Enjoy my students fall 2020 virtual violin recital. Video premieres on YouTube 11/15/2020 at 12pm. Performances feature my students, solo works for violin, an original student composition, and some student artwork inspired by the music.

Larissa

As the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many weddings during 2020 I thought it would be helpful to write a blog post addressing live classical and acoustic instrumental music at future weddings during COVID-19 and beyond. I want to help brides and wedding planners during this time and offer some hopeful ideas about creating a beautiful atmosphere during a wedding. I have been performing at weddings for over 7 years and have worked with countless brides and wedding planners to create memorable celebrations. As a violinist I contract and put together many different types of string ensembles for live wedding music. Here are some of my thoughts and tips:

Safety During Weddings: The great thing about string instruments is that they are a very low risk musical instrument and portable (easy for indoor and outdoor events and have the flexibility to move venues last minute). Violinists, violists, and cellists can wear masks when they perform and perform sitting/standing/and socially distanced. This makes these live music groups easy to work with and safe for live ceremonies. For future weddings, hiring a string quartet or soloist will look very similar to it has in the past. A string quartet or soloist can be located at the front of a church or venue, or in the back of a venue. Players will also easily be socially distanced. 

Types of Live Beautiful String Music Groups for a Wedding Ceremony:  The other great thing about stringed instruments is that they can perform a variety of genres including classical, pop, rock, folk, country, jazz, ethnic, Irish, movie soundtracks, etc. The possibilities are limitless. String instruments and classical musicians are able to adapt to any event and perform any type of music.
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-Solo Violin
-String Duet or Trio
-String Quartet
-Violin/Piano/Guitar


Thoughts for Brides and Wedding Planners: For weddings during COVID-19 and beyond hiring live musicians will be easy and seamless. I plan to set up virtual video calls with future brides and wedding planners to discuss safety and social distancing precautions for set-up, and then discuss music selections. Working with musicians should be easy and seamless. There is planning up front, but on the big day the professional musicians will create beautiful music in a safe environment and provide the atmosphere that will set your event apart and make it special. You deserve a beautiful wedding!

​If you know of any wedding planners or future brides who you think would find this helpful, please share. : )

Sincerely,
Larissa

Enjoy this Virtual Violin Recital. So proud of all the hard work my students and their parents did and are doing to practice and grow. Great work!

Gain a deeper understanding of the lives of arts industry professionals with this new series called Live Notes with Larissa. Larissa conducts a set of Q+As with different individuals from all corners of the arts industry. You will hear from musicians, composers, visual artists, arts managers, and arts educators. Watch reruns of these interviews on Larissa's Instagram account @larissa.fall or on Larissa's YouTube channel. Check out the YouTube Playlist or check out my Podcast:https://anchor.fm/larissa-fall/episodes/Lives-Notes-wLarissa-Intro-ef0trt/a-a2cs4ue?fbclid=IwAR1CUN0reo3zDEEI_ggky6voMeEDza90EEFEFzyVgD8aiyue92ddjKKRZyM 

I have decided to bring you a live stream concert experience on Wednesday, April 22nd at 7pm EST. I will be offering this experience live across multiple platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Please join me! We are living in an unprecedented time where many in the world and most American's are required to stay home. All non-essential businesses and events have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus. I hope to bring you some joy and peaceful live music during these very different circumstances. I am so thankful for technology and the ability to connect with you.

Instagram: @larissa.fall
YouTube: https://youtu.be/xk7cAjULJXo
Facebook: *Facebook is available only for my personal contacts

Please find the program below.

If you'd like to leave a tip at the end of the concert you can do so via Venmo or PayPal. Venmo @Larissa-Fall, PayPal www.paypal.me/LFall

I look forward to bringing you music!

For those of you with children or those of you who would like to learn and create as you listen to this performance, I have compiled the following activity booklet that may be printed and completed during this performance. Link to the PDF below. Enjoy!! : )

Sincerely,
Larissa

My first professional concertmaster experience occurred on February 9th, 2020 at the Listening Room in Grand Rapids with the Vintage Parlor Orchestra! Enjoy some photos.

Larissa

In November of 2019, I was a featured soloist with the Vintage Parlor Orchestra at Creston Brewery. I performed Vivaldi's Autumn with the orchestra. Enjoy these pictures from this memorable event.

Larissa

2019-2020 Lesson sign-up is open! Contact me to get a spot in my studio this year.

: )
Larissa

Enjoy a little musical treat from back in 2017.
Zhaojin Xiang, piano + Larissa Fall, violin.
Recorded by Ariel Vincent at Hope College Department of Music.

We spent a long long day in the recording studio for a few classical pieces. What a day to remember. : )

This summer only, $50 off a solo violin live event. Doesn't have to be a wedding. For booking/inquiries, contact larissa.

: )

What a year it's been! Scrolled through Instagram to reminisce on 2018. Excited for continued adventures in 2019!! Check out my Instagram account for more musical updates. @larissa.fall

ArtPrize 10 : September 19 - October 7, 2018

ArtPrize has been an energizing part of my life for the past few years. The city of Grand Rapids comes more alive, people seem more connected, the community is engaged, conversations about art are sparked, and new connections are made. This year the Grand Rapids Symphony had four entries in ArtPrize, and it was fun to be involved in such a huge community-wide endeavor. I took some photographs, you are welcome to scroll through the slideshow in this post to see some of my experiences.

No matter what my opinions seem to be about some of the artwork in the city over the years, I can't stop but think about how engaging this festival has been for the community.

Art spurs thoughts. Art can be a statement. Art can speak in ways the news and words cannot. Art is powerful.

After a decade of ArtPrize competitions, the city of Grand Rapids will see changes in the coming years. Rather than an annual city-wide competition open to anyone, "Project 1 by ArtPrize" will commence.

What is ArtPrize?
Since 2008 ArtPrize was an open, independently organized international art competition taking place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  More than five hundred thousand dollars in prizes were awarded each year, which included a $200,000 prize awarded entirely by public vote and another $200,000 prize awarded by a jury of art experts.

Starting next year, 2019, ArtPrize will now alternate years with "Project 1 by ArtPrize". This new spin on the annual competition is meant to engage a single artist or small group of artists to present a citywide public art project. Learn more at project1byartprize.org.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the community of Grand Rapids as a whole. The city has grown since 2008. I look forward to next year and the changes to come.

Linked below are my previous posts on ArtPrize 8 from 2016:

ArtPrize 8 Pt. 1
ArtPrize 8 Pt. 2

Keep creating.
Larissa

When I slow down to reflect on this past year, this past month, these past few days even - I am blown away by how many exciting adventures I have been involved in! Being a young-professional working in the creative sector, a musician, and a teacher is so busy - but SO exciting!! I honestly can't imagine my life without music. It is such a blessing to be able to live life every day creating and/or supporting something that I feel so passionate about. I am thankful I can hear so I can experience a subject matter that can help us express our souls and feelings. Where words fail, music truly does seem to speak. If for some reason I couldn't hear, the people I've met through being involved in music and the connections I have created working in the arts are also incomparable. I just wanted to write this all down. It is fun documenting my adventures on this blog. Looking back through my feed, I have seen so much growth in my own life. Re-living some of my own experiences is a nice reminder. I am so grateful. Sometimes I can't believe how much I have been involved in, how much I have learned, and how many hurdles that at first seemed daunting I was able to overcome.

Speaking of hurdles, one of my students this week was a bit discouraged at learning a daunting piece of music. I encouraged them to continue moving forward. They thought they couldn't play a certain piece, they said it was impossible, "it's too hard!" But one note at a time we walked through the piece together. I would demonstrate one finger at a time and have the student mimic me. It was a slow process, but guess what my student was able to do? They played the entire piece. They had said it would be impossible. It wasn't. That's a bit like a lot of our lives, isn't it? We have goals, we have dreams, we can feel so overwhelmed by situations we think are stressful. But one note at a time, one step at a time - we can learn. We can keep putting one foot in front of the other, and one day we will look back and realize we have accomplished more than we ever could have thought was possible. How encouraging, how exciting, how refreshing. That's what I've been reflecting on tonight.

I hope you are able to reflect and appreciate your own individual accomplishments and life this week. Count your blessings, I bet you've got more than you could imagine. I sure do. You're important. Don't forget it. You are capable of amazing things!

Larissa

I played a wedding last weekend all by myself. It was quite fun! Typically the wedding gigs I play are in ensembles: quartets, trios, duets. So I was excited to do something all by myself. It definitely gives me a bit more freedom to perform pieces I want and have some more creative decisions with the order of ceremony. The bride gave me some general guidelines but apart from that I could play pieces I wanted.

The venue for this wedding was the River Edge Bed and Breakfast in Lowell, MI. What a beautiful outdoor setting! I performed prelude music, Canon in D for the bride, and some recessional/postlude music.

Blessings to the bride and groom!
Today, I am off to perform at another wedding. This one is a violin/cello duet. So be on the look-out for a new blog soon.

:D Larissa

P.S. Below are some samples of different ensembles and what they may sound like if you are interested for an event.
<3

I wanted some new headshots, photoshoots are fun, & I made a new friend who is a photographer. This all to say, enjoy some pics of me and my violin by photographer Naomi Stafford with Radiance Photography.

I have been thinking a lot about teamwork lately - Teamwork In the corporate world as well as in the world of being a musician. Ensemble musicianship has taught me so much about teamwork that is relevant to any career. Below are some bullet points on areas I think being a musician requires teamwork. Do you use any of these tactics in the corporate world or in your workplaces?

Teamwork Necessities - Musicians:

• Knowing your material first. Each performer needs to know their part first before they can fit it in with the rest of the group. Have you practiced? Have you studied? Have you prepared? Knowing your part first can help you analyze complex situations before they arise. This could help you lead a productive meeting.
  
  
• Listening/eye contact. Listening for patterns or harmonic progressions for cues. Listening to co-workers, listening to their concerns or suggestions. You don't know everything and its good to have advisors. Being in sync with other ensemble members by watching. Sometimes facial expressions can even signal a cue for a change in tempo, mood, or be a cue.
  
  
• Not panicking during a mistake. Being able to find your place and/or recover after making a mistake is important.
  
  
• Not being critical when a teammate makes a mistake. Keep going, and try to use eye contact or other cues to help them out with pattern recognition.
  
  
• Common goal? Talking as a group to discuss how you want the piece to sound. How fast, what timbre, what style...etc. What is your vision, what is your mission? Have you taken time to define this as a team?

Successful teams have many other qualities. These are just a few. If you are a musician, the next time your perform in a group think about these. If you are not a musician, have you used any of these techniques? Did you ever think musicians needed so much interpersonal relationship skills to work towards a common goal?

Happy team-building!
Larissa

Here a some pics from a recent wedding I played with cellist Matthew Heyboer. Violin/Cello.

I performed recently with Jordan VanHemert, saxophonist in his recital at Grace Episcopal church. Really cool times, classical/jazz violin in a small ensemble with sax solos. I love branching out a bit from just classical repertoire. Picture of program is below.

Also, here is a YouTube video of Jordan and a project I was involved in a few months back. Not the same music we played in the 'Grace Notes' recital, but of similar nature.

Larissa

This Thursday, June 21st I will be performing with the Holland Symphony in the Pops at the Pier Concert with the Moxie Strings as guest artist. Come check it out!! It's a really fun venue. The concert is in a boat shed. More info at link here.

Recently I took a fun vacation to Ireland! Here are some pics of some great street musicians who were performing in Galway. I bought two of their CDs. One is some music with a spanish flare, the other is acoustic guitar music. Love em! Saw some other wonderful street musicians there as well. When I walked by, this group was playing a tango. Makes me want to take my next vacation to Spain!