Il San Pietro di Positano
A five-star hotel carved into the rock, with terraces dropping sheer to the sea of Positano.
Looking for a violinist for your wedding in Positano? I play live for ceremonies and receptions along the Amalfi Coast, Positano included: a vertical village where the landscape becomes part of the rite, and where the music has to be calibrated to the space that holds it.
Live music in and around Positano
Donato with EvoStrings in the private chapel of the Grand Hotel Tritone, Praiano
Ennio Morricone — Gabriel's Oboe · silent clip. Listen on Instagram
Positano resembles no other village on the Amalfi Coast. It is a town built vertically, a cascade of pink, ochre and white houses tumbling from Monte Comune down to the water, held together by stairways rather than streets. At its centre, the majolica dome of the church of Santa Maria Assunta marks the point where the village meets the Spiaggia Grande, while further out the Li Galli archipelago — the islands legend ties to the song of the sirens — closes the horizon. To marry here is to accept that the landscape is part of the ceremony: the light shifts hour by hour across the façades, the sea never leaves the field of view, and the music has to find its place inside a setting that tolerates no background noise.
Positano is measured in height, not in distance. Between a villa high on the promontory and a beach there can be several flights of steps, and the length of a transfer is counted not in metres but in stairs. Some venues are reached more easily by sea, mooring at a jetty: a striking arrival, but a less predictable one, which has to be accompanied without forcing anything. That is why, when a couple writes to me, the first thing I ask for is the concrete sequence of the day, and only afterwards do I think about the programme: in a village like this the two cannot be separated.
Every space calls for a different choice, and the choice has to be made beforehand, not on site. A terrace open to the sea is exposed to the breeze: placement has to be studied and light amplification is almost always needed, so the sound reaches the guests without being carried off by the wind or scattered downhill. A historic interior or a garden enclosed by walls, by contrast, has a generous natural acoustic and lets the solo violin play with no technical support at all, with a far more intimate result. And where the sound of the waves becomes part of the setting, register and volume have to be calibrated so the music stays clear without ever raising its voice.
Venues and villas
Hotel Marincanto
Panoramic terraces above the main beach of Positano, much sought after for ceremonies and receptions.
Villa TreVille
Historic residence surrounded by gardens and overlooking the sea of Positano, featuring panoramic terraces and an intimate, exclusive atmosphere.
For the ceremony we build a programme together that honours both the couple and the place. The classical repertoire — Bach, Pachelbel, Vivaldi, Schubert — remains the reference for the solemn moments, while violin arrangements of pop songs and film scores accompany the more personal passages. Where it feels right, I add a nod to the Neapolitan song tradition, which has deep roots along this coast and is recognised by international guests too. The entrance, the exchange of vows and the recessional remain the three focal points around which I shape the emotional arc: every piece is chosen in the preceding weeks, rehearsed and adapted to the actual space in which it will be played.
After the rite, the violin accompanies the aperitif and the reception with a presence that is elegant and never intrusive. In Positano, sunset changes the register of the day: the light drops onto the sea and the music can shift from background to a more defined presence, with no need to raise the volume. Depending on the scale of the event and the spaces, I offer the solo violin, the duo with guitar or piano, or the string trio for a fuller sound. The criterion never changes: the music should enhance the view, not compete with it.
Logistics, in Positano, is the part most easily underestimated. Access to the centre is restricted and in high season the traffic along the coastal road can stretch timings; reaching some venues means stairways or an arrival from the sea, and live music in open spaces may require specific authorisation. These are details I agree well in advance with the venue and the wedding planner — power supply, position of the instrument, arrival time — while still turning up early for set-up and sound checks. The aim is that on the wedding day the technical side is already resolved and invisible.
Positano is a destination-wedding location: couples and guests arriving from outside Italy, planners coordinating from a distance, timings to be fixed well ahead. That is the context in which I have worked here, on musical requests built to measure for the couple's entrance and recessional, in dialogue with the wedding planner running the event. If you are imagining your wedding in Positano, we can begin with a simple conversation: the venue you have chosen, the number of guests, the atmosphere you have in mind and the pieces you are attached to. From there we build the soundtrack of the day together, from the first note of the entrance to the last toast.
How I work in Positano
With the couple and the wedding planner I reconstruct the real sequence of the day — arrival, ceremony, any transfers — before defining the programme and the line-up, so the music follows the rhythm of the place without a hitch.
I arrive early for set-up and sound checks, handling light amplification where the wind and the open spaces call for it, so the ceremony and reception run with no technical worries for the couple.
What couples say
Donato and his team were incredible to work with! As a wedding planner planning a destination wedding in Positano, I found it very difficult to find vendors are were responsive and friendly, Donato was so easy to talk to, work with and on the wedding day he was so lovely! The whole team is very talented and played my clients custom processional and recessional requests PERFECTLY!!!
I warmly recommend Donato and his trio for your special moments: talented, warm and professional. They moved us and entertained us from beginning to end.
Watch and listen
Performance videos presenting the repertoire, the arrangements and the different line-ups available.
Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love, Trilogy Trio. Filmed at a private villa in Nerano, a hamlet of Massa Lubrense on the Sorrento peninsula.
Coldplay's Viva La Vida, performed by EvoStrings. Filmed across Positano, Amalfi and Furore.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. I agree placement, timings and any authorisation for live music in open spaces with the venue and the planner, using light amplification where the wind requires it.
I plan arrival and set-up in advance, accounting for stairways, restricted access and any transfers by sea, so I am ready when needed without keeping the couple waiting.
From the classical (Bach, Pachelbel, Vivaldi) to pop and cinematic arrangements, through to pieces chosen by the couple and nods to the Neapolitan song tradition. We shape the entrance, the vows and the recessional together.
Solo violin for the most intimate ceremonies, a duo with guitar or piano for the aperitif, and a string trio for larger receptions on the panoramic terraces.
Nearby areas
Check availability
Tell me about your wedding: I will reply personally with a tailored quote.