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Violin and cello
The Violin and Cello Duo is one of our most popular choices at String Musicians London. As a duo, we can perform all types of music and we are even more versatile than a string quartet – our musicians are so musically adept that they find improvising and harmonising as easy as breathing, and can play almost anything on sight. Special musical requests for a string duo are very easily arranged, and with the treble notes of the violin and bass line of the cello (like the right and left hand of the piano) any performance will be musically complete.
What we have noticed is that a lot of other groups in London neglect the string duo repertoire, just playing off the quartet scores and using string quartet arrangements, which often doesn’t work well for violin and cello at all, because in a quartet the melodic line is shared between instruments. The reason why the violin and cello duo is so versatile and can play basically anything is that we are able to adapt the music directly from the piano part – again, imagine the violin as being the treble/right hand of the piano, and the cellist the bass/left hand – and Voilà! That’s why the violin and cello duo is so popular and can offer a musically complete rendition of any song or piece.
A duo has the added bonus of being able to fit in most spaces – we don’t need as much room as a string quartet or string trio, and we aren’t that much quieter than a string quartet, either! If you’re wanting a bit more volume for your large event, you can hire the violin and cello duo amplified, with or without backing tracks – we can bring our portable PA system with mics, if your venue doesn’t already provide these.
We’ve all been trained at the best conservatoires in London and perform as soloists, chamber artists and with orchestras including the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic, and artists including Bocelli, Ed Sheeran and Adele – we approach each musical performance with fresh vigour, whether it’s a concert in the Royal Albert Hall or a wedding ceremony at the Old Marylebone Town Hall! We are always delighted to play beautiful music and to share that with our clients, and have been performing for weddings and special events for over 10 years.
List of backing tracks
Avicii – Wake Me Up, Hey Brother
Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines
Sigala – Came Here for Love
Coldplay – Viva la Vida
Britney Spears – Toxic
Tones and I – Dance Monkey
Dua Lipa – One Kiss, Don’t Start Now, Levitating
David Guetta – Dangerous
Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get it On
Cristina Perri – A Thousand Years
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Jason Derulo – Want to Want Me
Ed Sheeran – Shape of You, Photograph, Perfect
OMI – Cheerleader
Walk the Moon – Shut Up and Dance
Clean Bandit – Rockabye, Solo
John Legend – All of Me
Shawn Mendes – Senorita
Pharrell WIlliams – Happy
Bond – Fuego
Jenkins – Palladio
Vivaldi – The Storm (Winter)
Cohen – Hallelujah
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
Elvis – Can’t Help Falling in Love
Bruno Mars – Marry You
Pachelbel – Canon
Handel – Queen of Sheba
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Jazmine Sullivan – Need U Bad
Luther Vandross – So Amazing
Anita Baker – Sweet Love
Mariah Carey – Endless Love
Ahesta Bero
Hercai
Al Yazmalim
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a Violin and Cello Duo and a String Quartet?
If you decide to hire a duo, you certainly won’t be compromising on anything. The repertoire, quality of music and performance will be just as excellent if you hire a duo rather than a quartet. As mentioned before, the duo can play anything, just like a pianist, and we don’t use quartet arrangements when performing as a duo, because this renders an incomplete-sounding performance. It’s even easier to play your special request as a duo compared to a quartet, in fact – so if you have a musical request that isn’t on our repertoire list do let us know and we’ll most likely be able to perform it for you!
Our repertoire ranges from Classical to Pop, Bridgerton to Bollywood – just get in touch and we’ll be delighted to perform for your event!
How can I book the Violin and Cello Duo today?
After confirming our availability with you and deciding on the details – ensemble, location, date and time – we’ll email you an invoice for the 25% deposit along with our contract. The booking is confirmed upon receipt of payment. We also accept last minute bookings, so don’t worry if you’re in need of a last minute musician, we can help! In the case of bookings made less than 4 weeks prior to the event day, the entire payment is due up front. We accept payment via bank transfer, and if you need to pay by card this is also an option. We do not charge VAT, and our rates are competitive, so get in touch today and we’ll email you our price list 🙂
How long can I hire you for?
For a civil wedding ceremony, an hour should be sufficient, unless you are having a Catholic Nuptial Mass or Nikkah ceremony, in which case we recommend a two hour booking. For the civil ceremony, we recommend booking us as your guests enter the room and take their seats, so that we can set the mood with some beautiful romantic music. Then, we will play for the entrance of the bridal party – you can choose your favourite song for this, something that has some special meaning for you. The next song or musical piece we play is during the signing of the registry, we recommend having a couple of songs for this because the signing can take a few minutes. Then, for your exit music – something upbeat and fun to celebrate you as a married couple! If you need recommendations flick us a message and we can offer some suggestions.
After the ceremony, a lot of couples book us to play an extra hour or two for their cocktails and canapes, and sometimes we are hired for the whole day, to perform during the wedding breakfast and first dance also! We are very flexible, so just let us know how long you’d like to book us for. Of course, musicians need sufficient breaks, so for bookings over an hour we require a 10 min break every hour, and for longer bookings of 3 hours or more we also require a meal break. Just to keep our fingers fresh!
Can the strings perform outdoors?
Yes, we often play outdoors in summer! This is entirely possible as long as us and our instruments are sheltered from sun, rain (including rain coming in at all angles with wind), and bird droppings. We recommend a gazebo or some large sturdy umbrellas for this purpose.
If I want to book the Violin and Cello Duo for a large event would I be able to hear you playing?
Yes, for sure, we play for lots of large events and have very happy clients! The thing about noise is, the louder we play, the louder the guests speak! Usually clients love the fact that we set up in the corner of the room, and guests to come and go, listening to us as they please, rather than having noise blasting in their ears at all times. But, we can come with microphones and a PA system if you feel this would be better for your large event, and this is a fantastic and recommended option for events in large halls. And especially for events where we are performing for your grand entrance and first dance. If your event is outdoors, you must check with the venue to see if it’s ok for us to play with amplification.
Most of the time we don’t need to play with amplification, but the option is there for you if you want it. We can also perform with our selection of backing tracks, which are very fun, and the guests will definitely be dancing!