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PARTICULARS: FAQ's about hiring musicians |
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You might ask... For what kind of events do you play? Can I hear your music before I hire you? For how much time should we hire you? What kind of equipment and setup do you require? Can you provide music that's not on your list? Can you provide instruments other than strings? How do I reserve my date? | ||
For what kind of events do you play? We play for most of the significant events in peoples' lives: weddings, wedding receptions, anniversaries, graduation ceremonies, birthdays and memorial services. We also play for holiday parties, charity events, corporate receptions, trade shows, banquets and luncheons. How can I hear your music before I hire you? We try to play in public periodically so that you can come hear us in person. We occasionally have copies of a demo tape available; call (916)454-3653 or email us to determine if we have one to send you. For how much time should we hire you? For events with a definite start and end time, the duration is easy to specify. We usually arrive at a job 15-30 minutes ahead of time to set up; you are not charged for our set up time. When we play for more than one hour, we schedule a 10-minute rest period during each hour of playing. We are happy to arrange our break time to accommodate speeches, toasts, or other events in your schedule. Most weddings take about an hour of the musicians' time; we usually start playing for 20 minutes or so before the ceremony is scheduled to begin, and play after the ceremoney until all the guests have left the immediate location. However, full Catholic masses can require up to two hours. Occasionally guests linger, and an event extends longer than originally planned. Whenever possible we try to accommodate, and stay to play an extra hour or so (we prorate at half-hour intervals). This is not possible, however, when we have prior commitments elsewhere. What kind of equipment and setup do you require? We need only three (or four, in the case of quartet) straight, armless chairs. We bring music stands and stand lights; if we are to use the lights, a three-prong outlet or extension cord should be at hand. We ordinarily do not use amplification, but we do have a sound system we can use for noisier outdoor functions. Can you provide music that's not on your list? Yes, we can usually find a suitable arrangement of pieces not on our repertoire list. We can also do custom arrangements if needed, at a rate of $25/hour. We can give an accurate estimate of the cost before starting work. Can you provide singers or instruments other than strings? Kristi Matal, alto and Alice Lenaghan, flute, are regular players with Millington Strings (despite our name). We also can engage other instrumentalists, such as a trumpet player or pianist, for special events. If you would like us to work with a specific singer or instrumentalist, with whom we have not performed, we would ask a $25.00 per person per hour rehearsal fee. Usually an hour's rehearsal is sufficient. How do I reserve my date? Call (916)454-3653, email us to reserve the date you would like. We will send you an invoice containing all details of your event, including the total cost. Upon receipt of a 25% deposit, your date is reserved. The remainder is due before the day of your event. | ||
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