Nothing can transport you into the world of a gathering quite like music. Regardless of lavish table settings, glamorous décor and tasty food and drinks, a party is simply incomplete without a soundtrack. Viva La Strings, Nashville’s prime string ensemble, recognizes this essential fact and closes the gap between a good event and an exceptional one. “Musicians are critical to the success of events,” says Jacob Tudor. “Music is a make-it-or-break-it expense.”
Setting the Scene
Pendra Lee Snyder founded Viva La Strings in 2008 in Jacob’s hometown, Dayton, Ohio, to provide more opportunities for local musicians to bring high-quality performances to the world of events. Jacob started playing violin and viola with the organization around age 13 — and has stuck with it for nearly half his life.
After moving to Nashville for grad school in 2015, Jacob asked Pendra if he could start a new Viva La Strings branch — and he did. “I moved down here and was like, ‘There’s so much opportunity for something like this,’” says Jacob. “At the time, musicians were not really seen as equal vendors in the event community.”
When the Nashville branch launched, this disparity quickly reversed — and Viva La Strings’ business model spread throughout the city. After all, the group doesn’t just feature state-of-the-art musicianship. It offers a playful twist on a traditional string ensemble, transforming modern pop hits into elegant classical arrangements. “Ten years ago today [has been] the biggest shift I’ve seen,” says viola and violin player Amy Wilson. “It used to be traditional classics, and now we’re playing all these fun songs.”
Tuning the Strings
How do Viva La Strings’ set lists vary, you ask? The ensemble can play anything from “At Last” by Etta James to “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift — or “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga, if you crave a more energetic evening. This versatile repertoire is customized according to each client’s wishes, and clients can decide how involved they’d like to be in choosing the soundtrack.
When Nfocus spoke with Jacob and Amy in October, it was prime wedding season — and Viva La Strings had seven events booked that weekend alone. “There’s such a huge volume of things we do that it has to be organized,” says Jacob. “My focus now is performing, and I’m so glad we have [Lila Bearden] to do [administration], because she is spectacular at it. It’s a business, and we are busy and receiving inquiries all the time — one to three years in advance.”
But the most important aspect of planning, of course, is finding the best players for each event. “We want the right people,” says Jacob. “We want people that are fun, that are energetic, that enjoy doing it, that are charismatic with our clients, and when we show up on the day of, we’re a part of [an event] as much as anything else.”
Hitting the Stage
Performing with determination is essential for making important events as momentous as possible. “We’re playing something really special for people, whether it’s their wedding day, or whether they’re hosting a dinner at home for their friends,” says Jacob. “Those are really intimate moments, so bringing a high level of artistry and music that is special to people is a huge honor as a musician.”
This reverence for live events inspires Viva La Strings players to take these gigs as seriously as they would an onstage symphony performance. “In fact, I feel the pressure a little more,” says Amy. “There’s only one of us on each part, rather than a whole section, and it’s their wedding day, their birthday or a really important event in their life. I definitely feel honored to be a part of their day, and I’m happy to play it.”
Throughout his musical career, Jacob has played at extravagant events — including radio personality Bobby Bones’ wedding, where Viva La Strings musicians, clad in white tuxedos and dresses, carefully carried their instruments across wooden planks onto floating pods in a pool. But some of his favorite moments happen when the ensemble is in the background — as invisible artisans crafting the mood.
“The [number] of times that someone will come up and be like, ‘I had no idea that you guys were here. I thought this was recorded music, and I’m mind-blown right now,’ — that’s an amazing compliment,” says Jacob. “We just opened their minds. Real people in your community make this high-quality music. But when it’s live, it’s like ‘Oh my god. You’re kidding.’”
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