Allegro String Quartet FAQ

How many musicians do I need for my event?
The Allegro Quartet (4 musicians) has many years of experience and the best selection of music. This grouping is our premier sound and is what you hear on our website. We highly recommend a full quartet for any occasion. We do understand about more intimate events and smaller budgets, so we do have trios (3 musicians) and duets (2 musicians) to offer you for your special occasion.

For an outdoor wedding: For 50 or fewer guests, a duet (2 musicians) will do nicely. For 80 or fewer guests, a trio (3 musicians). For more than 100 guests, we recommend a full quartet, 4 musicians.

For outdoors weddings you will need more musicians because the absence of walls and ceilings will cause some of our volume to be lost. We suggest that you add one extra musician to the guidelines mentioned above. If you are having 200 guests or more, we can add 2 musicians to a quartet to make 6 musicians or even double the quartet to 8 musicians.

When do you arrive for my event?
We always arrive at least 30 minutes before we are scheduled to begin in order to speak to the coordinator about cues and also to speak to the officiant to go over the ceremony details. There is no charge for this service.

How do I pick my music?
You can use the song lists and the music samples with our guidance to pick your music.

What if I want a song that’s not on your list?
Just ask. Each partner has a private library at your disposal. If we do not have the song in our personal library and the song needs to be arranged, we have professional arrangers who have worked for us for many years who do this for us. That charge will be determined on the complexity of the song as it takes time and talent to write quality music for each of the musicians you have hired.

What time do you begin playing at my event?
It is customary for us to begin 15 minutes before the time printed on the invitation, and this can be adjusted at the couples’ request. Our start and finish times will be stated on your contract. Remember we arrive at least 30 minutes before our start time in order to set up, at no charge to you.

Why is shade so important?
Our instruments are one-of-a-kind, hand made out of wood, and are very valuable. They cannot be exposed to sunlight, which can damage them and cause them to go out of tune very quickly. Sunlight in our eyes prevents us from reading our music, seeing your coordinator’s cues and watching for moments during your ceremony that are critical to the proper timing of our music.

For what length of time should I hire you?
If you would like us to play for your wedding, one hour is sufficient for a simple ceremony. For a Catholic or Episcopal Mass, a minimum of 1.5 hours is necessary. Add additional time for cocktails, reception and/or dinner as we provide excellent background music.

Can I pay you with a credit card?
No, we accept checks or cash for the deposit or the balance. Not taking credit cards helps us keep our costs down.

How far ahead should I book you?
We have couples who book us one year in advance for the busy months of October, March and April. Call us for availability.

What do you wear?
The women wear all black and the men wear tuxedos except in the summer when the men wear black.

Music
Click below for Allegro Quartet’s song and repertoire lists
Classical Music List
Pop/Contemporary Music List
Sacred Music List
Jewish Music List
Latin Music List
Irish Music List
Holiday Music List
New Songs
Disney Music
The Beatles

Are there any additional fees I need to know about?
Locations beyond the metropolitan Phoenix area incur travel fees, depending on travel distance and time.

Additional fees may be incurred for customized song arrangements and any additional rehearsal time with your soloists.

Holiday events may incur an additional fee per musician on major holidays including:
Christmas Eve, Day and weekend
New Year’s Eve, Day and weekend
Easter Day and weekend

Any changes made to a contract for time, day or location will have a $25.00 fee.