Meet the BSCE Founders

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Paul Semanic, a Chicago native, has been the Chicago Do-It-Yourself Messiah trumpet soloist for over 25 years. He has earned both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Trumpet Performance (on scholarship) and specializes in baroque trumpet literature. In addition to the Brass String Chamber Ensemble he currently performs with the Rockford Symphony, Stonegate Brass Quintet and Canzona Brass Chicago, and he frequently plays with the New Philharmonic and Northwest Indiana Symphony. Paul has also performed with the Grant Park Symphony, Symphony II, Concertante di Chicago, Knoxville Symphony, Oak Ridge Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Bach Chamber Orchestra, St Charles Music Festival and the Woodstock Mozart Festival. He enjoys performing recitals and presenting master classes and clinics to young brass enthusiasts and is currently teaching in two suburban school districts.

Paul has performed with numerous contemporary artists over the years including Brian Wilson (where he also booked the 50+ person orchestra that performed the Pet Sounds Concert at the Chicago Theatre). Others include ELO, Moody Blues, Manhattan Transfer at Ravinia, Bobby Vinton, Neil Sadaka, Anne Murray, Dennis DeYoung
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On the business side of the BSCE, Paul works with our clients and also manages all musician communication. His comprehensive database of musicians is a collection of the finest in the area. Paul has contracted for the Rockford Symphony and the Bach Chamber Orchestra so he has met a multitude of talented musicians who love to play for weddings. He also contracts other musicians outside of the "Brass String" category... pianists, organists, vocalists, jazz ensembles, harps, bagpipes, woodwinds, etc. Last-minute requests can often be granted, but of course more notice is always better!

When not involved in music-related activities Paul can often be found studying and teaching T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qi Gong (Chinese martial arts and meditative exercises) and cooking healthy food for his family!
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​Kris (Bataille) Semanic, a Chicago-area native, has been playing the violin since grade school. She majored in Violin Performance at Butler University where she studied with Larry Shapiro. After graduation she played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago which is the training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony. 

She currently performs with the Brass String Chamber Ensemble and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and she is often called on to play with other ensembles in the Chicago area. She has played with many internationally renowned soloists including Luciano Pavarotti and Itzhak Perlman. She also has performed numerous contemporary concerts with artists such as Page & Plant (Led Zeppelin), the Moody Blues, ELO, Celtic Woman, Gladys Knight, Anne Murray, Bandana (folk/bluegrass) and others. She uses this wealth of musical experience to create exciting string quartet arrangements of classical and contemporary selections as requested by our clients.

On the business side of the BSCE, Kris works with our clients and also manages all the music in the library. She will work with you to select appropriate and beautiful music for your ceremony and/or reception, and if the piece(s) you are requesting are not already in our extensive library she will write an arrangement for you. Arrangements (especially good ones) take time to write so there will be an extra fee for this service. Kris also manages the BSCE social media accounts and would be thrilled to connect with you on FB and Instagram. Please share a photo from your wedding with us when you have your pictures!

Kris also acts as manager for their son who has been very involved in professional theatre around Chicagoland. His first professional role was the title role of Oliver with Light Opera Works. Other roles include Louis in "The King and I" at the Marriott Theatre, Robin in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and he understudied the role of Kurt in the Lyric Opera of Chicago production of "The Sound of Music". He is now shifting focus to his passion for movie music and plans to study film composition in college which is coming up way too quickly.
 Paul and Kris met in 1989 while playing trumpet and violin in an orchestra in Wheaton, IL. They started playing weddings together in 1990 and that was the beginning of the Brass String Chamber Ensemble. They got married in 1994, and truly enjoy sharing their music with other couples on their wedding day.

Here are a few fun photos including 2 from their wedding day in 1994 and one from their wedding vow renewal in Paris in 1997. (Paul planned it as a surprise; Kris had no idea it was going to happen so that explains the denim shirt.) Can you spot the original BSCE photo from 1990?