4 Questions You Should Ask Your Event Musicians
Music is a central part of the human experience. Great live music can bring people together that a Spotify playlist could never. Finding live musicians who have both extensive performing expertise as well as experience managing and performing for private events can be tricky. Here are a few questions you can ask your live music team to ensure you are getting musicians who are both great performers as well as experienced in the specific logistics of private events.
Do you generally work with the same team of musicians regularly?
A great live music team will have a small core list (10-20) of musicians who perform most events they manage. Great musicians can jump in and perform with anyone, regardless of whether they have performed with them before or not, BUT great musicians will perform even better when they are able to be relaxed enough to truly focus on making music and not calculating the next move of the player next to them.
Do you provide amplification for your musicians?
In a concert hall, musicians generally do not need to be amplified because audiences are attentively listening and not having conversations. At events, the aim is to create an atmosphere for good conversation and connection between guests. If you hire a live ensemble, you want to make sure guests can feel free to talk but also hear the music being performed. We are one of the first string ensembles in New England to make amplification standard at every event where guest conversation is expected. Because we have been offering amplification for nearly a decade, we know all the ins and outs of amplification of not just strings but all the way up to full reception band.
Do your musicians serve double duty roles on site?
Events come with many dynamic logistical challenges. We have made it a priority ensure that we have at least one administrative team member on site at every event we manage so that musicians are free to focus solely on making music. Prior to each event, our admin team is meeting regularly to go over details for each event so that on site we can focus on any immediate logistical needs. You will get a well oiled machine that you can trust to execute the vision you have for your event.
Do you regularly perform new music?
When we started performing together a decade ago, it was difficult to find arrangements of new music. We wrote a lot of our own arrangements in the beginning because we were excited about performing any and all requests that might come our way. Now, there are a lot of really incredible arrangers writing new arrangements almost as soon as new music is released. We regularly peruse new arrangements and pick up things not just that clients have requested, but also things we think would be fun to play. We are constantly updating our setlists to include both standard classics but also lots of new music.
Happy hunting for the perfect live music for your event! We hope these questions help you in your search!