About Us
- Euphony Strings is a string trio based in the metro Detroit area. We are made up of a cellist, 1st violinist, and a 2nd violinist who also plays guitar. We all began playing classical music very young, studying the Suzuki Method for many years in private and group music lessons. We all met while playing in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony about 16 years ago and began gigging together at weddings and other events and occasions about 15 years ago. The addition of guitar to our playing has opened up a new world of music and possibilities, greatly extending our range of musical selections and styles. Utilizing guitar, we can now do excellent arrangements of songs we previously could not, like Beatles tunes, light jazz, jazz improv, folk, and much more. Our violin, cello, guitar pieces are truly unique and something you will not find with other string groups. Our group chemistry is unique as well. We have known one another for many years and are dear friends, which has led to excellent group chemistry that clients and others who have seen us together always have a very good time watching and being a part of. We greatly enjoy interacting with one another and with our clients. We really make it a priority to make our clients’ events and occasions special and personalized. Each job we play is not just another pay check to us. It is an opportunity to make someone’s wedding, anniversary, etc., a very sentimental, personal, and memorable time. We take great pride and joy in playing for our clients and guests. We love playing and love playing together. If you have any questions about anything, please email us.
Jeremy is a 31 year old musician and member of Euphony Strings who works as a Medical Technologist at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of the city of Detroit. He plays violin and assumes the lead role in Euphony Strings, dealing with the business end of the group, interacting and corresponding with clients and potential clients, and leading much of the music during performances. Jeremy began studying the classical violin starting at age 5 with Patricia Reiter, an honored and awarded musician and music educator in Metro Detroit. He continued studying with Patricia Reiter for many years, earning scholarships and other awards for his playing. Through middle and high school, he played with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and attended the Interlochen School for the Performing Arts during the summers, playing with the All-State Orchestra. Jeremy also began to play with the Dearborn Symphony during high school, serving as principal second violinist eventually when he played regularly with the orchestra. He continues to be a paid member of the orchestra. Jeremy attended Wayne State University where he received a Bachelors of Biology. During college, Jeremy studied with Charlotte Merkerson, a prominant violinist who plays in many orchestras and tours like the Detroit Opera House and Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, and Geoffrey Applegate principal second violinist of the Detroit Symphony. He played with the Wayne State University Orchestra and took several music classes. After graduation, Jeremy pursued a masters degree at Wayne State University in education but changed his course, attending and completing his Bachelors of Medical Technology and board certification from Michigan State University. While attending MSU, he played with the Jackson Orchestra. He still occasionally fills in for various orchestras in the area in addition to the Dearborn Symphony, like the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra and local shows including Lori Morgan and Harry Connick Jr. Jeremy also plays weekly at his church and has played on several recordings the church has released. Jeremy has many other interests and specialty skills as well. When he isn’t out on his motorcycle cruising, he enjoys photography, especially landscapes. He contributes photos to Kittredge Gallery.
Laura is a 28 year old wife, Board Certified Music Therapist, and member of Euphony Strings. She primarily plays the cello with Euphony Strings but is also a proficient guitarist, which she utilizes as a Music Therapist. She works at Children’s Hospital of Michigan where she founded and established a music therapy program from the ground up, searching out donor and funding sources, performing research and data collection, presenting and holding workshops and conferences, and working countless hours. Her program has flourished and served countless children, parents, and staff over the last 5 years. As her program has grown, it has drawn more and more attention and support from donors, hospital staff and patients, and media sources. The growth of her program has necessitated the hiring of an additional Music Therapist and is a sign of the success of the program. She continues to grow and develop the music therapy program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, holding daily groups, individual sessions, research, data collection, presenting, coordinating, and many more essential tasks. You can read and learn more about Laura’s Music Therapy Program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan by clicking here. If you are interested in donating to the Music Therapy program at Children's Hospital, please email us by clicking here
Laura attended Michigan State University where she earned her Bachelors of Music Therapy degree and later passed her board exams. She interned as a Music Therapist with a children’s program in New York before returning to Detroit to found her own program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Laura worked her way through college, holding a part time job as well as teaching cello. While starting the program at Children’s, she supported herself working as a music teacher at a private school, teaching private cello lessons, and giving music therapy sessions.
Laura began playing violin as a young child but wanted to sit while playing so switched to cello. She studied the cello privately for many years and into college and was a member of many musical ensembles, including Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and Interlochen School for the Performing Arts summer orchestral program. She has received many scholarships and awards for her playing. Laura attended Cass Tech High School where she played the cello in many ensembles from jazz to classical, earning a reputation as a superb musician and artist. Laura plays on occasion with a local Irish group at various locations in Detroit.
Laura’s primary instrument is cello, but she has become proficient on guitar and utilizes the instrument on a daily basis while leading music therapy groups and individual sessions. She has developed many songs, lyrics, and group lessons and formats during her work as a music therapist. Her improvisational abilities on guitar, cello, and voice are excellent. While her work as a music therapist is highly organized and planned, there is also a large degree of improvisation. She regularly improvises during music therapy sessions and with individuals as it is difficult to always plan for everything when working with children in a dynamic setting like children’s Hospital.
In addition to her work as a musician and Music Therapist, Laura has many other interests and special skills. Laura composes, arranges, and writes music for gigs, work, church, and other events. She is actively involved in her church and plays regularly there. She greatly enjoys photography and has a magnificent eye for balance, composition, color, and other key elements of great picture compositions. She has recorded on several albums including the score for a small local independent film and an album produced by a local church. Laura recently got married and now resides in Port Huron with her husband. Her wedding experience has yielded many excellent resources for Euphony String customers to take advantage of, like photographers, DJ’s, florists, videographers, etc. Click here to see all of Euphony Strings’ links.
Aaron Kittredge is a 28 year old husband, musician, and artist residing in the Detroit metropolitan area. Born and raised in the Detroit area, he now works as the School Social Worker for a local school district during the day and works on art, photography, and music in the evenings and on weekends. He attended Henry Ford Community College where he received an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science degree. He then attended Wayne State University where he earned his Bachelors of Social Work degree. Aaron went on to earn his Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan.
Aaron began studying classical violin at age 4 with Patricia Reiter, an honored and awarded musician and music educator in Metro Detroit, utilizing the Suzuki Method. In late high school, he studied with Charlotte Merkerson, a prominant violinist who plays in many orchestras and tours like the Detroit Opera House and Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra. Throughout the years, Aaron has played in various ensembles, duets, trios, recitals, and other genres and events. He played in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony for 7 years starting in 6th grade and was accepted to and played with the All-State Orchestra at the Interlochen School for the Fine and Performing Arts. He has received numerous scholarships and awards for his violin playing and has recorded on several albums. In addition to playing the violin, Aaron is a self taught guitarist, trumpeter, music composer, and sound engineer. He began playing the trumpet in middle school and still gigs on occasion. He started teaching himself the guitar in high school and in college took a year of private lessons. He is now an accomplished guitarist focusing on Spanish and classical style guitar. Aaron has composed many works for strings, guitar, and trumpet. He is currently a member of Euphony Strings, in which he plays violin and guitar. He most recently composed, recorded, and produced the score for a local independent film and will soon be working with Laura and Jeremy on recording, producing, composing, and playing on Euphony Strings’ first CD. The group hopes to have the album out by late summer or fall '08.
While Aaron has a love and passion for music, he is also an accomplished artist, photographer, and web dsigner. He enjoys working with charcoals and using musical themes in compositions. Landscapes are among his favorite subjects in photography. And the need for a Euphony Strings website led him to learn web design several summers ago, which he has become quite proficient at. He has gone on to create and design other websites as well, like Kittredge Gallery (still in progress), which is a conglomeration of multiple web sites specializing in the fine and performing arts.
