meet and greet with Santa for the apartment community I manage and were truly wonderful. The music was awesome and not limited to holiday songs and they brought percussion items and had a bit of a jam session with several of the kids who attended. We will absolutely have them back again! read more

Amazing group! Highly recommend! . Gretchen is great to work with- very thorough, accommodating, and detail oriented. We hired the trio for the cocktail hour of our wedding. Our guests raved about their performance and everyone felt like it elevated the experience. read more

Musical Heart Strings went ABOVE and BEYOND for us at our wedding in April. We requested three custom arrangements and Gretchen was so responsive and gave us frequent updates to the progress of our arrangements. They even provided a midi version of our procession song for our rehearsal. On top of that, it's tough enough planning a wedding during the pandemic but they were one of the few vendors that already had their own safety protocols - evidence based and actually up to date! read more

See all

Musical Heart Strings was a pleasure to work with for our wedding at Winchester Mystery House. They are so friendly and gave us many options, as well as a large playlist to pick from when designing the soundtrack to our day. They performed for our guests before our ceremony, during the ceremony and at cocktail hour. I'm so happy they were able to be a part of our special day and were the perfect touch to our wedding. read more

Musical Heart Strings - Musical Heart Strings at our wedding at Winchester Mystery House. Photo by Archer Inspired Photography. - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

See all

OMG when I say Gretchen and Kerry made our daughter's first birthday magical...that's an understatement. From helping me customize my playlist and even learning a really famous old Persian song (which was an encore) and being so wonderful with our fussy kiddo and the chaos of an event in windy weather...I just love them. They performed so beautifully, I can't imagine ever having another big party without them. 10000/10 read more

Gretchen helped me come up with cello arrangements for BOTH of my weddings during the pandemic, which turned out wonderful and impressed my guests. She has been an outstanding music teacher and mentor for me for 4 years. I plan on taking all my children to her for music lessons. Very patient at describing difficult techniques, and willing to work with adults as well as children. She is incredibly talented, and will make your wedding magical! read more

I'm so glad we hired Musical Heart Strings for our wedding! They added so much to the day with their extensive and very diverse repertoire. Picking our song list was so fun because they have seemingly endless options to choose from! We ended up opting for the quartet option and couldn't have been happier. They sounded absolutely beautiful together! We asked them to play through guest arrival, our ceremony, and our cocktail hour. Working with Gretchen was a breeze - she's incredibly professional, responsive, and genuine. I had multiple people compliment me on their performances and even passed their contact information on to a friend who asked for it for another wedding! Pro tip: Think twice before letting your photographer take some pre-ceremony formal photos right next to where the Heart Strings are playing! It was an already emotional time, but the tears really started to flow with the beautiful sounds of Ed Sheeran instrumentals in the background! It was all I could do to keep it together and stay photo-worthy! :) read more

See all

Musical Heart Strings is the absolute sweetest group to work with. Not only are they talented and always adding to their repertoire they're beyond thoughtful as they work with you in creating the perfect song selection. They made our big day extra special! read more

Wow wow wow! I am so glad I booked Musical Heart Strings to play at our small wedding of 10 people in Calistoga, CA. I contacted almost 10 different vendors and from the get go, Gretchen (who was my main POC throughout the process) called me after my initial outreach was so friendly and warm and explained how everything works. Wedding planning is stressful enough and I immediately trusted her and knew Musical Heart Strings had to play at my wedding. I had SO much fun picking out all of the music for the wedding (more fun than I thought I would!). They have a large, varied collection of songs to choose from with samples you can listen to on their website. My partner is Australian and we wanted an Australian song for him to walk down the aisle to, which they did not have called "Waltzing Matilda." But a few days later Gretchen emailed me and said it was an easy enough song to accommodate and she was able to practice the song for 4 hours and voila! it was part of our ceremony. We are forever grateful we were able to have that song played for the Australian's at our wedding. Our guests loved the music and it truly was one of the best parts of our wedding. The musicians who played on our day (Kerry Borgen, Dagenais Smiley, and Gretchen Egen) are so talented and I would not hesitate to book them again for another event. One extra thing to add - Gretchen is extremely responsive to all correspondence! During planning, I was never left guessing what was happening, what's been done (or not done) because Gretchen kept me updated the entire way through! Amazing experience from start to finish! read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

Musical Heart Strings was an absolute dream at our wedding! They played beautifully during the prelude, ceremony, and cocktail hour, setting the perfect ambiance for each moment. Gretchen was a joy to work with--super accommodating and just plain nice. They even learned a new arrangement of "Cloudbusting" for us, which was incredibly special and sounded amazing. Their music during the prelude was so touching it almost had me in tears--seriously, I was this close to ruining my makeup before walking down the aisle! Everyone was raving about how fabulous the string quartet was and how it made the ceremony feel even more magical. Huge thanks to Gretchen and the team at Musical Heart Strings for making our wedding day so memorable with their music. We offer them our highest recommendation. read more

Booked Musical Heart String for my wedding in Sonoma and the team played beautifully on our special day. Live string music was a hit with my guests and elevated the event. From ceremony through cocktail hour, the music was perfect for an outdoor vineyard setting. I was able to pick from a wide repertoire selection on their website; they have everything from pop, classical, to fun and whimsical. My ring bearer walked down to the tune of James Bond and the guests LOVED it! Musical Heart String was professional and attentive to their client's need from initial consultation. Checked in prior to the wedding and worked seamlessly with my planner and officiant to flawlessly execute the music at the exact timing. One of the easiest vendors I worked with. 10/10. Could not recommend Musical Heart String more! read more

Musical Heartstrings duo Gretchen and Kerry were such an amazing addition to our Ceremony and Cocktail hour. Our guests were raving about the music. They truly helped make our Wedding incredibly special. We really enjoyed that they had an extensive repertoire to choose from and allowed us to select what we would like played. Gretchen was extremely professional and responsive. She was so helpful and pleasant to work with. My husband and I couldn't have been happier with them. read more

Musical Heart Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

Musical Heart Strings was such an excellent addition to our ceremony. Kerry and Gretchen are professional, kind, and incredibly talented. They were so helpful from start to finish of the planning process including music recommendations and how they could best support our ceremony vision. We had so much fun choosing the songs for the ceremony and the different genres to choose from, was astounding. We got so many compliments from our guests, and we can't recommend them enough for your event! They are truly one of a kind! read more

I confidently refer this business for your event. They went Above and beyond my expectations. Organized, professional, and pulled me into participating with the selection of music. It helped connect me to my wedding more. ~Sara read more

Musical Heart Strings are a group that will make your special day even better! They are extremely kind and attentive, they will help with whatever is necessary for the musical preparations for your event. They have an amazing selection of songs and are a great price for the beautiful talent that they bring. We had such a wonderful time with them playing at our wedding and it made it so much more magical. read more

We are so happy with the performance that Gretchen and her string quartet brought to our wedding. We had them play for our ceremony and cocktail hour. They had such a wide selection of music with a few of my favorites already in their repertoire. My husband and I have a special attachment to Ghibli films, and so we felt like it was a must to request some special arrangements from our favorite films. Gretchen arranged beautiful pieces from "The Wind Rises" and "Howl's Moving Castle" to play during our ceremony. Gretchen made special effort to ensure that we heard the arrangements in its entirety, and she even played for us when we were taking bridal party photos before guests arrive! Gretchen also made an extra special arrangement for my bridal procession where she included by favorite section of the piece, and played it at the right moment during my walk. The timing couldn't have been better. Their performance was everything we had hoped for. We even had our guests come up to us to ask where we found such talented musicians! After they finished playing, Gretchen greeted and congratulated us personally, which we appreciated All of these small gestures mean so much to us. Working with Musical Heart Strings was such a joy, from beginning to end. read more

Musical heart strings was absolutely amazing! Working with Gretchen was wonderful. She was incredibly flexible and understanding as we worked through navigating COVID-19 postponements. The music was absolutely beautiful and gave our wedding such an elegant touch. Though we missed cocktail hour - as most brides and grooms do - we were so happy to hear the trio was a hit and even got a round of applause after their last song. Do not hesitate! You are in great hands with Gretchen and her fellow musicians! read more

Wow! Musical heart strings was outstanding! Getting chills all over again thinking about how special they made our wedding day. The musical heart strings quartet played for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. They made each event very memorable. They have an amazing song selection list, and are so talented. The ceremony music exceeded our expectations. The cocktail hour music fit our request perfectly (classy, fun, timeless). Could not recommend this group enough. They are so kind and enjoyable to work with. read more

See all

Musical Heart Strings were simply perfect for my wedding!! I found them in a photographer website (don't remember which one) and from there I contacted Gretchen who helped me with my wedding plan. They did a lot for my wedding, and trust me it wasn't that easy, but everything worked perfectly. Here's 10 reasons why you should hire them and what make them so different, professional and special for an important event. 1. They were very patient with my ideas. I wanted my friend also bridesmaid to walk down the aisle playing violin. They never have done that and for not even a second they refused my idea. 2. After walking down the aisle my friend and her fiance played with them and they were so kind and nice with them, even thou they never played together. 3. They took a time to rehearsal with my friends. 4.They were there on time and set up everything on time. 5. They played beautifully all the songs I requested and they played a song that my friend arranged. 6. They were always smiling and happy doing what they love to do. 7. They made my wedding very special. 8. They use ipads to read the music, so you wont see papers flying around if your event is outdoor. 9. They can also amplify their instrument if you need it. 10. And their price is totally affordable. read more

Musical Heart Stings did an incredible job at our July wedding in Sonoma County! Gretchen/MHS were very responsive to questions and emails, flexible with song choices and extremely professional and kind. You can see they truly have a passion for what they do. We received a lot of compliments during and after the wedding from our guests in regards to what a beautiful touch this was on our night. If you want to add a live musical element to your wedding, we highly refer MHS and we look forward to working with them again! read more

Musical Heart Strings were absolutely amazing during our wedding! We found MHS through online research and found through their website that they play at a local restaurant near where we lived. We went through their website which had an amazing repertoire and samples provided to most. We decided to check them out in person and we literally signed the contract shortly after. I worked with Gretchen mainly and she was very good communicating anything she needed from us. She was very open and helpful of things I had questions about for the wedding and she had fabulous suggestions. We hired a trio and they did absolutely amazing the day of the wedding. All of our guest loved it and were surprised by a few songs they knew (e.g. Bohemian Rhapsody, Game of Thrones). They did a fantastic job and were so easy to work with. 10/10 recommend for anyone looking for some live music for their wedding day! read more

My husband is a musician, so we wanted the music at our wedding to be very personal to us. After seeing Gretchen and Kerry's repertoire, we knew we found the perfect duo. My husband had written two songs called "That's My Girlfriend" and "Treehouse". He played the songs on the guitar and sent an mp3 of the recording to the ladies. They took the simple recordings he made and translated them into beautiful layered compositions. They played the songs during the ceremony and the recessional. They also gifted us with beautiful copies of the actual sheet music which we had framed and displayed at the wedding. You can even hear clips of our songs on their website! Gretchen and Kerry were so gracious and accommodating, and didn't even flinch when I requested to walk down the aisle to "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. Our ceremony was very unique and reflected our personality beautifully. Gretchen and Kerry were a large part of that success. read more

See all

Musical Heart Strings was absolutely amazing to work with!! In the craziness that is planning for a wedding, Gretchen and Kerry were superb professionals and very fast to reply with any questions we had and changes we needed to make up until just a few days before. By far one of the easiest vendors we had to work with in the lead up to the day of our wedding. Of course we wish we could have heard more of their music since our package included the prelude (pre-ceremony), the ceremony, and the cocktail hour and as the couple getting married we were so busy that we couldn't hear everything we had selected, but we had such great compliments from the guests that they enjoyed it. The selections they have available to choose from are vast and being such Beatles fans we were excited to see many of their selections as well as many others that were great for when guests were coming in as well as afterwards when the mood was much more lively. Bravo! Hope to work with you again someday! - Richard read more

Musical Heat Strings is an amazing group! We chose to use their string quartet for our wedding and cocktail reception on May 21, 2017, at Elliston Vineyards and we highly recommend them. They were easy to work with throughout the process and after we sent them our song selection they followed up with us immediately and then checked in again a week before the wedding to confirm our selections. They have a huge selection of music and it was great to have so many choices. They were on time and professional they day of our wedding and sounded beautiful. I highly recommend you use Musical Heart Strings for your wedding and other needs. read more

Musical Heart Strings - Musical Heart Strings playing at our wedding at Elliston Vineyards on 5-21-17. - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

We cannot give Musical Heart Strings a high enough review! From the moment we reached out to them and saw their videos on YouTube, we knew we found the perfect live music for our June 2021 wedding; and they confirmed our decision every step of the way. Our primary contact was Gretchen, Musical Heart Strings' cellist. When we had to postpone our wedding a year due to the pandemic, Gretchen was amazing. She helped us change our contract and communicated with us every step of the way. She also did a custom arrangement for our ceremony and worked overtime with our friend who sang during the ceremony. The music during our ceremony and cocktail reception was wonderful. MHS has a large repertoire of songs you can listen to and choose from on their website, so we got to create our own playlists, which was fun and added to the personalization of our wedding. Gretchen, Kerry, Dagenais, and Betsy, who played at our wedding, are talented musicians who were prompt, professional and made our wedding classy, fun and memorable. Thank you, Musical Heart Strings! You are all a gift! read more

Musical Heart Strings - The wonderful string quartet Musical Heart Strings at our June 2021 wedding at Elliston Vineyards in Sunol, CA - Performing Arts Near Me - Martinez, California

We first had the idea of hiring live music for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour when we heard a violin version of the song "Perfect". The moment I heard it I turned to my now husband and asked what he thought about hiring someone to perform it live while I walked down the aisle. We contacted Musical Heart Strings and signed the contract the same day. Gretchen and her team were great to work with throughout the planning process, and their performance was amazing. I cannot imagine our ceremony without them. The music was so beautiful! It is the one thing that stands out in my mind as I remember walking down the aisle. What a memory to have! I would 100% recommend Musical Heart Strings! They were very professional and the talent they have is something that will make your big day have that extra special touch! read more

Great performance, loved the quality and variety of the music. Highly recommend it!