9/6/09,
St. Robert Bellarmine Church:
Bayside, NY.
Our String Trio performed at a Wedding Mass together with Margaret Joyce, organist and cantor. We performed for one of the most darling and beautiful brides we've ever met.
Her name was Lydia and she was married to Angelo.
Everything was perfect and I'll never forget her always up beat E-mails which appeared this way:
'hi Natalie!!! It's Lydia!!!!!!!
I will miss her and Robert. Katheleen and I all truly wish Lydia and Angelo a lifetime of so much happiness!

9/12/09:
I travelled to FIre Island with Elina, cellist to perform at a wedding mass
I was so nervous and scared to do this as I had once crossed the Atlantic Ocean from St. Thomas to Italy on a cruise ship and for me it was on the scary side of things to do in one's lifetime! . That same summer of my boat trip (and I was performing in a small orchestra as well as string quartet on an Italian Cruise Ship called the 'Costa Eugenio') there had been a horrible cruise ship hi jacking and also a horrible tragic smaller cruise boat had capsized in the Baltic Sea and many lives were lost..so.......
I wasn't too keen on getting any sea travel or going out on any Ferry boat even though I had not hear of any problems with any of the ferry boats out on LI that traverse back n forth to Fire Island.
I left early on my own, before Elina (cellist) and decided to just sit still and not to look at the sea while on the boat..and so I talked to people near me and checked e-mails and etc.
Ahhhh..made it back n forth!
We performed out there at Our Lady of Magnificat Church on Ocean Beach at 3:30 PM.
People from the town stopped us on our way walking back to the ferry and told us a that they had heard our music (doors of church had been wide open to passersby) and wanted us to know how much they had enjoyed it.
The bride was radiant at her ceremony albeit very emotional. Iall in all it was a great day out there and we are both very happy that we had such a beautiful opportunity to perform out there!

9/13/09, we performed at the Davenport Club on Davenport Avenue, New Rochelle.
The bride, groom and mother of the bride had met us back in January (just after my home had a small fire in it lol!) and
the bride's mother had asked me to play 'Ave Maria' as a solo for her as she told me it had special meaning to her. She was in tears and told me she was so moved to hear my rendition of 'Ave Maria' which happens to be a piece of music which also has very special meaning to me as well and one I love to play and which I attempt to always do my best with always by putting alot of heart and tlc into the music as I play it. I do not think of it as a piece only for funerals solely,
I used to perform it every year for a special service in the Catholic Church which is in honor of women/mothers and so I believe the piece has more to do with the blessed mother Mary than any funereal situations although it is performed at many funerals. I just performed it on 8/18/09 at a funeral for my husband's Uncle at his family church in West new Rochelle with singer, and organist..so yes it is also performed as a funeral selection.
At any rate we met our bride and groom whom we performed for on 9/13 at the Osborne Jenks Bridal Show at the County Center in White Plains in late January (brrr..it was such a cold day that day!). The show producers invited us to perform there all day and did not charge us to play which was so wonderful and we met so many lovely people there including Christina, Robert and Christina's mother.
Their day was so perfect from the weather, the outdoor ceremony which was officiated by our dear friend and colleague Fr. Gorge Hintz . He made sure that the couple's Unity Candle would be lit in the wind!
When we spoke of their having the Unity Candlelighting prior to the ceremony and about how windy it was etc he just said calmly that they had opted for the Candlelighting and that he would help them to be sure that they lit it...even if the wind may take out the candle light and he also had 2 votives underneath to symbolize same, and they were able to stay lit.
We received so many compliments at this wedding. and talked to so many nice members of the family as well as guests. One gentleman asked us to perform for his wedding to be held out in Newport RI next year!

Next weekend we are performing for a DJ friend of ours or his wedding on Friday night at the Tides Estate in NJ, and
on Saturday we are performing in NJ at a Mass in the early afternoon followed by a Trio of Violin,Flute Cello at the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan.
After that I take my hubby for a week of fresh air. He's been receiving chemo treatments and needs a change of pace.
When we (Trio of Violin, Piano and Soprano) return there is a beautiful ceremony we are to perform at at a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Wayne NJ.

Hope everyone reading this is healthy and doing very well!