Musical heartstrings

Maura Kropke combines class with classical. The Wilmington musician's violin stylings are much in demand at weddings, anniversary parties, fundraisers and special events. Whether she's softly playing in the Lebanon Chapel at Airlie Gardens or blending with the ocean waves at Emerald Isle, her music is perfection — even at a shopping mall food court, but more later on that time she played a Sbarro.

Maura Kropke will play 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at Wrightsville Manor as part of the Courtyards & Cobblestones wedding weekend. From 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, Jan. 20, she'll be playing the Courtyard & Cobblestones Sunday brunch at the Marriott in downtown Wilmington.

Kropke took up violin at age 5.

“It was my parents' decision," she said. "I was a Suzuki kid.”

Home was Jersey City, N.J. Kropke attended the School for Strings in New York City, as well as the Manhattan School of Music, and later graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her first music was classical and she has “pretty much been a soloist," she said. "I played in various orchestras as I was growing up.”

No rock violin in her resume, however — “I have done studio work for various projects and bands, but that’s about it” — and she doesn’t speak favorably about the trendy electric violins many bands use.

“I’m not a not a fan of them," she said. "I don’t particularly enjoy the tone.”

What are some of the common misconceptions about violin?

“In doing weddings and events primarily, the biggest misconception is that a violin needs amplification," she said. "It doesn’t. The sound carries very well.”

Wedding selection favorites in the past two years include Johann Pachelbel's always-popular “Canon in D," Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years," Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and "Can’t Help Falling In Love,” made famous by Elvis Presley.

Unusual requests no longer phase her.

“It’s, ‘How do I translate this pop/techno song to a single instrument and make it sound like the song,'" she said. "The truth is, someone like Rhianna just doesn’t translate too well to violin.”

Is there a difference between a violinist and a fiddler?

“It’s basically a different style of play, a different movement of music, a different mindset about where the music is going," Kropke said.

Asked about the artists she listens to, Kropke said, “How much space do I have? This could be a very long list," before citing such players as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell and Anne Akiko Meyers. Basically, she added, “I listen to everything except techno.”

If she weren’t playing violin, Kropke said, “I wouldn’t be playing anything else. This is it for me. It’s a natural extension.”

She doesn't play any other instruments, and when asked if she ever sings while playing violin, she answered, flat out, “Good God, no.”

Now about that Sbarro gig.

“It was unusual, funny and lucrative," Kropke said. "Sbarro had me play a rebranding corporate event. All the bigwigs were there for three hours. It was at the food court at the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh,” which, she added, “had surprisingly good acoustics.”

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Learn more

For more on Wilmington violinist Maura Kropke, visit her web site at WeddingViolinist.net.