General
The musicians dress in formal concert attire unless otherwise requested: men in tuxedos or dark suits and tie, and women in all black or evening gowns.
The quartet’s requirements are minimal. All we need to perform at our best is 4 armless chairs and ample space, about 8 by 8 feet.
Yes. We have a few requirements however, to ensure the safety of our instruments and the ability to provide quality music. We require full shade, no precipitation, and temperatures about 65- 85 degrees.
Yes! We have over 300 titles in our library, but if your request is not in our current repertoire, we will add it at no cost to you. If your request is not published for string quartet, we can have it professionally arranged for the quartet. Fees for this service are very reasonable and vary based on the complexity of the music.
Yes, absolutely! On rare occasions, due to illness or unavailability, one of our players may be replaced with one who has experience playing with us and knows our repertoire well.
Weddings
Yes, we play during cocktail, dinner, and if there is no dance band, the whole of the reception. Our repertoire allows a wide range of musical styles, from Baroque to modern pop and jazz and showtunes.
In a situation like this, which is quite common, we charge for the length of the engagement, including the time to travel between the wedding site and reception site. In other words, from the start of the prelude until the end of our playing time at the reception.
We suggest prelude music twenty minutes before the start of the wedding ceremony. This will set the mood for your guests as they arrive and wait for the wedding ceremony to begin. The style of prelude music can be tailored to your taste.
For a Christian or non-denominational wedding, you will typically have two separate pieces, the wedding party processional and the main processional.
For a Jewish wedding, there are typically two pieces, Entrance of the rabbi, family elders, and wedding attendants followed by the
main processional entrance with parents. On occasion, the Rabbi or cantor will vocalize through their own entrance, and then the quartet will begin for the rest of the entrances. Adjustments to this are of course possible and we will guide you through these decisions.
Please refer to our suggestions in the Repertoire section. We will help you through this selection process.
We will need a signal from the wedding coordinator. We will seek out the pre-arranged person before the ceremony and confirm the plan.
We have become adept at ending the music at just the right time, so there is no need for you to time the entrances. The only thing we need to know is how many people are processing to each piece of music.
In most cases, a requested piece is performed during the exit of the entire wedding party, plus one or two more festive and upbeat pieces for the exit of your guests.
Planning
Generally you should speak to us at least once before you meet with your officiant so that we may help you formulate questions to ask them about music. Often there are “dos” and “don’ts” regarding certain ceremonies. Following the meeting, we will talk again and solidify the program.
Yes! There is an advantage in having both the organ and string quartet. Alternating between the two for prelude music is very effective. In addition, there are quite a few musical arrangements that we can play together during prelude, processional, Mass, and recessional, creating a beautiful large orchestral sound. Lastly, people are accustomed to singing the parts of the Mass with organ, so there might be more audience/congregation participation in singing if they are played by the organ/vocalist.
Of course. We will be happy to communicate directly with them ahead of time to work out musical details. In most cases we will require a short rehearsal at the venue before the event or wedding prelude starts. A fee for the rehearsal time will apply.
It is not necessary to meet in person. All details can be addressed online or over the phone. If you'd like to meet in person to discuss the music for your wedding or would like to go over the contract, you are welcome to make an appointment to come and meet me at my home/office, which is located in SE/DC. I'm available on weekday/evenings.
It is not necessary for us to attend. The Sage String Quartet members have performed for countless weddings. We are adept in timing the music to the right length. You can leave that to us. We only recommend booking us for the rehearsal if cost is no object.