A Classical Charleston Wedding
ArtsMusic Productions is happy to assist you with the classical music for your special day. Please call (843)766-7686 for more information.
Our musicians are contracted in hour long increments. For a standard wedding, our musicians perform background seating music for 15 minutes then provide the processional, special music (if requested) and recessional. The musicians will then continue to play until the guests depart the area or to the end of the one hour service, whichever comes first.
I have decided to hire your musician for my wedding.
what do I do now?
How far in advance do we need to contract ArtsMusic Productions?
How far in advance do we need to contract ArtsMusic Productions?
Is it possible for me to attend an
event that
ArtsMusic Productions
will be playing before signing our contract?
I have decided to hire your musician for my wedding. what do I do now?
In order to book a date with our musicians, you should fill out the form above to request the time, location and desired ensemble. We will then issue a contract via .pdf e-mail attachment for you to review, sign and return within 15 days.
How far in advance to we need to contract
Signature Players?
We contract and schedule our events
on an as needed basis pending our availability. In many
instances we have contracted for events in excess of a year in
advance. For the best likelihood of availability, we recommend
contracting soon after you have firmly established your ceremony
date and time.
Is
playing weddings your full-time job?
As full-time professional musicians
each of our musicians dedicate their talents to a wide spectrum
of aspects of musical life. We play with local orchestras,
perform public chamber music concerts, participate in local arts
festivals, teach private students of all ages, play in our
churches and synagogues and provide music for weddings and
corporate events.
Would
you be able to accompany my singer for our ceremony?
We frequently are asked to accompany
singers for selections during the ceremony. We ask that you
provide us the contact information (phone number or email
address) of the singer(s) as soon as possible so we may discuss
details of the music with them directly. We want to make sure
we have the proper music in the proper key for the individual
singer's vocal range. To ensure a quality performance,
rehearsal time must be scheduled with the singer. This
rehearsal time is not included in the ceremony contract and is
an additional expense. We recommend scheduling time immediately
before the seating music, the specific amount of time scheduled
taking into consideration the complexity of the song and the
experience of the singer. If a transcription of the music is
required (writing out the instrumental parts from a piano part,
for example) there is an additional fee.
Does
my contract include your attendance at our wedding rehearsal?
We generally
do not attend wedding rehearsals. We have identified a limited
number of critical items which allow us to synchronize the music
with the proper entrances. First, we request that your wedding
coordinator provide a signal (hand wave, flashing of a light,
etc.) that the mother(s) and grandmother(s) are prepared to be
formally seated. While agreeing on a specific time is a good
idea, in many cases this may change and be unpredictable at the
ceremony for unforeseen reasons. Our knowing the proper number
of people entering to each selection lets us know when to
cadence before pausing to begin the next musical selection. If
we need additional time, we can loop back to an earlier place in
the music or cut to the end for an earlier appropriate
conclusion. The items of information which we need are clearly
marked on our wedding selection sheet.
How
do you coordinate the lengths of the pieces you play with the
corresponding entrances?
Our knowing an accurate number of
people entering to each selection allows us to know when to
cadence before pausing to begin the next musical selection. If
we need additional time, we can loop back to an earlier place in
the piece or cut to the end for an earlier conclusion. We try
to have the music continue to allow the group entering to find
their place but also allow a smooth cadence without waiting
unnecessarily long. It is very important that we have a visual
line of sight with your coordinator so we may receive a visual
cue that the mother(s) and grandmother(s) are ready to be
seated.
Can
you play a piece not included on your repertoire list?
In many cases we can play pieces
which are not included on our repertoire list. Please ask about
a specific song or composition. Such pieces must be appropriate
to our instrumentation (please remember our ensemble is three or
four players playing acoustical instruments and many works are
written for significantly larger numbers of musicians or for
electronic instruments, vocals, drums, etc.) In many cases we
need to be provided with a keyboard part from which a
transcription (writing out the individual instrumental parts)
may be made at an additional charge. We cannot make a
transcription from an audio recording.
Can
you play a song that I have the piano music for?
When we are requested to play a song
that we are not familiar with, we first try to listen to a
recording to determine whether the fundamental substance of the
song will be lost in the translation from vocal and piano to
three or four accoustic instruments. If we feel the character
of the song can work with our instruments a transcription may be
necessary. The musicians will each read from a separate line of
music. While a pianist may play many notes simultaneously, the
parts we play have to be separated so we know in advance which
notes each instrument will need to play to have the chords sound
correctly. This requires that each instrument's part be
hand-copied to a separate part. Since this requires
considerable time an additional fee is charged for this.
How
much advance notice do I need to give for my musical selections?
One of the most important parts of
preparing smooth musical transitions is to have the sheet music
in all the musician binders in proper and identical order so as
to avoid unnecessary time lost searching for selections. We
would ask that you provide us a finalized list of your musical
selections no later than fourteen days prior to your
wedding ceremony. Should you have it sooner we would be happy
to look it over and share our thoughts about the general flow of
the ceremony.
Can
I make changes to my musical selections?
We encourage you to make careful
decisions as we believe the music creates an atmosphere tailored
specifically to your special and unique celebration. If there
is anything we can do to help make this more meaningful please
let us know and we will try to help. We try to be as flexible
as possible about last minute changes. Please keep in mind that
adequate preparation of the musical parts requires individual
preparation time on the part of each musician and therefore some
late notice substitutions may not be possible.
Do
you amplify your instruments?
The design of our instruments has
been developed over centuries to efficiently project sound. The
instruments we play are acoustical and are carefully handcrafted
to project their sound without the need for artificial
amplification. Artificial amplification may actually distort
the sound and tonal quality. In most cases we try to position
ourselves so we can be heard by your guests without being so
close that our sound becomes overpowering.
What
happens if a musician gets sick or for some other reason isn't
able to participate in the wedding?
The
musicians playing at your event are not necessarily the same
musicians playing on the demos. The musicians we work with
pride themselves on their musical art. They also consider it a
great honor to be invited to take part in an important
celebration. In many cases we mix in other local professional
musicians to allow for different instrumental combinations or
for scheduling availability. We have worked with these
musicians many times before and highly respect both their
musical talent and their attention to the highest levels of
professionalism and punctuality. Please understand if we
suggest an alternate and equally suitable instrumentation should
one of our "core" players not be available.
What
happens if a wedding ceremony goes beyond the contracted time?
Sometimes wedding ceremonies extend
beyond the contracted end of our musical service. While we try
to allow for flexibility we may have other events scheduled
after yours. We try to let you know in advance if we think
timing will be a concern. If the musicians are available for
additional time, our agreement with them requires that an
overtime fee be charged for any time outside of the contracted
time. This hourly overtime is pro-rated in ten-minute
increments for each player. If you envision that your ceremony
will exceed thirty minutes, please discuss this with us.
Do
we need to pick all the music you will be playing?
While we
encourage you to pick special selections for your ceremony music
(processional
and recessional music), we generally pick the seating
music, taking into consideration a meaningful flow of faster and
slower selections from pieces such as Handel's Water Music,
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and other early Classical and
Baroque favorites.
What
considerations are there when planning live classical music for
an outdoor wedding?
Our instruments are both fragile and
valuable. A stringed instrument's fine varnish, which is
integral to the clarity of tone, is easily permanently damaged
by any precipitation or strong sunlight. The key pads on
clarinet or flute cannot get wet or they fail to seal air
properly. Please understand if we must adjust our position to
avoid strong sun exposure on our instruments. In the case of
rain we must immediately cover our instruments, and will not be
able to play, to prevent permanent damage. For outdoor events
we strongly recommend reserving an alternate rain location.
Please also understand for the same reason that following a
ceremony bubbles cannot be blown in the vicinity of our
instruments.
What
happens if our event must be rescheduled or moved to a different
location after we have contracted you?
After we receive a signed contract
and accompanying non-refundable deposit, that event is
considered confirmed in the musician's calendars. The contract
and deposit are for a specific time on a specific date.
Musicians understand that they need to make every effort to
keep themselves available for that function. In many cases this
may mean that they must turn down requests to play at other
functions. With this in mind, we "guarantee" our musicians that
an event is solid. If a contracted event is cancelled we divide
the deposit amongst the musicians. We generally try to accept
time changes on the same day provided all contracted musicians
are able to accommodate the change. We can generally
accommodate changes of location.
What
will the Musicians wear?
We wear formal performance attire to
all our functions. Indoors this is full black tuxedo for men
and full-length formal black dress or slacks for women. In the
event of hot weather men may choose not to wear the tuxedo
jackets. Upon request, and if available, we also have access to
"colonial" type clothing.
How
far are you willing to travel?
Signature
Players primarily performs in the greater Charleston, SC
area. When available we have enjoyed playing in outlying cities
such as Georgetown, Kingstree, Beaufort and Walterboro. If you
have an event outside of Charleston, please inquire about our
playing there and what additional travel cost may be incurred.
What
equipment do you require we provide?
We provide our own music stands and
stand lights, when necessary. Please provide one armless chair
per musician, set up approximately where you would like us to
play. In locations where there is not adequate shade please
provide a canopy with a minimum dimension of 10'X10'.
Is
it possible for me to attend an event that
ArtsMusic Charleston
will be playing before signing our contract?
While we understand and share your
concern for the level of quality and professionalism, we also
recognize that weddings are private celebrations between family
and friends. Out of respect for privacy we do not bring guests.
How
do we go about hiring a trumpet player?
Because
the fees for trumpet players vary we are pleased to help put
clients directly in touch with trumpet players who we work with
on a regular basis. We encourage you to sign an Agreement
directly with the trumpet player.
What
time will the musicians arrive to our event?
The musicians generally arrive between
twenty and thirty minutes prior to the scheduled time they are
to start playing. In most cases the on-site musician manager
will arrive somewhat earlier than this to go over any last
minute details with your coordinator.
What
is the payment schedule?
50% of our
fee is payable in the form of a non-refundable deposit and is
payable along with your signed contract to secure the date in
our schedule. The remaining fee is due no later than fourteen
calendar days prior to your event.
Do
we need to provide food for the musicians?
Unless specifically invited by the
host, we ask that our musicians not eat or drink at your
function. Musicians may request ice water if appropriate.
Should
we tip the musicians?
We consider receiving a tip to be a
great compliment. Feel free to tip if you so choose.