Our Story:
We love performing for parties and weddings. From the traditional to the outrageous, we’ve seen (and love) it all! While planning a friend’s wedding we found it difficult to pick professional musicians. We wanted a set of musicians who were different and fun. After all, if the modern bride can find stationery, bridesmaid dresses, even ring pillows that are hip and cool - where are the musicians to plan a ceremony or party that are also hip and cool?
Members of NMB perform at The Plaza, The W Hotels, The Ritz Carlton, The St. Regis, Central Park & more and have played for notable guests such as Martha Stewart, Elizabeth Derringer, Amy Goldman and Alan Epstein. Each member is a professional NYC musician having played weddings, events, parties, solo performances and concerts for more than 12 years. They have studied with noted performers in their field and graduated with Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees from conservatories around the world.
NMB will give your event the style of today and the sound of tradition. Whether matching our shoes to your decor or music to your favorite movie, your event is unique and we will work with you to tailor our performance and repertoire to create the atmosphere you envision.
What will your soundtrack be?
Bios
Nina Smith • Kate Cassella • Kristi Shade • Lauren Riley Rigby • Sila Eser
Nina Smith
Nina, a Windy City native, lives in Manhattan with her wonderful husband Chris and puppy Emma. When she’s not playing music you can find her discovering NYC restaurants, sipping wine or knitting.
A classically trained flutist, Nina can hardly remember a day she didn’t play music. From an early age she was in love with the piano and flute. After studying both for 10 years she continued through college with flute and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University. Until 2004 she taught music in the public schools while managing her private studio and chamber ensemble - Special Occasions Trio. Every spare weekend was devoted to her Chicago based group where they performed extensively at parties, weddings, Bar Mitzvah’s and even museum launches. Over the course of her music career Nina has studied with flutists Peter Middleton, Robert Dick and Donna Milanovich and has won finalist spots in festivals around the nation.
After moving to New York City, Nina worked to launch the company sweetriot — makers of tiny yummy chocolates. (At your local Whole Foods :) Combining this experience with her first love — music — she brings you Nina’s Music Book.
Kate Cassella
Kate loves living in New York City with her 2 roommates and cat, Matzah Ball. However, she does often long for the rainy days of her hometown, Portland, Oregon, where, at age 3, she began learning the violin from her mother. When she’s not teaching and performing in New York City, Kate enjoys running in Central Park and spending time with her three great loves; chocolate, coffee, and wine.
Kate received her training from Peabody Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music, where she completed her Bachelors in Music Performance. She is currently on faculty at the Bloomingdale School of Music and maintains her own private studio in NYC. In addition to teaching, she is a member of the quartet, “Silhouette” and performs extensively as a free-lance musician. Kate enjoys performing many genres of music, and has worked with such artists as Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Bobby McFerrin, and Clay Aiken.
Kristi Shade
Kristi began her harp studies at the tiny age of 2. Since her first lesson (lasting all of 15 minutes!) she has gone on to study at the University of Miami, where she earned her Bachelor of Music with a minor in Music Business followed by Manhattan School of Music, where she completed her Masters of Music. Some career highlights include performing at Carnegie Hall with John Rutter, with Doc Severinsen in L.A., on Broadway with the musicals Gypsy and The Apple Tree, and on ABC’s All My Children as the harpist for Susan Lucci’s tenth wedding!
Besides Ms. Lucci’s nuptials, Kristi has performed numerous weddings, parties and events since 1994. She was born in Minnesota, relocated to Georgia and now resides in Manhattan with her puppy, Darcy and husband Chris. She loves spending time with friends, enjoying the outdoors and becoming a better cook!
Lauren Riley Rigby
Lauren is an active cellist and composer in and around New York City where she lives with her husband — and saxophonist — Jason Rigby. She received a Bachelors of Music from Boston University as well as a Masters of Arts from New York University. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in New York University’s performance program. Lauren enjoys many things in her leisure hours like horseback riding, camping, running, and tasting red wines. She is a huge fan of Tori Amos and Gustav Klimt!
Lauren is on faculty at NYU, Great Neck Music Conservatory and Larchmont Music Academy and was also part of the New York Pops Mentor program. She has performed with Numinous, Bianchi Musica, the Chelsea Opera Company, the NJ Phil and many others. Passionate about improvisation and composition, Lauren can be heard on recordings by Seymour Glass, vocalist Stevie Holland, saxophonist Jason Rigby, and bassist John Benitez. Check them out!
Sila Eser
She is a rarity in the world of viola players: Sila has never played the violin! She was born and raised in Istanbul Turkey and since age 11, has been dedicated to making sure the viola is taken seriously and not just considered the ugly stepsister of the violin.
After finishing studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with violist Roger Benedict, she moved to the United States to study with Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet at Northern Illinois University. Soon after, she was invited to Yale University under famed viola pedagogue Jesse Levine and the Tokyo Quartet. (She really, really loves chamber music!) Following this, Larry Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet took her as his only student, to SUNY, where she obtained her DMA in viola performance. Over the past 10 years, Sila has been the principal violist of over a dozen symphony orchestras across the US and Europe. She has played chamber music with the Tokyo Quartet, the Vermeer Quartet, Emerson, Mark Fewer, Edgar Meyer, David Shifrin, Richard Killmer, and under the batons of Christophe Esenbach, Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim and John Williams.
In between gigs, you can usually find her sitting in a fancy NYC lounge with an extra-dirty dry martini.