Palm Strings Duo

Michael Hoole, guitar, and Titia Blake, violin, have performed as a duo since 1997, providing background music for incentive tours and promotions, as well as playing at weddings, for which a personalized service is available. The numerous venues, at which they have performed include wine estates such as Constantia Uitsig, Buitenverwachting, Spier, Morgenhof, and Rhebokskloof, as well as major hotels such as The Lord Charles, Table Bay, Mount Nelson, Cape Sun, and Cape Grace. Their broad repertoire suits any occasion (a few examples are listed below.) This duo is noted for its ability to adapt to any situation or to prepare any prior requests. Due to the fact that everything is played by memory, they are able to establish direct audience contact, thus enabling them to establish an appropriate mood.

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Palm Strings Quartet

Simple music to augment the mood of any function - an incentive, a convention, a wedding - an elegant event of any sort. Palm Strings is quite well known in restaurants, wineries, and in conferences and private parties throughout the Western Cape. They also perform regularly in churches and concert halls, as well. The high quality of their performances attest to the excellent reputation they have acquired. Whatever the function for which you are seeking top notch music, Palm Strings versatile repertoire can provide the right atmosphere. If you are seeking a specific classical sound, the Palm Strings quartet (2 violins, viola and cello) has provided the right touch for the right moment for over a decade.

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PALM STRINGS DUO REPERTOIRE

Please click on the blue, underlined titles to hear the music clips.

Classical
Bach Air on G
Bach Sonate in C
Bach/Gounod Ave Maria
Pachelbel Cannon in D
Charpentier, Prelude to Te Deum *
L. Boccherini Minuet
Clarke Trumpet Voluntary *
Giuliani Six Leichte Stucke
Charpentier Prelude to Te Deum
Debussy claire de Lune
Delibes Flower Duet from Lakme
Gluck/Kreisler Melodie
Handel – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba *
Hornpipe Water Music
Haydn three Pieces
Martini-Kreisler Andantino
Monti Czardas
Mozart Andante from Sonata no. 16 KV 545
Mozart Rondo Alla Turka
Elvira Madigan (slow movt from Piano concerto no 21)
Nessun Dorma
Stanley Trumpet Voluntary
Vivialdi – Spring from Four Seasons
Vivaldi Largo from Winter
Vivaldi Preludio and Corrente from Sonate no 8
Kreisler Liebeslied
Liebesfreud
Schon Rosmarin
Martini-Kreisler Andantino
Brahms Hungarian Dance #5
Elgar – Salut d’Amour *
Dvorak Humoresque
Puccini – O Mio Babino Caro *
Schubert – The Bee
Schubert Ave Maria
Wedding March – Midsummer Night’s Dream - Mendelssohn *
                              - Here Comes the Bride – Wagner *

Eastern European
Folk Melodies Kalinka
Ochie Chornie Volga Waltz
Invitation to Dance
Two Guitars
Gypsie Dance *

Folk Selections
Various Irish Melodies - Jigs, Reels, and Hornpipes
Drowsy Maggie *
Track from the Riverdance/Lord of the Dance
Summertime * / I Got Rhythm / It ain¹t necessarily So

African Selections
Special Star
Mama Thembu's wedding
Click Song
Btjilo ntjilo

Movies
Doctor Zhivago The Deer Hunter
Fiddler on the Roof The Godfather
She – Charles Aznavour (Nottingham Hill) *
Windmills of my Mind * / Scent of a Woman

Tangos
Albeniz
Chick Corea Armando's Rhumba
Piazola Tango & Skye
H Clebanoff Millionaires Hoedown
La Cumparsita
La Paloma
Scent of a Woman
Jealousie *

Folksongs
Choros (Brazilian Folk) *
Gypsie Kings/Inspiration
Girl from Ipanema How Insensitive
Tico Tico One Note Samba *

Jazz Standards
Ain’t She Sweet? Fascination
Hello Dolly Fly Me To the moon
My Way / Lady in Red
House of the Rising Sun / La Vie En Rose
The Shadow of Your Smile / Autumn Leaves
Misty / A Whiter Shade of Pale
Ain’t Misbehavin’ / Lullaby of Birdland
Black Orpheus
D Ellington It Don't Mean a Thing
Sweet Gerogia Brown
Bernie, Pinkard and Casey
Blue Moon
C Porter I've Got You Under my Skin
J Kander New York, New York
Mack the Knife
Someday my Prince will come
It Had to be You

Miscellaneous
Lloyd-Weber - Cats/Memory/Phantom of the Opera
Classical Gas alla Vanessa Mae
Neapolitan Songs alla Pavarotti - O Sole Mio *
French Waltzes Valse Avec Swing
La Mer Dream a Little Dream
Selections from Les Miserables
Mattinata R Leoncavallo Volare D Modugno
Johnny Pearson Sleepy Shores
Besame Mucho

Pop /Rock
Abba Selection
Beatles/Paul McCartney Selection/ Money Can’t Buy Me Love *
Simon and Garfunkel
Cold Play Viva La Vida
Sting
Have I Told You Lately Jan Morrison
U2 Pride *
Robbie Williams - Feel

* Click on these links to listen to the songs.

NB; We are prepared to accommodate special requests given sufficient time.
Titia Blake -
Tel 021 7891704
Fax 0866176798
Cell; 082-974 1270
e-mail; palmstrings@cybersmart.co.za

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PALM STRINGS QUARTET REPERTOIRE

Baroque
PACHELBEL CANON BACH - ARIA and BACH
SUITES
VIVALDI FOUR SEASONS COMPLETE
BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS
ALBINONI - ADAGIO

Classical
MOZART - STRING QUARTETS (including Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Divertimenti)
SCHUBERT - MINUETS AND TRIOS
HAYDN - QUARTETS - SERENADE
BEETHOVEN - MINUET AUS DEM SEPTET ALLEGRETTO ALLA POLACCA
BOCCHERINI MINUET, etc.

Romantic
DVORAK - HUMORESQUE HUNGARIAN - CZARDAS
ELGAR - SALUT D’AMOUR AND TWO GUITARS
CHANSON DE NUIT
KREISLER - ASSORTED
STRAUSS - WALTZES
PUCCINI - CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND THREE MINUETS
PANIS ANGELICUS - FRANCK

Wedding Music
BRIDAL CHORUS O PERFECT LOVE
WEDDING MARCH - MENDELSSOHN
ALLEGRO MAESTOSO ICH LIEBE DIC H
EIGHT OPERATIC FAVOURITES
MOZART VERDI
PUCINNI ROSSINI

Classical string quartet collection
ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA - HANDEL
VALSE - CHOPIN
MOONLIGHT AND ROSES - LEMARE
I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDESUITE: IRISH SHERRY - TRADITIONAL AND O’CAROLAN
COCK LINNET - COLLINS AND LEIGH
BOLERO - RAVEL
NESSUN DORMA - PUCINNI

Quartet cabaret for strings Volume 1 - arranged by Bill Thorp
ANYTHING GOES - PORTER
PENNIES FROM HEAVEN - JOHNSON
WEDDING DAY AT TRODAUGEN - GRIEG
VOCALISE - RACHMANINOFF
DANSE DES MIRLITONS - TCHAIKOVSKY
BARCAROLLE - OFFENBACH
PRELUDE TO CARMEN - BIZET
EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE - PORTER

Quartet cabaret for strings Volume II - arranged by Bill Thorp
LEANING ON A LAMPOST - GAY WALTZ - GRIEG
AIR - BACH
SLAVONIC DANCES - DVORAK
A NIGHTINGALE SANG RONDO ALLA TURK - MOZART
IN BERKELY SQUARE - GERSHWIN MARIA - BERNSTEIN

Quartet Cabaret for strings Volume III - arranged by Bill Thorp
MAKIN’ WHOOPEE
FUNICULI FUNICULA
MOONLIGHT IN VERMONT
NORWEGIAN DANCE #3
LET’S DO IT
TWO RONDEAUX
FLOWER DUET FROM LAKME

Quartet Cabaret for strings Volume IV - arranged by Bill Thorp
MY FUNNY VALENTINE
HORNPIPE FROM WATER
MUSICNORWEGIAN DANCE #2
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
O SOLE MIO
FIRST POLOVTSIAN DANCE
THE FOLKS WHO LIVE ON THE HILL
RAGTIME DANCE

Miscellaneous
TELLY MEDLEY
TITANIC LOVE THEME
ANDREW LLOYD WEBER - PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
CATS
MEMORY
PIE JESU
I LOVE PARIS
WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR
I WON’T DANCE - JEROME KERN
GREENSLEEVES
LONDENDERRY AIR
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - GERSHWIN
LOVE WALKED IN - GERSHWIN
THEME FROM SCHINDLER’S LIST
TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE

African Music
KWELA
SHOSHOLOZA
CLICK SONG
RETREAT SONG
WIMOWEH - ONE AND TWO

Tangos
LA CUMPARSITA
LA PALOMA

Jazz Standards
AUTUMN NOCTURNE
BODY AND SOUL
THE BIRTH OF THE BLUES
EMBRACEABLE YOU
FASCINATIN’ RHYTHM
I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU
I GOT RHYTHM
JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
LULLABY OF BIRDLAND
THE MAN I LOVE
‘ROUND MIDNIGHT
SWANEE
‘ZING WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART
BLUE TANGO
FLY ME TO THE MOON
KILLING ME SOFTLY

Leroy Anderson For Strings
BELLE OF THE BALL
BLUE TANGO
FIDDLE-FADDLE
FORGOTTEN DREAMES
HOUSE AND BUGGY
JAZZ LEGATO
JAZZ PIZZICATO
PLINK, PLANK, PLONK
SANDPAPER BALLET
SERENATA
SLEIGH RIDE
THE SYNCOPATED CLOCK
A TRUMPETER’S LULLABY
THE WALTZING CAT
THE TYPEWRITER

NB; We are prepared to accommodate special requests given sufficient time.
Titia Blake -
Tel 021 7891704
Fax 0866176798
Cell; 082-974 1270
e-mail; palmstrings@cybersmart.co.za

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About the Members

Titia Blake started her career as a violinist at the age of ten. She was chosen to tour Europe and Israel as part of the South African national youth orchestra whilst still at school. She has been playing chamber music almost as long as she has been playing the violin. After studying for a B.Mus at UCT she joined the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra as first violin.Leaving after sixteen years to pursue a freelance career as a chamber musician, she founded Palm Strings.

Lucia Scott

Italian born Lucia Scott, one of the youngest graduates of the Turin Music Conservatoire, has performed as chamber musician and soloist from an early age. She has been a member of Palm Strings since 1994 and was principal first violin in the CTPO until 1999. She is often seen as soloist on the concert platform.

Barbara Kennedy

Zimbabwean born Barbara Kennedy studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Apart from a busy schedule as a cello teacher and chamber music player, she was also a member of the CTPO.

Karen Gaertner

Karen Gaertner graduated from UCT with a Bsc in mathematics and computer science. Having been involved in chamber music from a very early age, she studied viola under the late Pierre de Groote and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She was principal viola with the CTPO.

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