Q: Who are the musicians?
A: Please visit our
Musician's
page to learn more about
us!
Q: Which group (duo, trio,
or quartet) would best suit my occasion?
A: There
are many things to consider: One is price. Since we charge per
person/per hour; some people may better afford a group of two (duo) or
three (trio). If overall sound is your main concern, then a quartet is
always the best choice. With four instruments, the sound is much fuller
and richer than with two or three. If your occasion is one that involves
many people, (like a wedding reception) then a quartet would be the best
to be heard over all the sound. If it is a more intimate occasion, then
a duo or trio would do well. In the case of a wedding ceremony where the
guests remain generally quiet, any ensemble would work.
A Duo consists of: Violin
and Cello
A
Trio consists of: Violin, Viola, and Cello (sometimes 2 violins and cello)
A
Quartet consists of: 2 Violins, Viola, and Cello
NEW! >>> Now you can hear musical examples of
the quartet, trio, and duo playing the same selection. Please note
that the quartet sample was recorded in a professional studio, so the
recording quality is higher than the other two.
Johann Sebastian Bach's
"Air" played by the Serenade Strings Quartet
Johann Sebastian Bach's "Air"
played by the Serenade Strings Trio
Johann Sebastian Bach's "Air" played
by the Serenade Strings Duo
Q: How much do you charge?
A:
Please refer to our Pricing and Availability.
Q: Is there a charge for mileage and
traveling, and how far are you willing to travel?
A: Yes, we do charge mileage. There will be no charge
for trips that are within the Home Zone:
See travel map.
We will not make trips that take more than 1.5 hours (one way). Please note that mileage
charges include the return trip.
Duo: 40 cents/mile
Trio: 60cents/mile
Quartet: 80 cents/mile
Q: How do I book your
services?
A: You must fill out and sign our Music Services Agreement.
When we receive the contract and the non-refundable deposit, your date
will be booked and the deposit will be subtracted from the total amount.
You may request a contract via telephone or email. All the
information to do so is on the
"Contact" page of our website.
Q: I am interested in booking you, will you
hold my date for me?
A: If you have expressed a genuine
interest in booking our services, your date can be held for up to 7 days
after the contract has been mailed to you. Please be aware that
sometimes a date that was previously available may become booked if you
take too long to return the deposit and contract.
If you would like to hold your date
before sending back the contract, you may do so by making a deposit
payment: $50 by check or by our
website payment system through PAYPAL. (All
major credit cards accepted and a PAYPAL account is not required.)
Once the deposit payment has been made, you will receive an email
confirmation stating that your date has been held. A signed
contract will still be required within 30 days in order to fully secure
your date.
Q: I sent in the
contract and deposit, what now?
A: You will be receiving a signed
copy of the contract in the mail. For weddings, you will receive a
music selections worksheet. You should start choosing your musical
selections and submit them via postal mail or email. As long as you
request music that is on the repertoire list, you may wait up until a week
before the wedding to submit them, but if you would like to request a
special song to be arranged, please do so a.s.a.p. so that I may have
adequate time to work on it. Also, driving directions will need to
be submitted, if they were not already received with the contract.
Q: Will
you play outside?
A: Playing inside is preferred but we will play outside under certain
conditions: we will not play in weather colder than 60 degrees or warmer
than 90. Also, we must be under some sort of "cover" (Gazebo, tent,
etc) and there must be a flat surface on which to play.
Our instruments are made of wood and are very, very expensive-- we
cannot take the chance of having them damaged due to sun or rain. We
also require some sort of flooring or surface- we will not play on the bare
ground or grass. (Bare ground causes problems with the cello endpin for
example, and can also be irksome if the ground is wet or muddy.) Even
strong winds can make it very difficult or nearly impossible to play by
causing our sheet music to flip over or blowing our bows off our strings.
You must also take into consideration that the sound of our instruments
will not carry as well, so you may want to hire a larger group if the
event covers a large area.
Experience has taught us that most people do not know the conditions we
require to perform at our best--therefore, we must make our clients
aware of these conditions and ask them to be understanding of our
requirements. We expect to be treated with the same kind of
professionalism that we like to exhibit.
Q: What do you
wear when you perform?
A: We dress as professional musicians do: in
formal concert black. Traditionally musicians wear black so as not
to draw attention away from the music itself. For summer events we may
dress with white on top and black on bottom for the sake of comfort. No
matter what, we will always present ourselves in a professional manner.
Q: When and how
shall you be paid?
A: Cash or checks accepted. Credit card payments
are also accepted thru the online service PAYPAL. Payment prior
to the event is preferred, but payment
for the full balance must be made on or before the date of services. From countless past
experiences, it is better for us not to have to “hunt down” the check in
the post-wedding fervor. It is awkward and unprofessional. Please have the check presented to us before
the ceremony or event in which we are performing. If payment shall me made on the date of performance,
it
must be presented upon the musicians’ arrival or the performance will not take
place until payment is received. There will be a charge of $50 per day if
payment is not received on time.
Q: What are the
procedures for when you arrive to our event?
A: We will arrive early enough to set
up, tune our instruments, and talk to a coordinator if needed. When
we arrive, there will need to be armless chairs set up in an adequately
lit location with plenty of space for movement. For weddings, we
will need to talk to the coordinator regarding cues and we will need a
copy of the wedding program if we didn’t already receive one in the mail.
Q: How much space
do you need and what do we need to provide for you to play?
A: In order for us to play our best we need to move freely, therefore we
ask that there be enough space provided for us to do so. For a quartet we
need at least 10 square feet of space. A trio will require 8 square feet,
and a duo approximately 5 square feet. We will also need to have sturdy,
armless chairs and an adequate amount of lighting so that we may easily
read our music. We will provide our own music stands.
Q: There
is this song I really love, but it is not on your list. Will you
be able play it?
A: It never hurts to ask! If we don't have
your song, we may be able to find it, or we may already have it!
Lots of sheet music is now available for download online at a very
reasonable price. Try
www.musicnotes.com. If music arranging is required, there will
be an extra fee, starting from $20.
Please limit to no more than 3 special
requests. If you feel like there's nothing on our lists that suit
you, you may want to look in to other ensembles that have what you want!
Q: When and what do you typically play at a wedding
ceremony?
A: Most wedding ceremonies we have done consist of us arriving early and
playing prelude music while your guests arrive. We then play a
processional for the bridal party and the bride, each having their own
distinct music. In many cases we play during the ceremony for special
interludes such as the lighting of the unity candle or the bearing of
gifts. After the bride and groom have been pronounced husband and wife,
we play a recessional and then postlude music for about fifteen more
minutes. We mainly use the standard wedding repertoire mixed with famous,
light classics. Sometimes our clients also request us to play a "special
song" from our list of pops and love songs. While some people like to
individually choose when and what we play (and what not to play), others
like to simply leave it up to us to choose what we think will be best.
Either way, we will help you decide using our experience and knowledge of
music on what will make your wedding sound the best. Our online
Wedding
Planner may help you in deciding what music to put where.
Q: Will you play for our vocalist?
A:
We can play with your vocalist; however we require that they
be a professional vocalist. The reason is that due to our
busy schedules, we cannot provide a non-professional vocalist with the
rehearsal time they need to feel comfortable.
If you're looking for a vocalist, we
highly recommend
Melissa Payton.
With professionals, we can meet 20-30
minutes before start time and run through the song with them without any
problems. In order to cover rehearsal time, we will need you to book
us that extra 30 minutes beforehand.
If you do choose to have us accompany
your vocalist, please exchange contact information so we may work out all
the details. We may also need to purchase sheet music which may be
available online through musicnotes.com.
Q: Will you
attend the wedding rehearsal?
A: We do not attend wedding rehearsals. All we will need is to ask a few questions about
placement and timing of the music. We may also need a representative
or organizer of the wedding to cue us as to when to start and end.
Our manager will work all these details out in advance
over the phone or through email.
Please be sure to fill out our
Ceremony Music Selections Worksheet, which you will receive once you
have booked the group for your wedding.
Q: Have you
played at Jewish weddings before?
A: Yes! We try to be as flexible as possible in
providing services for any religions or beliefs, and will do our best to
provide music suitable for every occasion. Just be sure to tell us
what kind of ceremony you will have, and that way we can tailor the music
to fit your individual needs.
