Wedding Violinist & Pianist on Long Island

Julie Schatz performs Long Island weddings from Brooklyn studio base, covering Nassau and Suffolk Counties for ceremonies, cocktail hours, and private events. Gold Coast country clubs, North Shore estates, South Shore catering halls, and Suffolk waterfront properties are all on the regular calendar. Featured venues include Oheka Castle in Huntington, Westbury Manor, Coral House in Baldwin, The Garden City Hotel, North Hills Country Club in Manhasset, The Inn at New Hyde Park, Hendrick's Tavern in Roslyn, Mio Posto in Merrick, One10 in Melville, and Woodbury Jewish Center.

What Long Island couples are asking for right now

Long Island weddings tend to lean traditional at the ceremony and contemporary at the reception. The ceremony repertoire skews toward classical (Canon in D, Pachelbel, Bach's Air on the G String) and cinematic modern (A Thousand Years, Make You Feel My Love arranged for solo violin). Cocktail hour shifts to jazz piano or violin-and-keyboard with standards and contemporary R&B reimagined for the room. Catering halls and country clubs often have their own house DJ for the reception, so Julie's most-booked Long Island configuration is solo violin for the ceremony plus jazz piano for cocktail hour, then handing the room off to the venue's DJ.

Logistics for Long Island weddings

Long Island travel is built into the zone-pricing tier; ceremonies in Nassau and western Suffolk are routine same-day round trips from Brooklyn. Eastern Suffolk (Riverhead and out) and Hamptons destinations are custom-quoted with travel time factored in. Long Island catering halls almost always have in-house sound systems, but Julie brings her own portable PA as a backup and for outdoor ceremonies on the property. Country club ceremonies often happen on a lawn or by a water feature 50 to 200 feet from the indoor cocktail-hour space, which means two setups in one booking; the load-in playbook accounts for this. Suffolk Sunday afternoon weddings are common, and arrival timing is built around weekend LIE traffic.

Common questions about Long Island bookings

How much does a Long Island wedding violinist cost?

Long Island falls in the zone-pricing tier. Solo violin ceremony coverage on Long Island starts at $745, the most-booked ceremony + cocktail hour package is $1,100, and the full-day soloist (ceremony + cocktail + dinner) is $1,950. The Soul Shades violin-and-piano duo starts at $2,550 (Long Island ceremony) or $3,350 (ceremony + cocktail). Eastern Suffolk and Hamptons venues are custom-quoted based on distance from Brooklyn. See full rate sheet →

What Long Island venues has Julie performed at?

Across Nassau and Suffolk: Oheka Castle (Huntington), Westbury Manor, Coral House (Baldwin), The Garden City Hotel, The Inn at New Hyde Park, North Hills Country Club (Manhasset), Hendrick's Tavern (Roslyn), Mio Posto (Merrick), One10 (Melville), and Woodbury Jewish Center. The full venue list is available on the venues page, and new venues are added as the calendar fills. If your venue is not listed, send an inquiry; Julie regularly performs at first-time Long Island venues.

Do you travel to the Hamptons and eastern Suffolk?

Yes. Hamptons weddings, North Fork weddings, and eastern Suffolk destination events are custom-quoted with travel and any required lodging factored into the package. For peak-season Saturday dates in the Hamptons, the earlier the inquiry the better; mid-summer Saturdays tend to book 6 to 12 months in advance.

Can you play an outdoor ceremony at a country club or estate?

Outdoor Long Island ceremonies are a regular part of the calendar. Acoustic violin performs beautifully on a lawn or by a water feature without amplification for guest counts under about 80; for larger ceremonies or windy waterfront sites, the battery-powered amp is part of standard setup. Wireless lavalier mics for officiants and vows are included on request.

Can one musician cover both ceremony and cocktail hour at a Long Island catering hall?

That is the most-booked Long Island configuration. Solo violin for the ceremony on the lawn or terrace, then a switch to jazz piano or violin-and-keyboard for cocktail hour in the adjacent indoor space. One musician means a single load-in, a single point of contact for the venue coordinator, and one combined fee rather than two separately booked ensembles. The venue's house DJ typically takes the reception from there.

How far in advance should we book a Long Island wedding violinist?

For Saturday weddings in peak season (May through October) at popular Nassau venues, 6 to 12 months out is typical. Off-season dates, Sunday weddings, and intimate weeknight ceremonies often book on much shorter timelines, sometimes 3 to 4 weeks. Hamptons summer Saturdays book the earliest of any Long Island date.

Do you cover synagogue and church ceremonies on Long Island?

Yes. Faith-community ceremonies are a regular part of the schedule, including past performances at Woodbury Jewish Center. House-of-worship ceremonies have their own pre-service rehearsal timing and music coordinator workflow; Julie arrives early enough to coordinate with the clergy or music director and reviews any restrictions on amplification before the date.