Kate O’Brien, violinist, music arranger and leader for OBrien Strings, enjoys making special events come alive with the music you want to hear at wedding ceremonies, receptions, parties, concerts, private and public events throughout CT and neighboring NY, MA and RI. She personalizes her enormous repertoire for you with current and past popular and romantic songs, elegant classical selections, jazz, rock, soul, blues, folk and ethnic music. Her most popular ensembles are her STRING TRIO and VIOLIN/GUITAR DUO. She plays SOLO and strolling VIOLIN. She enjoys taking requests for what people want to hear. Gentle amplification available, discounts offered for longer engagements.
We hired O'Brien Strings for our Valentine's Day Wine Dinner and they were fabulous. The guitar and violin duo was perfect for the evening. The played a wonderful selection of romantic songs! Very pleasant to work with, and would recommend them to anyone looking for live entertainment for an event!
Response from OBrien Strings:
Thanks so much, Maddie. You and your team were the best. Hope to see you again sometime!
Kate obrien provided the perfect backdrop for our rehearsal dinner! She played all the songs we requested, arrived early looking so elegant and her music was lovely! She was so friendly and agreeable to work with that i highly recommend her as a wonderful addition to any event!
It was lovely to have Kate and the O'Brien Strings at our association president's reception. The music list was perfect for background, ambient music for our guests to talk and mingle.
I hired O'Brien Strings for our wedding and Kate provided lovely music during the ceremony. She added that touch of distinctive elegance that we wanted. She was punctual and talented, and sounded great.
I booked O'Brien Strings for our 6/14/14 wedding, and I cannot complain. Kate arrived on time and played her violin as guests were being seated and throughout the ceremony. She played all the selections I requested during specific times. Thank you Kate for adding that distinctive touch of elegance to our wedding ceremony.
When I first got engaged I contacted Kate O'Brien. She was pleasant and helpful. After our first few emails, she sent me a complimentary CD to help me plan my wedding ceremony. She also provided me with a sample of a Catholic Ceremony with music suggestions provided. The list and the CD made it easy for me to select the music for my ceremony. Kate also made contact with my cantor so that she could sing along with the ensemble. On the day of my wedding, she stuck to the plan/song list we discussed prior and it made my ceremony absolutely beautiful. With the trio playing and me walking down the aisle, my groom was almost in tears! I highly recommend Kate O'Brien for any event!
Although we were getting married in Connecticut (where Michelle grew up), we were doing the majority of our wedding planning from our home in Pennsylvania. We were drawn to the OBrien Strings after reviewing the listed repertoire on their website, but it was seeing Kate's genuine enthusiasm for our plan to combine traditional and popular music for our ceremony and cocktail reception that ultimately led to our decision to work with her. She even embraced the challenge of arranging "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band for string trio so we could exit the chapel as husband-and-wife to "our song"! We couldn't have been happier about working with the OBrien Strings -- their musicianship and professionalism helped make our wedding day everything we envisioned it to be.
I can't even begin to tell you how many of our guests came up to us during and after the reception complimenting your performance. Your selection of music was perfect and your interaction with our guests
was tastefully done.
Thank you for a true 'professiona'l performance.
It was a pleasure working with the O’Brien Strings TRIO from beginning to end! They were very professional and talented.
Also, they were very easy going and took care of everything (including weather preparation) so that we didn’t have to worry about anything.
For our ceremony, we asked them to perform a song (by Journey) and it was perfectly written and executed.
Our guests would not stop talking about the O’Brien Strings TRIO and how great they performed at our ceremony and cocktail hour.
They made our day one of a kind and we would highly recommend them!
Obrien Strings performed a violin/guitar duo at Elm City Market for our St. Patricks day event. They were wonderful, timely, talented and personable! The ambiance that afternoon was set to say the least! Would definitely hire again, you should too!
Price Range: $175. and up
Gig Length: 60 - 180 minutes
Insurance: $1,000,000 - American Federation of Musician's - Musicians Liability Insurance plan
Unions: AFM
Kate plays all kinds of music. She moves seamlessly from elegant classical to swing and jazz, country fiddling, current rock, popular songs and ethnic music. She has extensive experience playing and leading ensembles at weddings, receptions, private events, concerts, schools, restaurants and recording studios. She loves writing her own arrangements so you can hear the music you want – requests are welcome!
Kate O'Brien, violin, is the leader and music arranger for OBRIEN STRINGS, playing SOLO and with her small ENSEMBLES at all types of musical events, restaurants/clubs, weddings and concerts.
Her VIOLIN/GUITAR DUO is one of a kind, playing everything from current rock and romantic songs, jazz, rock and romantic standards from the 1920s to 2023, Broadway tunes, music from the movies, all kinds of ethnic music, elegant classical and foot-stomping fiddles tunes. They have been playing together for many years at restaurants, weddings and all kinds of private events.
Her STRING TRIO delights everyone with their long list of Kate's arrangements of current and past popular and romantic songs, rock, soul and country tunes, elegant classical music, ethnic music and and more. They play lots of wedding ceremonies, receptions and concerts/presentations at all kinds of private events.
Kate's had a long career with several orchestras, playing for local performances of musical shows and operas, as well as swing, dance, country and rock bands including the 40s style swing vocal trio MOXIE.
She studied jazz with the legendary Linc Chamberland, continues to arrange music for all her ensembles and loves it all. There is no end to the joy that live music brings!
Kate plays both acoustic and amplified violin. When its appropriate to be gently amplified, she and her musicians provide their own amplifiers. We also bring our own music stands, stand lights and extension cords. OBrien Strings ensembles can play outside from Spring to early Fall, but the musicians must be in the shade (a tree or tent is fine) to protect the varnish of fine instruments, and inside or under cover of a tent or porch in case of any rain whatsoever. If it is too cold for the musicians, it will be too cold for your guests to enjoy being outside also.
| September 07, 2024 • 1:00pm - 3:00pm | Baby Shower |
| December 24, 2023 • 4:00pm - 5:00pm | Christmas Party |
| June 23, 2023 • 6:30pm - 6:45pm | Surprise |
| December 11, 2022 • 11:00am - 1:00pm | Birthday Party |
| February 12, 2022 • 6:00pm - 10:00pm | Holiday Party |
| December 11, 2021 • 7:00pm - 9:00pm | Cocktail Party |
| May 11, 2018 • 5:30pm - 6:30pm | Wedding Cocktail Hour |
| June 15, 2017 • 8:00pm - 10:00pm | Cocktail Party |
Kate can help make a music list that matches your ideas and vision. Playing your favorite songs and music will make memorable one-of-a-kind experiences that you and your guests will remember for years to come. We can match the theme of an event, or different moods, throughout the time frame.
Please visit the OBrien Strings website for the extensive song and music lists on the Song Lists page, with categories to click on under each ensemble. Kate enjoys taking requests. What do you want to hear?
| OBrien Strings | solo violin or ensemble |
We only need to be close to a power source in case we need to plug in lights or small amps.
Wilton, CT 
Harpist
49 Verified Bookings Joan S. said “Wendy is such an accomplished musician and consummate professional. She provided the music for a family memorial service, conferring with the minister…”
Stony Brook, NY
String Quartet
318 Verified Bookings Rory M. said “Our cellist showed up early to set up and played beautifully. Knowing when to transition between songs could have been better, but part of that was my…”
Redding, CT
String Quartet
8 Verified Bookings Barb L. said “Very easy team to work with, delivered exactly as described. Professional and beautifully played.”
Hartford, CT
Violinist
91 Verified Bookings Victoria C. said “Sandro was amazing! He met all our needs and more. With the willingness to announce us as a couple when we walked in, to making sure our favorite songs…”
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