10 String Symphony

The Nashville music scene is a famous home for world-class side musicians, as well as a plethora of legendary songwriters. Now it presents us with a duo that combines the best of both worlds, skilled instrumentalists with an incredible amount of soul and a love of great songs.

10 String Symphony is an arena for mesmerizing acoustic innovation. Although difficult to categorize, their music is instantly recognizable as a blend of two distinct but equally vivacious musical voices, encompassing “aggressive, almost discordant, celtic and dare I say punky string-chording experimentations” (The Bluegrass Situation). Vocally, Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer lock in seamlessly, and their vocal duets often take center stage despite the fact that they are self-described fiddle players.

Sedelmyer (Formerly of the Farewell Drifters) and Baiman (Formerly of Belfry Fellows) met in Nashville, and realized a mutual love for the range and depth of the 5-String fiddle. Their desire to see just how far a two-fiddle, two-vocals instrumentation could take them was the inspiration for the 10 String Symphony project. By the time their first full-length album was released in November 2012, their instrumentation had expanded to include the occasional clawhammer banjo and resonator mandolin, though still maintaining a stripped down, tightly woven and carefully arranged duo sound.

Decidedly contemporary in their musical approach, their debut album showcases Sedelmyer’s virtuosic improvisation and creative harmonic soundscape ideas alongside Baiman’s old-time rhythm and emotional melodic sensibilities. Just over a year old, the duo has already gained recognition and attention from some major festivals, landing slots at the ROMP festival in Ownsboro, KY and the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite, CA in the summer of 2013.