Musical Heart Strings is a professional string ensemble (or piano & strings), performing together for 19 years and offer an extensive repertoire, including classical, jazz, pop, rock & roll and even some heavy metal. Influenced by the Vitamin String Quartet, we arrange most of the music ourselves to be original covers performed only by us. We are available for hire for any gathering: weddings, parties, funerals, corporate events, graduations, or even for serenading a romantic dinner for two. We can play acoustically or with amplification. Feel free to browse our site and listen to the sound bites. If you wish to hear more, we can record from on our list especially for you (at no charge).
42 reviews
Alex G.
May 27, 2026Working with Gretchen and Kerry of Musical Heart Strings was one of the best decisions we made for our Tiburon wedding. We immediately wanted to work with them after seeing their website and content, and their live performance did not disappoint. They are truly phenomenal musicians! From our very first outreach, they were full of excitement and so happy to workshop unique ideas with us to make our day as special as possible.
They brought two massive highlights to our wedding that our guests are still talking about. First, they were totally open to leading our recessional, playing their instruments while walking as we exited the ceremony, which gave the entire moment a beautifully joyful and light feeling. Second, they collaborated flawlessly with our DJ for a super unique grand entrance to our reception. They played live violin and cello right along with the DJ playing Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" in the background—it was incredibly fun and really got the crowd going! Gretchen and Kerry are consummate professionals whose musical abilities are beyond compare. They set the perfect ambiance and made our day unforgettable.
Hired as: Classical Duo
Musical Heart Strings
Thank you so much Alex. Your wedding was truly inspirational on how to make a wedding unique for the couple. It was magical, fun, beautiful, and clever. Thanks for having us be a part of it.
Lesley L.
October 31, 2025Gretchen and Kerry were absolutely wonderful! They played for eight hours — covering both our ceremony and the entire reception — and were flawless the entire time.
They are truly exceptional musicians with an incredibly large repertoire. Choosing the music with them was so much fun — they had everything from classical pieces to pop, Disney, and even EDM. They’re detail-oriented, empathetic, and such a joy to work with.
Our guests couldn’t stop raving about the music — some were even singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody and Disney classics! The atmosphere they created was elegant, emotional, and full of life.
One of my favorite moments was when they performed “Levels” by Avicii — an EDM song they learned just for me. It was such a fun and memorable highlight that my friends are still talking about.
Hiring Musical Heart Strings was truly one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. They brought so much heart, professionalism, and joy to our day. I can’t recommend them highly enough!
Hired as: Classical Duo
Musical Heart Strings
Thank you for this lovely review. Your wedding was a dream come true. From the FABULOUS weather at the Palace of Fine Arts to the super fun reception at the Magic Flute Ristorante, it was one of the best weddings ever. Thanks for choosing us to be a part of it!
Ronny L.
June 11, 2025We had always dreamed of having a live string quartet at our wedding, and Musical Heart Strings truly brought that dream to life. One of the most special elements we wanted was a custom arrangement of the bride’s processional song: a softer, lighter version of Love Wins All by IU, based on a rendition by YouTube pianist James Wong. We spoke with a few local string quartets, but the moment we connected with Gretchen, we knew she was the one who could make it happen.
Gretchen immediately knew the pianist we were referring to and mentioned she had even done custom arrangements of his work before, including a beautiful blend of Lover x Daylight. From the very beginning, she was incredibly engaged and genuinely cared about making the arrangement perfect. She was always communicative and thoughtful, offering detailed insights and suggestions with every email exchange.
Whenever we asked for adjustments, she responded quickly and sent updated audio clips for us to review. She even created multiple versions in different lengths to help us find the one that fit our timeline best. When we heard the final version, we were absolutely thrilled. It was everything we had hoped for.
On our wedding day, Gretchen and her team played for two hours. They performed during guest seating, for the bridal party processional and recessional, and during our cocktail hour. The music was flawless, and they created a beautiful, elegant atmosphere that we’ll never forget. Gretchen has an incredibly extensive repertoire on her website, covering everything from classical pieces to video game soundtracks, movie themes, and modern pop songs. We got to select every song ourselves, which made the experience feel even more personal and special.
We are so happy we chose to work with Musical Heart Strings. If you're not looking for a full quartet, they also offer duo and trio options. Gretchen is a true professional and artist, and we can't recommend her highly enough.
Hired as: Classical Ensemble
Musical Heart Strings
Thank you so much Ronny. Your wedding was so beautiful and you both looked so wonderful. We're so happy that you liked the way Love Wins All turned out. We really liked that one!!!!
Noe D.
November 13, 2024Musical 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!
Hired as: Classical Duo
Musical Heart Strings
Thank you so much Noe for these kind words. When you said how much Regalo De Dios would mean to your fiancée, we knew we had to make it happen. After we learned it we knew how special that song is. Good choice! Your wedding was so beautiful, and everybody was so lovely!!! Thank you for choosing Musical Heart Strings to be a part of it.
Brigid B.
September 24, 2024As the bride and groom, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect musical experience on our wedding day. This incredible duet not only delivered a breathtaking performance, but they also went above and beyond by composing original music for two songs that held deep meaning for us, as we were unable to find the sheet music. Their talent and dedication added so much emotion and beauty to our ceremony. Every note was flawless, and their ability to create the perfect atmosphere was truly unforgettable. We are so grateful for their hard work and highly recommend them to anyone looking for musicians who will make your special day even more extraordinary.
Hired as: Classical Duo
Musical Heart Strings
Thank you so much Brigid for this wonderful review. We absolutely loved your wedding. It was so intimate and your guests (and you both) were so delightful. We really enjoyed adding your custom arrangements to our repertoire. There were such great choices! We had never heard these wonderful songs before!
Price range: $720 and up
Languages: English , Spanish
Gig length: 120 - 540 minutes
Insurance: $1,000,000 - Liability Insurance
Unions: AFM
Most people are interested in a 2-hour booking. We arrive 1/2 hour early to set up, unless you wish for us to bring amplification, in which case we arrive 1 hour early. For weddings, we typically play 15-30 minutes as a wedding prelude, then we play the wedding processionals, ceremony music (if any), and a recessional or 2. Often we move to another location for the cocktail hour. As soon as we are set up, we play for the cocktail hour. If the client requests certain pieces from our repertoire, we always play them, and try to have the client nearby when we do. If the booking is longer than 2 hours, we may take a 10-minute break for each hour hired, although often we rarely take much of a break.
We also have suitable music for dinner and dancing should you choose to hire us for more than 2 hours. The additional rate is $100 per hour per musician.
If the client gives us a color scheme for the event, we will try to accommodate with a splash that color scheme, like a scarf.
To prepare for your event, we are very punctual with emails and phone calls. We are always happy to assist you with any questions you make have, and if you want some advice on picking music, we are happy to help.
If you also hire us to make a special arrangement that is not already in our repertoire, we will make a top-notch arrangement by listening to the original group performing the piece and making the arrangement sound very similar to the original.
We can also be a larger ensemble including string trio or quartet, and piano trio or quartet. To hear the difference, click on the two note icon in repertoire for a duo, the three note icon for trio, the four note icon for the string quartet, and piano for piano quartet.
One client wrote "you are all folks have talked about since that evening. You exceeded our expectations, and made us look like rock stars so thank you so very much." We are proud to report that we have over 90 reviews about us online on various website combined, not included people who post the same review on several websites. All of our reviews are posted on our own website.
Our repertoire is very extensive. We can play classical music, like Pachelbel Canon, Bach Air, Schubert Ave Maria, Handel's Watermusic, etc. We can also play rock music, like Stairway To Heaven, Great Balls of Fire, My Girl, etc, as well as a large repertoire of music by The Beatles. We can even play Lady Gaga or AC/DC. We can also play Irish music, Joplin rags, cocktail hour music (like At Last, Unforgettable, Moon River, etc.), tangos and other Latin music, French salon music, Italian music, and even music from the 1920s. We also try to stay current with music from the past year. Our latest client favorites are Bohemian Rhapsody, Y.M.C.A., Budapest, Eye Of The Tiger, Tetris Theme, Hotel California, and of course, Game Of Thrones.
Much of our music is arranged by the various members in the group, so for a nominal fee, if what you want is not in our repertoire list, we can make an arrangement to fit your needs. Our most recent arrangements include Yellow (Coldplay), Viva La Vida (Coldplay), Born The Way (Lady Gaga), I'm Yours (Jason Mraz), Lucky (Jason Mraz), Make You Feel My Love (Adele), 3 pieces by the Rolling Stones, and Unchained Melody from the movie "Ghost", the opening music to "Far From The Madding Crowd", Don't Bring Me Down (Electric Light Orchestra), Take A Chance On Me (ABBA), A Thousand Years (Christina Perri), Rolling In The Deep (Adele), and Life On Mars? (David Bowie), and Hotel California (The Eagles).
We have a two-hour minimum for our bookings, and we arrive 30-60 minutes before the booking (not included in the 2-hours).
We can also provide our own amplification (needs power) for no additional fee, in which case we will arrive 1 hour before we are to play in order to set up the amplification.
We are a very self contained ensemble. We bring our music stands and iPads, so if there isn't enough light, the iPads are backlit, so it's not a problem. Also, we use bluetooth page turners, so we can have all the music you've requested in a setlist so we can quickly go from one piece to another, making more time for music, and less time for searching, turning pages. Also, with the iPads there is no longer a need for wind clips when we are outdoors, making transitioning from one piece to another very seamless.
If you are interested in having the ensemble amplified, we bring our own amp and mics, but would need an electrical outlet close by so we can have power. There is no additional fee for amplification.
Friday
Corporate Event
5:00pm - 8:30pm
•
Dublin, CA
We have a very extensive repertoire of over 600 pieces. Please visit our website at (link hidden) to view the entire list. If you interested in hearing sound bites, simply click on the icons. the 2-note icon is our violin/cello duo, the 3-note icon is our string trio, the 4-note icon is our string quartet, and the keyboard icon is our piano quartet. Almost all of the music is available for all instrument combinations, regardless if we have samples up.
Thank you!
Vitamin String Quartet
If outdoors, we need protection from direct sunlight or rain
Armless chairs will be needed if the musicians will be sitting while playing.
If you want us to be amplified, we will need access to an electrical outlet for our equipment. We can provide up to 75 feet of extension cord, although it's preferable to have the outlet a bit closer.
Classical Ensemble
