Strings for a wedding in London

Last weekend we were asked to play as a String Duo for a wedding in central London. The venue was The Ned, a venue we had never played at before, but hope to go back to again! Inside the unassuming entrance it opens out into an amazing interior which was incredibly busy despite it being a Sundsay afternoon in the City. A 5 piece jazz band were playing in the centre of the enormous room while people were enjoying their Sunday buffet of oysters, lobster, roast dinners and amazing desserts!! As we were working we could only look on and think about returning socially!

We made our way to the 6th floor which was where Helen and Davids’s wedding was taking place. There were some lovely staff who were incredibly helpful, showing the String Duo for wedding ceremony and Strings for drinks reception where to set up and even moving an inconveniently placed Chez Longue so we would have enough space to play comfortably. The only music that had been specifically requested was Helen’s entrance music, Pachelbel Canon in D. She had requested that we play suitable music for a wedding ceremony before and then something suitable for the Bride and Grooms exit, before moving on to some of our modern music on strings for the drinks reception. We chose lots of our favourite pieces, some of which you can hear originals of below as well as some of our arrangements….

If you need Strings for a wedding in London, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to help you create a beautiful atmosphere for you special day.

CONTACT US!

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April 20th, 2019|About us, Ensembles, Pop Music for Strings, Venues, Weddings|

Wedding in Penshurst, Kent

Back from a fantastic day in Penshurst, Kent! A longer booking than usual – the usual choice for our Wedding String Quartet is for the ceremony and drinks reception but sometimes when the ceremony is at a different venue we are asked to move between venues. Today we began in the beautiful St John the Baptist Church, dating back to the 12th Century.

http://www.penshurstchurch.org/the-church/

We ran into the Rector, Tom as we got to the church so could discuss arrangements for the wedding ceremony. It’s always important for us to establish the format for the ceremony as there are many different ways this can happen. He was really helpful throughout, giving us really clear signals – not always the case!! On this occasion the Bride and Groom had chosen 2 separate pieces for the entrance of the Bridesmaids and the entrance of the Bride:

and our version of Pachelbel Canon in D

Among the couple’s other choices were their chosen exit music, God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, which you can listen to in our arrangement of pop music for strings on our website:

LISTEN

 

Following the ceremony we made our way to the reception venue, Penshurst Place and began our music for the drinks reception in the fantastic setting of the Barrons Hall, a beautiful room with a circular open fire in the centre and suits of armour on tables around the outside. The couple had asked us to play a selection from our repertoire for String Quartet so we began with some classical pieces including Vivaldi Concertos, moving on later to music from films and shows and more contemporary pop music for string quartet. How about this?

 

After a break we moved to the marquee for the wedding breakfast, the guests were seated on long tables all joined together rather than seperate tables which was lovely and the flower arrangements were incredible! We continued with our pop arrangements, including some of our newest ones. How about a bit of Metallica for String Quartet?

Overall it was a tiring but ultimately rewarding day and we hope the addition of a wedding string quartet added to what was a really lovely wedding in an amazing setting.

Penshurst

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April 12th, 2018|Ensembles, Events, Pop Music for Strings, Venues, Weddings|

String Quartet for Party in Tunbridge Wells Hotel

We were recently contacted by one of our previous brides, Rachelle. We had played as a string quartet for her wedding back in 2012. She was planning a birthday celebration for her mum in Tunbridge Wells and as she had enjoyed the music at Rachelle’s wedding so much Rachelle thought it would be a lovely idea to surprise her with some string quartet music for the party. As there weren’t going to be too many guests and the room wasn’t too large she thought a string duo would be perfect. A mixture of our repertoire for string duo from classical to pop music for strings was requested with one particular piece being special – the theme from Downton Abbey. Luckily we had made an arrangement of this for another client previously so it was no problem for us to dust it off and play it at an appropriate moment. It proved as popular as Rachelle had thought it would be so we were asked to play it again later on.

As always we hoped that the addition of live string music would lift an already special occasion and it seemed to do the trick! IN fact Rachelle’s mum emailed us a few days later-

I cannot tell you just how much your attending my Birthday Gathering on Saturday evening meant to me! It was the most wonderful surprise gift from my husband and daughters and I am still smiling with the memory of your beautiful sounds filling the room…….thank you so very much.
 
Sincerely, Yvonne
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March 5th, 2018|Birthday Parties, Ensembles, Events, Pop Music for Strings, Venues|

Happy Clients!

Just a few of the lovely comments we have received from our clients, many of which booked us as a string quartet for a wedding or string trio for an event or even a string duo for a party!

Dear Martin

I wanted to let you know how much Sally and I (and others!) enjoyed and appreciated your performance on Saturday. It was good to meet you and am sorry I did not have the opportunity to say farewell and thank you before we left for the conservatory.
It was a special day and your quartet was great, many thanks again for your support and well done to you and your fellow musicians for contributing to the success of a memorable day for our family and friends.

 

Kind regards
Nick Godwin

 

Dear Martin and the Premiere String Quartet,

Thank you all very much for being with us on Sunday, I am only sorry not to have thanked you all personally at the end.

We have had many emails and letters saying how lovely your choice of music was during the afternoon, it certainly made Ray’s party a great success.

With kindest regards,

Tanya Edmondson

 

Dear Rachel,

 

Hope you’re well.

 

We just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for your beautiful performances at our wedding on 20th July. The music your played in the church was absolutely stunning, and your song choices for the drinks reception were perfect! We had so many of our guests coming up to us and saying how great you were, and endless fun was had playing ‘first one to guess the song’ in classical style!

 

Thank you so much for your professionalism and for showcasing your talents to their very best. We couldn’t have asked for more.

 

Best wishes

Emily and Mike

 

 

Hi,

 

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to our string duo who played at our Hampton Court House wedding yesterday. They were fantastic and made our day so special and memorable :)

 

Wishing you lots of luck for the future!

 

Kind regards,

 

Rosie Summers

 

Martin

Just a quick note to thank you for playing at our wedding. It was absolutely perfect and we really appreciated it. Apologies we didn’t get to speak with you on the day – all a bit hectic!

Please let us know if you’d like us to act as reference in the future.

Thanks again

Tracy

 

Hi Rachel and co,

 

Sorry it’s been a while, but just wanted to say thanks so much for the beautiful music you played at Hever Castle for us on 28th April. We had lots of lovely comments about how nice it was to sit and listen to you all, and I’m truly gutted I got dragged round the grounds in the cold and missed most of your set! I’ve attached a couple of nice pics below which were taken. Thanks again,

 

All the best

 

Louise

 

Dear Martin and Rachel ,

Now that things have calmed down, I am writing to say thank you so much for supporting the Missing People charity single ‘I Hope’. The song itself is incredibly powerful and still moves me to tears whenever I hear it. It also had a huge impact on the charity – generating over £1 million worth of advertising value via the amount of publicity it generated, significant financial support from the Royal Mail and it reached number 10 in the Amazon chart. We were blown away by the result and could not have done it without your support.

Jo

Jo Youle
Chief Executive

jo.youle@missingpeople.org.uk
www.missingpeople.org.uk

 

 

Dear Rachel, Thank you so much for playing at Jonathan and my wedding day last Friday. It was wonderful to have your talents and we are only sorry that we did not hear more of it due to our outside photographing! Please thank your colleague also.

 

Kind regards, Katharine

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February 23rd, 2017|About us, Testimonials, Weddings|

String Trio for wedding in Hever, Kent

The String Quartet were recently hired to play for a wedding at the fantastic venue of Hever Castle near Edenbridge in Kent.

hever_castlevisit-britain2

As there were not a huge number of guests the bride and groom had decided that a string trio would be perfect for the ceremony and drinks reception. We were located by the side of the ceremony room as it was a very open plan part of the castle and this worked really well as we could play as the guests assembled as well as being able to have a good view of the bride as she entered, made her way to the front and got settled. She had chosen a piece that we knew well but in an arrangement that we had not heard before – Scala and Kolacny’s version of U2’s With or Without You:

We were more than happy to add this to our pop arrangements for strings as we knew it would work beautifully for her entrance, creating a really emotional atmosphere.

The other pieces chosen for the ceremony were fairly new music to our repertoire but ones that work nicely, Coldplay Sky Full Of Stars and a favourite uplifting piece for the exit, One Day Like This by Elbow.

For the remainder of the booking we continued with our modern music for string quartet as the guests enjoyed drinks and canapes.

After the date we got a lovely message from the bride, always nice to hear we have added something to a very special day!!

Hi Rachel and co, 

Sorry it's been a while, but just wanted to say thanks 
so much for the beautiful music you played at Hever for us 
on 28th April. 

We had lots of lovely comments about how nice it was to 
sit and listen to you all, and I'm truly gutted I got 
dragged round the grounds in the cold and missed most 
of your set! 

I've attached a couple of nice pics below which were taken. 
Thanks again, 

All the best 

Louise

img_0809 img_0958

 

 

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October 29th, 2016|Ensembles, Events, Pop Music for Strings, Testimonials, Venues, Weddings|

String Trio for a wedding in Groombridge Place

  • setWidth800-Groombridge-pink-flowers
  • wedding-ceremony-venue-groombridge-kent

Premiere String Quartet were recently engaged to provide music for a wedding ceremony and reception in the beautiful surroundings of Groombridge Place, on the border of Kent and East Sussex. We are always pleased to perform at a venue local to us and as some of our members are based in Tunbridge Wells as well as London this venue is ideal for us to perform as a String Quartet, String Trio, String Duo or even a solo violin or cello!

Groombridge Place was voted South East England’s ‘Favourite House’ by Country Life Magazine and is world famous as the setting for the BAFTA award winning movie based on Jane Austen’s classic novel, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, featuring Keira Knightly.

The ceremony itself was held in the amazing Baronial Hall where we performed a selection of classical music for string quartet as the guests assembled.  The bride and groom’s choice of music worked really well for the ceremony, including Pachelbel Canon in D and the Flower Duet from Delibe’s “Lakme” (made famous by the British Airways advert). Often people want something upbeat for the exit but they asked for a more serene piece which worked beautifully – Haydn Serenade Op 3 No 5.

As the guests moved outside for drinks and canapes on the lawn we relocated to underneath the portico to entertain them with a mix of classical and lighter music, overlooking a couple of amazing vintage cars belonging to the relatives of the bride. After the guests returned to the Baronial Hall to continue the day we packed away and prepared for the 10 minute drive home – an unusual but welcome finish to the booking!

 

 

 

 

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October 25th, 2016|Ensembles, Venues, Weddings|

String Quartet in London – Venues

Having recently taken a new booking at Syon House in West London we have been looking back at some of our favourite venues we have played in London. Our smaller ensembles can suit different venues better, for example we played a smaller wedding for only 20 people at the Dorchester Hotel where only a string duo would have been able to fit in the space. Of course if you are having a very large number of guests you may prefer the sound of the string trio or full string quartet for a wedding or corporate event.

Here are some of the venues we have performed at in London:

The Ritz, Piccadilly

The Dorchester, Park Lane

Syon Park, Chiswick

Stationer’s Hall, London

Plaisterer’s Hall, London

Vintner’s Hall, London

Tower Bridge, London

Vinopolis, London Bridge

 

Syon ParkThe RitzThe_Dorchester_Hotel_in_London_Mayfair,_England_United_Kingdom_(4579989922)
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March 28th, 2016|About us, Ensembles, Venues|

Wedding String Trio in Hever Castle, Kent

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Premiere String Trio played for Claire and Chris’s wedding at Hever Castle in Kent. The wedding ceremony was performed in a local church within the village and then the drinks reception was held in the grounds of Hever in the Italian Loggia which is situated by the lake. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding. The Wedding String Trio set up early in the church Claire had chosen some fantastic pieces for the string trio to play as all the guests arrived at the church. Pieces included Flower Duet, Delibes and Air on a G String, J.S Bach. For Claire’s entrance into the church the string trio performed Canon in D, Pachelbel. After the service the couple signed the register and piece they requested the string trio to perform was O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini. This was significant to the couple as they were engaged in Venice, Italy. After the ceremony was concluded the couple walked back down the aisle to Spring from Four Seasons, Vivaldi. This piece was long enough for Claire and Chris and all their guests to exit the church. The wedding string trio packed away and moved to the Italian Loggia in the grounds of Hever Casle just 1 mile away. Due to pictures being taken outside the church the String Trio were able to move venues and set up ready to play as the first guests to arrive at the Loggia in the ground of Hever Castle. The repertoire changed to lighter classical and Latin music including La Bamba and Tango por una Cabeza and also pop arrangements including Coldplay, Beatles and Sinatra. The String Trio played up until all the guests were called into dinner.

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September 29th, 2013|About us, Ensembles, Events, Weddings|

String Duo recorded Youtube clips in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Premiere String Duo were delighted to record a selection of pieces for String Duo in King Charles the Martyre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Meditation – Thais


Moon River – Henry Mancini


Beethoven String Duo in Gmajor arranged for Viola and Cello


Rolling in the Deep – Adele


Fly me to the Moon – Bart Howard


One Day Like This – Elbow


A Thousand Years – Christina Perri.

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September 16th, 2013|About us, Corporate Events, Performances, Weddings|

Wedding Strings Quartet, Sting Trio and String Duo in Kent

Premiere String Quartet, String Trio and String Duo are performing regularly in wedding venues around Kent and East Sussex. The Wedding Venue’s are often in easy travel distance so the string quartet has become very familiar with local venues. The String Quartet, String Trio and String Duo have recently performed in wedding venues including Leeds Castle, Kent, Hever Castle Kent, Chilston Park, Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells, Solomans, Tunbridge Wells, Gravetye Manor, East Sussex, The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne, Old Kent Barn, Penshurst Place. Our wedding String Quartet, String Trio and String Duo all have very extensive repertoire ranging from pop arrangements, Coldplay, David Guetta and Avenged Sevenfold. WIth also an extensive classical collection of well known classics
220px-Penshurst_place_italian_garden_in_spring

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September 10th, 2013|About us, Ensembles, Weddings|