Wedding Bells
Meet a teenage cellist composing custom wedding music for local couples
By Stephanie Bouchard
When Emily Hanna Hackett got married in 2024, it was pretty special that the wedding took place in the same church as her husband’s parents’ wedding. But the icing on the (wedding) cake was the music she walked down the aisle to: a custom piece of music written by the bride’s 15-year-old godson as a wedding gift.
Cellist and composer Ronan Sands of Eddington, now 17, began writing music when he was 10, only three years after he started taking cello lessons. His interest in classical music began when he randomly heard a piece on the car radio. It was not a genre of music he was familiar with at 7 years old — his parents are big fans of Tom Petty — but he was transfixed.
“It felt magical almost,” he said of hearing that classical music. “Kind of like one of those old Disney movies with the sparkles and the birds and stuff and sunshine and rainbows and all that. That’s kind of what it felt like.”
Sands turned to his father in the car and said, “I want to do that.” His parents took him to RDL Strings in Bangor to get him set up with a beginner instrument and lessons. When Sands saw a cello in the music shop and heard its deep, rich sound, there was no other instrument for him.
Through his childhood, he practiced his cello for an hour or two nearly every day and that hard work paid off. A video of him performing was selected for From the Top’s young musician video series, “Daily Joy,” and he has won several music competitions, including being awarded Bay Chamber’s Glenn Jenks Future in Music prize in 2025, and this year, placing first in the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s Maine High School Concerto Competition, which earned him the opportunity to play as a guest soloist with the orchestra last spring.
While cello is his main instrument, Sands also began experimenting with piano and a bit of guitar, and is taking composition seriously. Besides being a wonderful art form for self-expression, he said, what really engaged him was working with others to try and convey their ideas. “You can act as kind of like a musical translator for them,” he said.
And that’s his goal when he sets out to write music for someone — whether that be for a special occasion like a wedding or a video game. His godmother’s wedding was the first piece of music he composed for a wedding. “I really wanted something that was joyful, hopeful,” he said.
Hackett was delighted with her gift and chose to use his composition for her processional, not just because of their relationship, but because in the music he captured the energy and style of her wedding.
“The tone of the song matched my expectations of that moment,” she said.
She frequently tells other people about it, she said, because it transformed her traditional wedding into something a little different. What neither Hackett nor Sands knew was that custom wedding music is part of a broader trend toward more personalized wedding ceremonies. Platforms like Foreversongs.com are connecting couples with songwriters and musicians to create custom wedding music.
Sands says, along with one day forming his own chamber group and performing as part of an orchestra, he wants to write more custom compositions for weddings.
“I really want to make this a special, special occasion for them,” he said, “and a wonderful personal artwork that is completely theirs.”
Go to ronansandscello.com to hear Sands perform and watch the processional clip from Hackett’s wedding.
