tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104286882024-03-18T20:17:08.971-07:00Downstate StringsDownstate Stringshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906952186858644696noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428688.post-1106831432293258382005-01-27T05:06:00.001-08:002012-10-22T20:47:27.160-07:00Downstate Strings specializes in playing music for weddings and other celebrations in East Central Illinois and Western Indiana. Our repertoire features traditional Irish music, Latin music, arrangements of popular songs (both old and new), music from the theatre, arrangements of opera arias, and music from the standard classical string quartet repertoire. <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUJ6ppdNjlLvz2EElbgLOKAu_YfKl_myf1SiNEyeLDrcnIA2fDnHA1erRQX7rRptSk2EZiBMRMhgwM9Go33lcnfidim9ZcqlVaWhtE0IdgTgbNDfJoNkOtz2eZKCQIpRSFZl2tA/s1600-h/All+4+3+cropped.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUJ6ppdNjlLvz2EElbgLOKAu_YfKl_myf1SiNEyeLDrcnIA2fDnHA1erRQX7rRptSk2EZiBMRMhgwM9Go33lcnfidim9ZcqlVaWhtE0IdgTgbNDfJoNkOtz2eZKCQIpRSFZl2tA/s400/All+4+3+cropped.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378569104010569458" /></a><br />
[Above photos by Michael Leddy]<br />
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Please listen to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBZzw92c4XI">our audio calling card</a>, and <a href="mailto:downstatestrings@hotmail.com">write to us </a> (downstatestrings@hotmail.com) to check our availability, and to see our ever-expanding repertoire list. You can also contact us by telephone. Ask for Terry Coulton at (217) 348-1601 or Elaine Fine at (217) 345-4310.<br />
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<span style="font-weight:bold;">Rates</span><br />
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We charge $700.00 for a two-hour wedding, which includes mileage around the downstate Illinois and downstate Indiana areas. The time can be divided between the wedding and part of the reception. For events longer than two hours, we charge $300.00 for each additional hour or portion of an hour. For outdoor events we charge an extra $100.00, and require protection from the sun and weather.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhp3HD83VuZT6DMgDYHQxin-n6H5e913KdGQQw6lJCKSV_FFkZW7mvh95LW0JwGY5UKeMIq6WIMR3WZio8Rjs1pTfbyF_OumK8UNeBkucm37zaczghzSpPjGymiMf1L-UIGAQdQ/s1600/DSS+Outside+10+10+10+1+Romaine.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhp3HD83VuZT6DMgDYHQxin-n6H5e913KdGQQw6lJCKSV_FFkZW7mvh95LW0JwGY5UKeMIq6WIMR3WZio8Rjs1pTfbyF_OumK8UNeBkucm37zaczghzSpPjGymiMf1L-UIGAQdQ/s400/DSS+Outside+10+10+10+1+Romaine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577843553348686290" /></a><br />
[Photo by <a href="http://www.romineweddings.com/">Mark Romine</a>]<br />
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We have had decades of experience playing weddings, and the quality of our work reflects our professionalism. Read <a href="http://downstatestrings.blogspot.com/2007/09/reviews-from-brides.html">reviews from brides, grooms, and their families</a>, and consider how much expertly-played live music chosen by you and your family will add to your wedding experience. We make everything easy for you, and take pride in timing the music we play exactly to the needs of our brides and grooms and their families. Your guests will also appreciate being able to listen to a prelude that will get them fully into the "wedding spirit," and help them to feel welcome and comfortable in your wedding location. We cherish the experience of being able to participate in the most important day of a couple's life, and do our very best to help make it as beautiful and as meaningful as possible through the music we play.<br />
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This is a list of some of our most popular traditional wedding music selections. We also have a huge selection of popular music that brides and grooms like to use for the various parts of their weddings, and arrangements that no other Quartet plays, because they are exclusive to Downstate Strings. One custom string quartet arrangement (if desired) of any piece or song of your choice is included in the wedding fee, as well as rehearsal time directly before the wedding, if you would like us to accompany a singer. <br />
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Amazing Grace (Traditional)<br />
Adams: Desire<br />
Bach: Largo from the Concerto for Two Violins<br />
Bach: Minuet in G (Anna Magdalena)<br />
Bach: Bist du bei mir<br />
Bach: Air from Suite No. 3 in D<br />
Bach: Arioso from Cantata No. 156<br />
Bach: Chorale Prelude: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier<br />
Bach: Chorale Prelude: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme<br />
Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring<br />
Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze from Cantata No. 208<br />
Bach/Gounod: Ave Maria<br />
Bernstein: One Hand, One Heart<br />
Bock: Sunrise, Sunset<br />
Beethoven: Ode to Joy<br />
Clarke: Trumpet Voluntary in D<br />
Enya: Only Time<br />
Franck: Panis Angelicus<br />
Grieg: Wedding Day at Troldhaugen<br />
Handel: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon<br />
Handel: Hornpipe from the Water Music<br />
Handel: La Réjouissance from Royal Fireworks Music<br />
Handel: Menuet from The Water Music<br />
Handel: Largo from Xerxes<br />
Handel: Overture from Royal Fireworks Music<br />
Handel: Air and Variations<br />
Malotte: The Lord's Prayer<br />
Massenet: Meditation from Thais<br />
Mendelssohn: Wedding March<br />
Mouret: Rondeau from Symphonies des fanfares<br />
Mozart: Wedding March from The Marriage of Figaro<br />
Mozart: Adagio K361<br />
Pachelbel: Canon in D<br />
Purcell: Trumpet Tune (The King of Denmark)<br />
Rodgers: Wedding Processional from the Sound of Music<br />
Rota: A Time for Us<br />
Schubert: Ave Maria<br />
Stookey: Wedding Song (There is Love)<br />
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons<br />
Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 3, #11<br />
Tchaikovsky: Music from the Nutcracker<br />
Wagner: Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin<br />
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Additional arrangements, beyond the single gratis arrangement, can be made for your wedding, but there will be an additional (and negotiable) charge for this service.Downstate Stringshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906952186858644696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10428688.post-30779848278499669432003-09-28T16:25:00.002-07:002012-07-11T09:34:15.193-07:00Reviews from Brides, Grooms, and their FamiliesOur thanks to all of you again for being a part of our special day. Things ran a little behind and your performance really kept everything beautiful while our guests were waiting. Your assistance in arranging our song was phenomenal and the performance while my bride walked down the isle just added to everything else to take my breath away. I have attached a couple photos from the day of your performance. If you would like to use them, feel free as we have all the appropriate releases.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xr_NciGdyI8Kpzmwc56qHmeW9a3OD0fxITsUin8kTbWyyAUSAUCHUmsMvbgAKC0VivUW7MyPTDlWuOxaQqnM2R2reLeMr7_vw_9CCfNFP8qfbje3tKcXKvQfBxSttxR13TFF2g/s1600/Downstate_Strings_2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xr_NciGdyI8Kpzmwc56qHmeW9a3OD0fxITsUin8kTbWyyAUSAUCHUmsMvbgAKC0VivUW7MyPTDlWuOxaQqnM2R2reLeMr7_vw_9CCfNFP8qfbje3tKcXKvQfBxSttxR13TFF2g/s320/Downstate_Strings_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722898516700477186" /></a><br />Also, I have a video of the ceremony that, if you were interested, I could edit for you to use as well. Thanks again for helping us make this an amazing experience for us and our guests. We will be sure to recommend you any chance we get.<br /><br />Kind Regards,<br /><br />Alex Nation<br /><br />* * * * * * *<br /><br />Dear Downstate Strings, <br /><br />I would like to thank you for your beautiful performance Sunday at our wedding! The music was perfect, and created the exact atmosphere that Matthew and I were imagining. It felt to us like a garden party that might have happened a long time ago. The ambiance was truly magical. I didn't get a chance to thank you before you left, so please do tell each of the ladies how much we enjoyed it. Our guests, too, have complimented you several times over. <br /><br />We are so very pleased. Thank you again, and we hope to hear you perform again someday when we visit Illinois!<br /><br /> -- Jennifer Gover Bannon<br /><br /><br />Elaine and Martha from Downstate Strings were very helpful and patient with assisting me in finding the right music pieces for my wedding. Their experience in playing at social events showed at every step of the process. The performance of Downstate Strings is part of my fond memories of the day -- it simply created the atmosphere I had envisioned for that moment. Thank you for your wonderful recital!<br /><br /> -- Nathalie (Wedding in Springfield, IL May 2008)<br /><br />The members of Downstate Strings were wonderful to work with. They were professional, had a large number of classic pieces to choose from, and gave a beautiful performance during our June 2009 wedding. Our guests talked about it for months! Thank you, Downstate Strings!<br /><br /> ---from Charlotte Smith<br /><br />Words cannot express our gratitude for the beautiful music on our daughter's wedding day. We will cherish the memories.<br /><br /> ---from Behrooz and Denise Heshmatpour<br /><br />Thank you for playing at our wedding! I have heard many great things from our guests! Your sting quartet helped make our day even more special! Before the ceremony while I was getting ready upstairs I heard you play and I bursted into tears of joy! It was so wonderful it still gives me the butterflies to think about it!<br /><br />I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to talk to you during the reception. Anyways, it was a pleasure working with you.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Daniela and Brant<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />Downstate Strings,<br /><br />Your music magnified the blessing and covenant of our children's wedding. "Perfecto," said the Parodies. The Witmers agree: thank you for 4Xs the pleasure of the dream.<br /><br />With deep appreciation, <br /><br />Steve & Donna <br /><br />* * *<br /><br />Downstate Strings,<br /><br />Thank you so very much for providing beautiful music at our wedding. Thank you for helping our dream wedding come true!<br /><br />Thanks & God Bless,<br /><br />Owen and Jessie<br /><br />* * * * * * *<br />
. . . So it turned out I had the perfect wedding--in the place most special to my heart, with my favorite music to the man I've loved nearly 20 years. Thank you Downstate Strings. You were truly the icing on the cake.<br />
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Amy YorkDownstate Stringshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906952186858644696noreply@blogger.com