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DESERT PATROL This electric violin pioneer has conquered the desert—and beyond. Eve and a major expansion in 2014. Di Gregorio's Bella Electric Strings came about when the savvy musician noticed that there were more potential gigs than a single string quartet could handle. Her company now has about 25 classically trained female string players, including a few in LA, and 2014 will see her Built-in audience: expand to Orlando, Dallas, San Francisco, An only child, she has loads of and New York. "We can play four shows cousins. "I have on the same night," she says. And she'll fond childhood have at least that many bookings on New memories of Year's Eve. Prior to that, they'll play at the performing in Wranglers game on December 16, as well as New York. My whole big Italian various charity and holiday events, includfamily came to ing Venetian's Winter in Venice program, every show." running throughout this month. Bookworm: "My Playing exclusively rock music, her quarboyfriend built tets perform 200 shows a year, including me a windowticketed events and as headliners at music seat book nook for my rare festivals. Because nearly 85 percent of their weekends at bookings are conventions, more than half home." of their work is right here in Vegas. "I write all of the music," says Di Gregorio, 32. "All of the girls learn the same songs, and I train them for hair and makeup and pick out the outfits. The Bella brand is very important to me. Our girls are total rock stars." Di Gregorio honed her stage image while performing with the likes of Beyoncé, Shakira, and Toni Braxton. In that spirit, all of her "Bella girls" appear in sparkly, Vegas-worthy minidresses. "We play our version of classic rock and Top 40," she says, adding that effects pedals allow her violinists to do solos that sound like they're playing an electric guitar—and with rock star moves to go with it: "We're wireless, so we walk out into the crowd." Di Gregorio's entrepreneurial spirit dates back NINA DI GREGORIO AND HER BELLA ELECTRIC STRINGS to high school. Although she played in her school's PERFORMERS HEAD INTO THE HOLIDAYS WITH A BUSY orchestra, she also had her own ensemble—Sweet SCHEDULE OF ENTERTAINING AND PHILANTHROPY. Expressions String Quartet—which booked weddings BY ABBY TEGNELIA and other local events before she was old enough to drive (entailing some help from her parents). "I was the only one writing music," she says. "I would sneak rowing up in the tiny upstate New York town of Lewiston, Nina Di arrangements in to see how they sounded." After college in Buffalo, she moved to Las Vegas to play with Newton Gregorio might not have seemed destined to move to glitzy Las Vegas—and at the behest of Wayne Newton, no less. But the young and get her master's degree in violin performance at UNLV. She also began violinist went on to share the stage with some of the biggest names in show to work with Yamaha, a connection that would prove fortuitous. "A few business. Then she founded one of Vegas's most successful booking agen- years later, I got their endorsement," she says. "Once I got my electric viocies, Bella Entertainment Group, which is gearing up for a busy New Year's lin from them, things exploded." bellastrings.com V INSIGHT G 62 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB KEPLER Electric Lady's Land VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 062_V_SP_DP_NinaD_Dec13.indd 62 11/19/13 11:16 AM