Answers for your FAQs: Our Policies and Fees
Performance Fees
Performance fees are based on the number of performers, the length of performance time, and the type of performance (ceremony/service, or background music only). Please contact us for a specific quote!
Travel Fees
Travel fees apply to our gigs held beyond the 494/694 loop. Please obtain possible travel fee amounts for your event by contacting us. The travel fee is per musician (number of musicians depending on the size of the ensemble you choose).
Arrangement Fees
Arrangement fees vary but are generally about $100/song. Please let us know if you are interested in an arrangement, and include applicable details such as composer, performer and a specific recording if applicable! Sonorous Strings will respond with a quote.
Outdoor Events
We are happy to play for your outdoor event, but have some inclement weather guidelines for our clients. Due to the nature of our fragile and costly wooden instruments and bows, string players need shelter from sun and precipitation. Unfortunately, even a few raindrops can quickly ruin a stringed instrument, so our musicians have to be very cautious about not allowing their instruments to get wet. To protect our instruments from both rain and sun, we ask that clients provide us with a four-walled tent on site or significant overhead tree cover. (Umbrellas are rarely sufficient in either size or height to aptly protect players from weather conditions). Cooler temperatures (below 60 degrees Fahrenheit), also present a challenge as our wooden instruments are not able to maintain pitch and our fingers lose agility in cold temperatures. If you are holding your event outside, we recommend having outdoor heaters or even an area heater available for each musician. We are not able to play in temperatures or a wind chill below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, without the aid of an additional heating element. The best thing you can do to avoid losing your live music should an unexpected weather event arise? Have a backup plan! Be sure you have an indoor space standing by in case of inclement weather, no matter what!
Consultation Fees
Phone consultations are free of charge. For a more in depth experience, we offer in-person or video call consultations, which incur a $75 fee, due at the consultation. Sonorous Strings is always happy to meet with clients in person in order to get a feel for the ambiance you are looking to create with your music choices. Our manager, Krista, will help you choose specific selections for your event. If you aren't quite sure what you are looking for, Krista can play audio and video recordings of our groups performing various musical genres & particular pieces, explaining which songs typically correspond to specific events in a wedding ceremony, and answering any questions you may have! Feel free to bring your fiancé, friends, family, etc. She'll help you come up with a plan on the spot, and email it to you following the consultation.
Armless Chairs
While we provide our own music, music stands, stand lights, etc., we do ask that you provide a chair without arms for each musician in the ensemble you select. (So 4 armless chairs for the quartet, 3 for the trio, and 2 for the duo). We will need those chairs already set up for us when we arrive at each area where you'd like us to play, even outdoors.
Collaboration Fees
If you’d like us to bring in outside musicians, (say, a trumpet player), we must already be in possession of or have access to sheet music for the expanded ensemble. While we cannot guarantee that we will be able to collaborate, we are open to the possibility. If we collaborate, we will need to rehearse with the other musician(s) on the day of the event, and we must charge for rehearsal time. Rehearsal fees depend on length of rehearsal time (predetermined) and the ensemble you have chosen (each member must receive compensation for rehearsing).
Wedding Rehearsal
This service is not always available. If you request this service, and we are available, one of our members will attend a wedding rehearsal to assist the wedding party in understanding when and how quickly to walk, determine cues for the ensemble and generally help with the organizational aspect of the music. We charge a minimum of $100 for this service, and that includes an hour of one musician's time.