Hello! We're Duo Islay, a violin and guitar duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area that is here to provide music for all kinds of events, including weddings, parties, business events, and more. Jess and Mario both graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, majoring in classical performance, but they enjoy performing in all genres, including tango, jazz, folk, and pop music. We'd love to play for your next special event!
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Price Range: $300 and up
Languages: Chinese, English
We will arrive to venues 15-20 minutes before we are scheduled to play in order to set up and become familiar with the space.
We will come prepared and ready to play, with music and equipment.
We will be communicative over email and confirm all details before the day of the event.
Duo Islay formed in summer 2023, but Jess and Mario have been playing together for much longer than that, starting with their master's degrees at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. They formed the duo with a common love for all kinds of music, including folk, jazz, tango, classical, and pop, and are always excited to discover new music they enjoy and finding ways to play it as a violin and guitar duo.
Originally from North Dakota, Jess is a freelance musician and violin teacher in the Bay Area, performing with ensembles including the California Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and teaching at schools including Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory and the Bird School of Music. She enjoys improvising on both classical and pop themes, and has a passion for chamber music, playing in the Hayes Trio and the Bridge Chamber Collective as well as Duo Islay.
Originally from Hong Kong, Mario is a professional guitarist, composer, arranger, and teacher in the Bay Area. He studied both guitar with Meng Su and composition with Sergio Assad at SFCM, and has won several competitions and awards, as well as performed concerts of his own compositions and arrangements.
Jess and Mario both enjoy hiking, biking, and making food.
We will bring music stands, but will need chairs provided.
If the event needs amplification, we can provide an amp for a $25 cartage fee.
If the event is outdoors, we will need some sort of shade provided, either natural shade or shade from an umbrella or similar. Our instruments are valuable and the varnish can be damaged by the sun!
We perform in temperatures ranging from 65 degrees to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is lower, there will need to be some sort of space heater, and if it is higher, there will need to be some sort of cooling system present.
Our repertoire list is always growing! We are happy to accommodate any requests you have.
Classical Music:
Air - Dowland
Air on the G String
Alla Danza (Water Music)- Handel
Alla Hornpipe (Water Music)- Handel
Ave Maria- Gounod
Ave Maria- Schubert
Ave Verum Corpus- Mozart
Bourree- Praetorious
Bridal Chorus - Wagner
Canon in D - Pachelbel
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik- Mozart
Estrellita- Ponce
Evening Prayer- Humperdinck
Harmonious Blacksmith- Handel
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring- Bach
Meditation from Thais- Massenet
Minuet in G Major
Ode to Joy- Beethoven
Spring from the Four Seasons- Vivaldi
Prelude from Suite in G Major- Bach
Romance (Gadfly Suite)- Shostakovich
Rondeau- Moureau
Rondo Alla Turca - Mozart
Salut d’Amour- Elgar
Sheep May Safely Graze- Bach
Sinfonia (from Solomon)- Handel
Sleepers Awake (Cantata 140)- Bach
The Swan- Saint-Saëns
Traumerei- Schumann
Trumpet Tune- Purcell
Trumpet Voluntary- Purcell
Waltz of the Flowers- Tchaikovsky
Wedding March (Figaro)- Mozart
Wedding March - Mendelssohn
Pop Music:
A Thousand Years
Ain’t no Mountain High Enough
All of Me
Beauty and the Beast
Best Part
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Can't Help Falling in Love
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Dancing in the Moonlight
First Day of My Life
God Only Knows
Here Comes the Sun
How Sweet It Is
I’m Yours
Invisible String
Isn't She Lovely
Just The Two of Us
Just The Way You Are
Love Story
Marry Me
Marry You
Perfect
Stand by Me
Thinking Out Loud
The End of the World
What a Wonderful World
When I Fall in Love
You Are So Beautiful
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
You Belong with Me
Jazz Music:
All of Me
All the Things You Are
As Time Goes By
Autumn Leaves
Blue Moon
Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You
Cheek to Cheek
Come Fly with Me
Days of Wine and Roses
Fly Me To the Moon
Fragile
How High the Moon
I've Never Been in Love Before
I've Got You Under My Skin
It Had to Be You
Misty
My Funny Valentine
Satin Doll
Summertime
The Girl from Ipanema
The Way You Look Tonight
There Will Never Be Another You
What a Wonderful World
What Is This Thing Called Love
When I Fall in Love
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To
Folk Music:
Dot the Dragon's Eyes
Caledonia
Tango Music:
Histoire du Tango Suite
Oblivion
Libertango
Escualo
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