It’s easy to make almost any social gathering at home more special (be it a poolside reception or an elegant dinner party): Simply add live music.
Music adds just the right touch (just the right note would be more accurate), and in Cayman, we have a number of highly professional “mobile musicians” who are comfortable blending in to the background or taking center stage.
In the next few pages, we introduce you to some of our most talented and gifted . . .
Londoner Kate Allenger, classically trained violinist, has been playing professionally for nearly 15 years, appearing at weddings, private functions and an array of commercial engagements.
Adept in a variety of genres – classical, show tunes, jazz standards, pop and country – Kate is also at home in a variety of settings: string quartets, violin and piano ensembles, and a broad mix of more contemporary units.
While frequently appearing as a solo artist, she also appears with her guitarist and singer-songwriter son Cory. Percussionist Jarrett Powell is the third member of Trinity, purveyors of folk and pop.
Website: www.caymanviolin.com
Email: kate@caymanviolin.com
Tel: (345) 925-4104
Caymanian Danielle Japal has been playing steel pan for 16 years, having studied the instrument since high school under master Earl La Pierre.
She frequently appears at private events at such local hotels as the Ritz-Carlton and the Westin Casuarina Resort, playing for weddings, dinners, and corporate events.
Specializing in Caribbean standards and easy-listening music, Danielle is also comfortable with reggae, oldies, top-40 pop and “even a little electronic dance music,” she says, seeking constantly to expand her repertoire. She is equally at home in duo, trio, and quartet settings.
Email: djapal985@gmail.com
Tel: (345) 926-8271
Paraguayan harpist Eugenio Leon has been playing the 37-nylon-stringed national instrument since he was 8 years old.
Eugenio – at home with contemporary, classical, Latin, and Caribbean styles – has toured globally for years, visiting South America, North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, in a duet and as a group member, finally settling in the Cayman Islands in the early 1990s.
He performs regularly at the Wharf Restaurant, Casanova by the Sea, and Grand Old House while continuing to tour internationally. He has appeared at hundreds of private functions, entertaining audiences he describes as “hungry to hear my music.”
Email: leonharp@candw.ky
Tel: (345) 927-8986
Multi-instrumentalist Isadora Ferrao and her Bona Fide trio have performed for a variety of functions across the island, providing ballads, contemporary, easy listening, Motown, jazz, disco, pop, reggae, calypso, soca, and even children’s music at dinners, cocktails, weddings, and private homes.
Isadora performs solo on keyboard and guitar, often partnering with Rennard on congas and Yannick on saxophone, creating a broadly flexible array of instrumental and musical styles.
Bona Fide often expands to quartet, quintet or sextet settings, adjusting to a range of requirements that may – or may not – include dancing.
Website: www.isadoraferrao.com or www.bonafidecayman.com
Email: infinitelegacycayman@gmail.com or bonafidecayman@gmail.com
Tel: (345) 326-2662 or (345) 938-3433
