Meet the Founders
We’re Nashville string players who met through a mutual colleague and instantly became fast friends.
It only took one wine + charcuterie night to realize we both love weddings, have a passion for music and performance, as well as experience running our own respective businesses to decide to join forces!
Through years of being orchestral string players in Nashville, we’re grateful to know the most talented string players middle Tennessee has to offer.
Our dream is to partner with you to bring a joyful and timeless string experience to your Wedding or Special Event.
We are so proud to present Southern Strings to you and we hope you look to us to provide the perfect ambiance for your special occasion!
Hi! We’re Kristi and Claire!
What We Love About Weddings
From obsessing over Say Yes to the Dress and Love Is Blind to our mutual love of LOVE, Claire and Kristi have always adored seeing couples tie the knot.
Collectively, we’ve played hundreds of weddings over the years and the only thing we enjoy more than playing together in small groups is providing the music to ensure the right mood for a Bride’s special day! Southern Strings is our way of combining our love of Weddings and Music, and we can’t wait to share in the biggest day of your life.
Founder Bios
Claire Kane Whitcomb
Southern Strings Coordinator
Claire began playing piano at 4 years old, viola at age 12, and violin in high school while studying with Dan Reinker, principal violist of the Nashville Symphony, at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music pre-college program.
She received her Bachelor's of Music degree from Middle TN State University under the tutelage of Sarah Cote and went on to achieve her Master's of Music Degree from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Juilliard’s Masao Kawasaki and Catharine Carroll. There, she also studied orchestral excerpts with the principal violist of the Cincinnati Symphony, Christian Colberg.
Claire was a tenured string player with the West Virginia Symphony and Lexington Philharmonic. She is a formal substitute with the Cincinnati Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, and many other orchestras.
With over 10 years teaching violin, viola, and piano she began her own online teaching company through Whitcomb Studios in 2014, just north of Nashville, TN.
Claire’s YouTube Channel features her own arrangements and performances of classical and popular tunes where she plays a variety of instruments like ukulele, glockenspiel, melodica, violin, viola, piano, and percussion.
Kristi Monte
Director of Client Relations
Kristi began playing violin at the age of 6, and has performed with multiple symphonies and orchestras in her career including the Parthenon Chamber Orchestra, the James Madison University Symphony, and the Orchestra of Saint Peter by the Sea. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Instrumental Music Education at James Madison University where she studied under Julliard’s Dr. Wanchi Huang.
Over the years, Kristi has performed at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Kean University, the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, and many other venues throughout the Eastern United States.
Kristi has been an experienced professional in the Wedding Industry for years prior to starting Southern Strings, leading her award-winning ensemble Got Strings to become one of the most successful Wedding Ensembles in the state of Virginia. Once she relocated to Nashville however, she couldn’t stay away from the Wedding Industry for long! So she founded Southern Strings with Claire and, in addition, her own private violin studio where she teaches many beginning and intermediate students alike.
Kristi plays with a distinctive vibe at every event, effortlessly bringing each piece to life. When she is not practicing for a Southern Strings event, Kristi is either playing with her Australian Shepherd Bowie, enjoying her husband Addison’s delicious home cooking, or treating herself with a glass of wine on the porch!
