Why Soulful Strings Are So London – From Me, Keisher

I’m Keisher, founder of She Music Global. I’m a London girl, born and raised, with Jamaican parents, and my roots are important to me. They shape how I see the world, how I hear music, and why representation has always felt personal rather than political.

Growing up, I never saw Black women playing string instruments. Not in orchestras, not at weddings, and not in the kinds of spaces that quietly tell you, this is for you too. Strings existed, but they didn’t look like us.

What You Don’t See Still Teaches You Something

When you don’t see yourself reflected, it teaches you something without anyone needing to say it out loud. I saw singers who looked like me and performers I could relate to, but string players felt like a different world. Classical music and string quartets in London didn’t feel accessible or representative, even though the talent absolutely existed. It wasn’t about ability, it was about visibility.

Why Soulful Strings Exist

Soulful Strings came from that gap. Not as a statement or a trend, but as a decision to create what I never saw growing up. A Black, female-led string ensemble shouldn’t feel unusual, but the fact that people still pause when they see Soulful Strings performing at weddings and events in London tells you exactly why it matters.

My Daughter’s Eyes

Everything shifted when I saw Soulful Strings through my daughter’s eyes. To her, it’s normal. Women who look like her playing violins and cellos, providing live strings for weddings in London, standing confidently in that space, being elegant and excellent. She’s growing up seeing something I never did, and that quietly changes what she’ll believe is possible without anyone needing to explain it.

During one of our Soulful Strings photoshoots in London, we kept getting stopped in the street. People stared, asked questions, and smiled. Not because it was loud or attention-seeking, but because it was unfamiliar. A group of Black women with string instruments isn’t something people are used to seeing, yet it felt completely at home on a London street. That moment stayed with me.

This is the London I know. A city that pushes the status quo quietly. It doesn’t always announce change, it just lives it. Different cultures, different backgrounds, and different stories existing side by side without asking permission. That’s the London my Jamaican parents raised me in, and it’s why Soulful Strings feel so at home here. They don’t ask to belong, they just do.

We’re Not Going Anywhere

This isn’t about replacing anyone or lowering standards. Soulful Strings are just as skilled, professional, and musically strong as what the industry has traditionally labelled as “right” or “popular.” Whether it’s a luxury London wedding, a corporate event, or a private celebration, the quality speaks for itself.

Soulful Strings Are About All of Us

Soulful Strings aren’t niche and they aren’t exclusionary. They’re about widening the picture so more people can see themselves in live music, in string quartets, and in spaces that once felt closed off. My roots matter to me, my city matters to me, and creating something that reflects both feels like the most London thing I could do. If my daughter grows up believing strings are for her too, then something important has already shifted.