No ‘Canon in D’ here
A Milwaukee startup uses algorithms to select music for weddings.
No “Canon in D.” Aycha Sawa knew that much.
Sawa didn’t want to play the same wedding songs as every other couple during her ceremony last September. But, Sawa said, she needed musical advice.
She heard about Dream City Strings through the disc jockey she hired for the reception. The Milwaukee-based startup uses algorithms to select music for wedding ceremonies and assemble teams of local musicians.
“As a bride, you don’t totally know what you’re doing all the time,” Sawa said. “It’s not every day you plan events like this.”
She worked with the company to create a song list for her classic and elegant, 140guest wedding at the Wisconsin Club.
As Sawa walked down the aisle, a cello-flute-violin trio from Dream City Springs played “Prince of Denmark’s March.”
Orchestral conductor and selftaught programmer Jared Judge started Dream City Strings in Milwaukee with musician Keaton Viavattine less than two years ago. Dream City Strings sent ensembles to perform at more than 90 weddings last year.
More than 70 couples have booked the company for 2018 ceremonies, as of Monday. Dream City Strings also has packages for corporate retreats and events.
The idea, Judge said, was to streamline the process of hiring musicians and make sure they were paid.
“Violinists, cellists, violists, flutists — they need a platform like Dream City Strings to connect them
with wedding and event planners,” he said.
“There are fewer and fewer opportunities for these musicians to perform with the skills they’ve honed over many years of hard work in conservatories and classrooms, but there are still plenty of people who would love to hear them make music.”
Here’s how Dream City Strings works: Couples take a music style quiz on the Dream City Strings website that asks about preferred genres, wedding theme and style of ceremony. The algorithm designs a one-of-a-kind playlist for a prelude, procession and after the ceremony.
In one sampling of the pairings for a modern romantic outdoor ceremony, Dream City Strings recommended a string quartet to play for the 200 guests. For classical and pop music options, the algorithm suggested “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys, “Marry Me” by Train and “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles.
Those were just suggestions for the processional, unity ceremony and recessional. Couples can add or delete songs as they like. More than 150 songs are in the company’s repertoire. Dream City Strings also will learn new songs if there’s something a couple really wants to hear.
Once couples pick a package, they are matched with classically trained musicians. The company has a roster of more than 85 classically trained musicians based in Milwaukee, Chicago and Rochester, New York. Judge auditions the flute, cello, viola and violin players through an app he designed.
Musicians communicate with the planners through the app to make sure the ceremony is seamless.
The platform operates in three cities: Milwaukee, Chicago and Rochester. In the next six months, Judge said, Dream City Strings will enter markets in three more cities.
“We’re pretty aggressive,” Judge said. “We think we’ve found a good solution.”
The company opened a seed investment round to raise $200,000 so Dream City Strings can hire a chief technology officer and a chief marketing officer.
Dream City Strings was named to Wedding Wire’s 2018 Couple’s Choice Awards and The Knot’s 2018 Best of Weddings. A group of musicians from the group will perform at the local wedding showcase WEDMKE Sunday at Turner Hall Ballroom.