Cellist · Bath, England
Next concert
Low Light: album launch
London
Next concert
Bath Mozartfest: Morning Coffee Concert
Bath
Next concert
Kammermusik im Rathaus
Cologne
Next concert
Fauré & Bach by Candlelight
Bath
Next concert
Brahms: the two sonatas
London
Next concert
Avon Chamber Players: Schubert Quintet
Bath
Next concert
Elgar Concerto with the Wessex Sinfonia
Bristol
Next concert
Two Moors Festival: Night Music
Tiverton
Op. 01 — Hello
I play the cello in concert halls, village churches and, most Saturdays in summer, at weddings.
Maren Ashby is a British cellist based in Bath. She performs as a soloist and chamber musician, records for Seren Records and leads The Ashby Strings.
years on stage
weddings played
recordings
concerts this season
Op. 02 — Listen
Three movements from the Bach suites — the music I play every morning.
Op. 03 — Concerts
Next on stage
Recitals, chamber music and concertos this season. Tickets go on sale through each venue.
Low Light: album launch
London
Recital
Bath Mozartfest: Morning Coffee Concert
Bath
Festival
Kammermusik im Rathaus
Cologne
Chamber
Fauré & Bach by Candlelight
Bath
Recital
Brahms: the two sonatas
London
Recital
Avon Chamber Players: Schubert Quintet
Bath
Chamber
Sold out
Elgar Concerto with the Wessex Sinfonia
Bristol
Orchestra
Two Moors Festival: Night Music
Tiverton
Festival
Op. 04 — Weddings & events
The Ashby Strings play your ceremony, drinks and dinner.
Solo cello, duo, trio or string quartet. Every package includes a planning call and at least one song arranged just for you.
Quartet
Ceremony Quartet
from £
850
Up to 1 hour
- The Ashby Strings: two violins, viola, cello
- Arrival, entrance, signing and exit
- Two special requests arranged for you
- PA for outdoor ceremonies
Quartet
Ceremony & Drinks
from £
1,250
Up to 3 hours
- Everything in Ceremony Quartet
- Up to 90 minutes of music for the drinks reception
- Pop, film and jazz arrangements on request
- One move between spaces
Quartet
The Whole Day
from £
1,750
Up to 5 hours
- Ceremony, drinks and wedding breakfast
- First-dance arrangement written for you
- Unlimited planning calls
- Travel anywhere in the South West
Op. 05 — Repertoire
Pick your aisle music from forty pieces — or ask for your song.
Bach to Coldplay, Debussy to Etta James. Search the list, add pieces to your shortlist and they travel straight into your enquiry.
Canon in D
Pachelbel
Air on the G String
J.S. Bach
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Handel
Wedding March
Mendelssohn
Bridal Chorus
Wagner
Ave Maria
Schubert
Ave Maria
Bach / Gounod
Clair de lune
Debussy
A dark, singing tone, and a rare patience with silence.
Gramophone, on Low Light
Quiet authority and a voice that stays with you long after the last note.
The Strad
Unhurried, warm and completely personal: Bach for the morning.
BBC Music Magazine
Maren learned our song from a voice note and played it as I walked in. Half the church was in tears, including the vicar.
Lucy & Tom · Priston Mill
The quartet moved from the chapel to the lawn without anyone noticing. The music never stopped, and it was perfect for every moment.
Aisha & Ben · Euridge Manor
Clear, kind and so organised. We had a playlist, a plan B for rain and a call a week before. We didn’t have to think about the music once.
Hannah & Sam · The Pump Room, Bath
Op. 06 — The Ashby Strings
Four players who have shared a stage for ten years.
When you book the quartet you get the same four people every time — no deputies sent at the last minute, no strangers reading your music for the first time.
Maren Ashby
Cello · leader
Isobel Grant
Violin I
Dev Mistry
Violin II
Hannah Coe
Viola
Op. 07 — Journal
Notes from the practice room
Weddings
How to choose your aisle music
The entrance lasts about ninety seconds. Here is how to pick the piece, the moment to start, and what to do if the aisle is long.
Practice
What I practise every morning
Forty minutes, the same order every day: open strings, scales in thirds, a Bach movement, then whatever scares me most.
Weddings
Rain plans for outdoor ceremonies
Instruments and rain don’t mix. Here is what we need for an outdoor ceremony, and how we switch to plan B without fuss.
Op. 08 — Questions
Before you book
The things couples ask most. Anything else, just write.
Tell me about your day.
Send a date and a venue. I reply within two days with availability, a quote and a few ideas for the music.