String Quartet / Wedding String Quartet Based in Hertfordshire but travels UK wide
Highly Recommended String Quartet
to hire. Blond are a highly professional, all female contemporary quartet. Their huge repertoire includes pop music & jazz, light classical, show songs, traditional sing-a-long tunes & Christmas carols. Perfect for weddings, corporate events and parties.
Prices: From £672+
For help & advice call 0845 108 5500
Need a second opinion?
Find out what your friends think of Blond.
Customer Reviews: 1 of 23
"Just a quick note to say a big thankyou to you and your team, and of course to Blond, who were fantastic and made my day extra special!"
Can add extra string players for a bigger ensemble.
The Blond String Quartet was formed in 2001 as an innovative ensemble to perform music outside of the standard string quartet repertoire.
Blond have a wealth of experience in playing at weddings corporate events and parties. The girls have also enjoyed a residency at the Ritz Hotel London performances on the Saga Pearl cruise ship and a repeat invitation by Mervin King to perform at the annual dinner for the Bank of England. Their celebrity client list includes Bill Clinton Stephen Hawkins and Nelson Mandela.
Other clients include: Samsung Princess of Wales trust Newmarket racecourse and Gary Player.
Blond have also been building up their recital repertoire and have been enjoying giving public concerts at many classical music festivals.
The quartet has had many arrangements specifically written for them. They enjoy playing music from different genres, including pop, jazz and easy listening as well as an extensive classical repertoire.
Blond will do their best to find or arrange music not seen on their rapidly expanding repertoire lists.
Members of Blond have all studied at the top music colleges in London. They have enjoyed performances with many professional ensembles, west end shows and orchestras. These include: London Symphony Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra English National Ballet London Children's Ballet Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Northern Sinfonia Opera North BBC Philharmonic National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Here are a just a few comments from past weddings:
'You really gave our wedding the very elegant, classy touch we were hoping for'. Andrea Newman
'We were so impressed and everyone commented on how beautifully you played'. Amy and Tom
'Thank you for your highly professional performance. Everyone has regarded you all as a highlight of the day'. Josh and Teresa Perry
Blond's Set List / Repertoire
New! Christmas Repertoire! Bell Carol/In Dulci Jubilo (Traditional) Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella (Traditional) Carol of the Drum (Little Drummer Boy) (Davis) Christmas Medley 1, includes: Silver Bells, Let it Snow, Have yourself a merry little Christmas, White Chritmas Christmas Medley 2, includes: Shepherds leave your sheep, come, O come Emmanuel, Here we come a-caroling Christmas Medley 3, includes: The Coventry Carol, God rest you merry gentlemen, Listen, Lording unto me Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (Praetorius) O Holy Night (Adam) Silent Night (Gruber) Sleigh Ride (Anderson) We Wish You a Merry Christmas
WEDDING MUSIC “Anniversary Waltz” (Dubin/Franklin) “Amazing Grace”(Traditional) “Ave Maria” (Bach/Gounod) “Ave Maria (Schubert) Bridal Chorus from “Lohengrin” (Wagner) Hornpipe from the “Water Muisic” (Handel) The Lord’s Prayer (Malotte) “Ninveh” (Middle-Eastern wedding song) (Daniel) “Ode To Joy” (Beethoven) Canon in D (Pachelbel) “Panis Angelicus” (Frank) “Sabbath Prayer” from “Fiddler on the Roof” (Bock) “Sunrise Sunset” from “Fiddler on the Roof” (Bock) “Tell Me Why” (Traditional) Trumpet Tune (“Martial Air”) (Purcell) Trumpet Voluntary in D (Purcell) Wedding March from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Mendelssohn) Wedding Processional from The Sound of Music (Rogers) Wedding Song (“There Is Love”) (Traditional) The Wedding Suite (Naughtin)
BAROQUE/CLASSICAL Air – from suite no.3 (Bach) Alla Sicialana (Handel) Alla Turka (Mozart) Allegro 1 – from sonata op1 no.11 (Handel) Allelujah – from Exultate Jubilate (Moazart) Andante – from Piano concerto no.21 (Mozart) Arietta – (Pergolesi) Arioso (Bach) Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Handel) Ave Maria (Bach) Brandenburg Concerto no.2 in F (Bach) Brandenburg Concerto no.3 in G (Bach) Canon and Gigue (Pachelbel) Cantata no.140 (“Wachet Auf”) (Bach) Chacony (Purcell) Christmas Concerto (Corelli) Concerto Grosso in D minor (Vivaldi) Concerto for 2 violins in D minor (Bach) Chorale Prelude “Liebster Jesu Wir Sind Hier” (Bach) Chorale Prelude “Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme” (Bach) Didos Lament (Purcell) 3 Divertimento (Mozart) Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart) Fireworks Music (Handel) The Four Seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (Vivaldi) Hornpipe (Handel) Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring (Bach) Larghetto – from piano concerto in C minor (Mozart) Largo (Handel) Loure – from the cello suites (Bach) Music for a While – from Oedipus (Purcell) Prelude and Fugue no.12 (Bach) Rondo – from Abdelezar (Purcell) Sarabande and 2 variations (Handel) Sheep May Safely Graze (Bach) Trumpet Tune (Purcell) Quartet in G KV 80 (Mozart) Quartet in D KV 155 (Mozart) Quartet in G KV 156 (Mozart) Quartet in C KV 157 (Mozart) Violin Concerto in E major, 1st movement (Bach) Violin Sonata no.4 in D major (Handel)
BROADWAY, POP AND LATIN All I Ask Of You - from Phantom (Lloyd-Webber) All you need is love (Beatles) America - from West Side Story (Bernstein) Anthem from Chess (Lloyd-Webber) A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (Sherwin) Annie Highlights (Strouse) Anything Goes (Porter) Ashokan Farewell - from The Civil War (Ungar) Autumn Leaves Bachianas Brazileiras no.5 (Villa-Lobos) Begin The Beguine (Porter) Better Man (Robbie Williams) Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve) Blue Moon Blue Tango (Anderson) Bohemian Rhapsody But Not For Me (Gershwin) Cabaret Call Me (Blondie) Charleston Times. Includes: Indiana, The Charleston, There's Nothing New Under the Sun, Oh Joe, I wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight Chasing cars (Snow Patrol) Cheek to Cheek Chicago (Fisher) Cinema Paradiso love theme (Morricone) Close every door Close to you (Carpenters) Come In From The Rain (Manchester) Country Club (Joplin) Dancing Queen (Abba) Danzas Argentinas no.2 (Ginastera) Diamonds (From the Advert) Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend (Bacharach) Don't let the sun go down on me Don't You want me (Human League) Do It Again (Gershwin) El Choclo Tango (Villoldo) Eleanor Rigby (Lennon) Embraceable You (Gershwin) The Entertainer (Joplin) El Relicario (Padilla) E.T - film theme (Williams) Evergreen (Streisand) Every breathe you take (Police) Everytime We Say Goodbye (Porter) Fascinatin' Rhythm (Gershwin) Fawlty Towers - TV theme Feelings (Albert) Final Countdown Fly Me To The Moon (Bacharach) Foggy Day (Gershwin) The Folks Who Live On The Hill (Kern) For Just a Moment - from St Elmos Fire Getting Sentimental Goodbye To Love (Carpenters) The Greatest Love Of All (Masser) Hang On To Me (Gershwin) Have I told You Lately ( Morrison) Hello (Lional Ritchie) Hello Dolly He Loves and She Loves (Gershwing) Hey Jude (McCartney) I Do It For You (Bryan Adams) I dream a dream (Les Miserables) I don't know how to love him I Feel Pretty - from West Side Story (Bernstein) If You Could Read My Mind (Lightfoot) I Got Plenty O'Nuttin (Gershwin) I Got Rhythm (Gershwin) I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise (Gershwin) I Love Paris (Porter) In The Mood (Garland) It Aint Necessarily So (Gershwin) It had to be you Jalousie - Tango (Gade) Jeeves and Wooster - TV theme The King and I Highlights La Bamba (Valence) La Cumpasita (Rodriguez) Lady in red Lara's Theme Laura (Raksin) Latin American Ludwig Leaning On A Lampost (Gay) Lets Do It (Porter) Let it be Leaving On A Jet Plane (Denver) Loony Tunes Fugue (Naughtin) Love Is Here To Stay (Gershwin) Love moves in mysterious ways Love Supreme (Robbie Williams) Magic moments Makin Whoopee (Gershwin) The Man I Love (Gershwin) Manha de Carnavel - from Black Orpheus (Bonfa) Maria - from West Side Story Match of the day Memory - from Cats (Lloyd-Webber) Misty (Garner) Mood Indigo (Ellington) Money, Money, Money (Abba) Moonlight and Roses (Lemare) Moon River (Mancini) The Music Of The Night - from Phantom (Lloyd-Webber) Music To Watch Girls By (A Williams) My Funny Valentine (Rogers) My Heart Stood Still (Rogers/Hart) My Heart Will Go On - from Titanic (Horner) New York, New York (Bernstein) New York, New York (Kander) Nice Work If You Can Get It (Gershwin) Noites Cariocas (Bandolim) No Strings (Berlin) One Hand, One Heart - from West Side Story (Bernstein) The Orange Blossom Special (Rouse) Over The Rainbow (Arlen) Paragon Rag (Joplin) Peacherine Rag (Joplin) Penniew from Heaven (Johnson) Por Una Cabeza Tango - from Scent Of A Woman (Gardel) Purple Haze (Hendrix) Ragtime Dance (Joplin) Red Sails In The Sunset (Williams) Romeo and Juliet Love Theme (Rota) San Jose (Bacharach) Send In The Clowns (Sondheim) Seven By The Beatles. Includes: Day Tripper, Hard Days Night, Eleanor Rigby, Yellow Submarine, Yesterday, When I'm 64 and Back In The USSR She's The One (Robbie Williams) Slap That Bass (Gershwin) Smells like teen spirit (Nirvana) Solace (Joplin) Somebody Loves Me (Gershwin) Someone To Watch Over Me (Gershwin) Somewhere - from West Side Story (Bernstein) Sophisticated Lady (Ellington) Speak Softly Love - theme from The Godfather Spread a little happiness Stardust Stormy Weather (Arlen) Suddenly (Diamond) The Summer Knows - theme from The Summer of 42' (Legrand) Summertime (Gershwin) Swanee (Gershwin) S'wonderful (Gershwin) Syncopated Clock (Anderson) Take me out (Franz Ferdinand) Tango (Albeniz) Tanguedia 3 (Piazolla) They Can't Take That Away From Me (Gershwin) Tico - Tico (Abreu) Tonight - from West Side Story (Bernstein) Truly (Ritchie) Upstairs, Downstairs - TV theme Village Inn (Mancini) Waterloo (Abba) Whats New (Haggart) What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life? (Legrand) We've Only Just Begun (Carpenters) When I Fall In Love (Young) Whole lotta love (Led zepplin) With one look Wonderful world (Louis Armstrong) Your Light Up My Life (Brooks) You're The Inspiration (Foster) Yesterday (McCartney) Your're the one (Robbie Williams) Your Took Advantage Of Me (Rogers/Hart) You Took Advantage Of Me (Rogers/Hart) You Are Too Beautiful (Rogers/Hart) You Say It Best (Keating) Your song Zuhalterballade (Weill) Anthem from Chess Autumn Leaves Blue Moon Bohemian Rhapsody Caberet Can’t take my eyes off you - Andy Williams Cheek to cheek Close Every Door - from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat Diamonds for Sigma Fawlty Towers - Theme and variations The Final Countdown - Europe Getting Sentimental Over You Hello - Lionel Richie Hello Dolly I Don’t Know How To Love Him - from Jesus Christ Superstar I Dreamed a Dream - from Les Miserables It Had To Be You If Match of the Day Lady In Red Lara’s Theme - from Dr Zhivago Love Moves In Mysterious Ways Spread A Little Happiness Stardust With One Look from Sunset Blvd Waterloo - Abba Let it be - Beatles Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John It Must Be Love - Madness Your Song - Elton John/Moulan Rouge Mack the Knife Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand Close To You - Carpenters Don’t You Want Me - Human League All You Need Is Love - Beatles Betterman - Robbie Williams Call Me - Blondie Kissing you - from Romeo and Juliet - Desree Theme from Gabriel’s Oboe Kiss By a Rose - Seal Your Beautiful - James Blunt The Way you make Me Feel - Brian Adams Nobody Does It Better
ROMANTIC/MODERN Adagio for Strings (Barber) Adagio Cantabile – from The Pathetique Sonata (Beethoven) Allegretto (After Bocherini) (Kreisler) Ave Maria (Schubert) Barcarolle (Offenbach) Berceuse (Faure) Bolero (Ravel) Chanson De Matin (Elgar) Chanson De Nuit (Elgar) “Che Gelida Manina” – from La Boheme (Puccini) Clair De Lune (Debussy) Czardas – from Die Fledermaus (J Strauss Jr) Danse De Mirlitons (Tchaikovsky) Dance of the hours (Ponchelli) Duet – from The Pearl Fishers (Bizet) Entr’acte to Act 3 of Carmen (Bizet) Entr’acte to Act 4 of Carmen (Bizet) Flower Duet (Delibes) Flower Song - from Carmen (Bizet) Force of Desiny (Verdi) The Girl With the Flaxen Hair (Debussy) Golliwogs Cake-Walk (Debussy) 3 Gymnopedies (Satie) Gypsy Life (Herbert) Habenera – from Carmen (Bizet) Hoe-Down – from Rodeo (Copland) Humeresque (Dvorak) Hungarian Dances: nos. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11 &21 (Brahms) Intermezzo (Capua) Largo – from The New World Symphony (Dvorak) La Spagnola (Di Chiara) Meditation – from Thais (Massenet) Menuet – from Le Tombeau de Couperin (Rave) Minuet (Boccherini) Morning – from Peer Gynt (Grieg) Nessun Dorma (Puccini) Nimrod (Elgar) Nocturne (Borodin) Ode to Joy (Beethoven) Offenbachiana (Medley from the operettas of Offenbach) The Old Refrain (Kreisler) O Sole Mio (Capua) Overture, Waltz and Can Can (Offenbach) Panis Angelicus (Franck) Pavane (Faure) Pavane Pour Infante Defunte (Ravel) Pizzicato Polka (J Stauss) Polovtsian Dance (Borodin) Prelude no.2 (Gershwin) Romance – from The Gadfly (Shostakovich) Romanza Andaluza (Sarasate) Rumanian Folk Dances (Bartok) Salut D’amour (Elgar) Simple Gifts fugue (Naughtin) Son of the Puzta op.134 no.2 (Kreisler) Song for India (Rimsky-Korsakov) Tambourin Chinois (Kreisler) Thou Ring On My Finger (Schumann) Three Little Maids from School (Sullivan) Tramerei (Schumann) Trish Trash Polka (J Strauss) Vilia – from The Merry Widow (Lehar) Vocalise (Rachmaninov) Wedding March – from A Midsumer Nights Dream (Mendelssohn) Wedding March – from Lohengrin (Wagner) William Tell Overture (Rossini)
TRADITIONAL Cock Linnet Country Garden Country Medley Greensleeves Golden Earings Happy Birthday Variations Hava Nagila Irish Sherry Londonderry Air Loch Lomond Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
WALTZES Belle of the Ball (Anderson) Blue Danube (J Strauss, Jr) Caprice Viennois (Kreisler) Chopin Waltzes op.18, op.64 and op. 64 no.2 Danube Waves (Anniversary Waltz) (Ivanovici) Die Fledermaus Waltzes (J Strauss, Jr) Liebesfreud (Kreisler) Merry Widow Waltzes (Lehar) Midnight Bells Waltz (Kreisler) Musettas Waltz – from La Boheme (Puccini) Richard Rogers Waltzes. Includes: The most beautiful girl in the world, Falling in Love, My favourite things, carousel waltz Der Rosenkavalier Waltzes (R Strauss) Saturday Night Waltz – from Rodeo (Copland) Schon Rosmarin (Kreisler) Skaters Waltz (Walderfel) Sleeping Beauty Waltz (Tchaikovsky) Tales From The Vienna Woods (J Strauss, Jr) Two Hearts in Three-Quartet Time (Stoz) Valse (Chopin) Waltz – from Symphony no.8 in G (Dvorak) Waltz (Greig) Wiener Blut Waltzes (J Strauss Jr)
JAZZ/MODERN Albeniz - Tango Anderson - Forgotten Dreams Blue Tango Bernstein - New York New York Capua - O Sole Mio Chiara - La Spagnola Faris - Upstairs Downstairs Gershwin - A Foggy Day But Not For Me Embraceable You He Loves and She Loves I Got Rhythm Liza Mine Nice Work If You Can Get It Someone To Watch Over Me Swanee S'wonderful The Man I Love Gimbel - Killing me softly Horner - My Heart Will Go On Joplin - Country Club Euphonic Sounds Heliotrope Bouquet Joplins New Rag Maple Leaf Rag Paragon Rag Pineapple Rag Kern - The Folks Who Live On The Hill Lemare - Moonlight and Roses McCartney - Eleanor Rigby Padilla - El Relicario Rodriguez - La Cumpasita Rogers and Hart - Mountain Greenery My Funny Valentine My Heart Stood Still Thou Swell/Blue Room Medley You Are Too Beautiful You Took Advantage of Me Sullivan - Three Little Maids From School Pirates Of Penzance Traditional - A Wee Dram Greensleeves Hava Nagila (Jewish Folk Song) Happy Birthday Variations Dark Eyes
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Customer reviews for Blond
Showing
1 to 10 of 23 customer reviews for Blond in date order
06/09/2010 Blond
"Just a quick note to say a big thankyou to you and your team, and of course to Blond, who were fantastic and made my day extra special!"
Customer review by Avril & Gurbinder
26/08/2010 Blond
"Blond were absolutely great when they played at our wedding. They have a varied repertoire, which meant they could play classical during the ceremony and more upbeat jazz during the reception. I had little time to listen to them on the day itself, but when I was having a short break during the reception and standing near them they were attentive enough to play all my favourite jazz tunes that I had told them about on the phone.
Really nice touch! "
Customer review by Eline
25/06/2010 Blond
"Blond were professional in every way - they performed to a very high standard - we were very pleased with them. Alive Network provided a prompt efficient service which we could not fault."
Customer review by Lauren Sissons
03/06/2010 Blond
"Blond were friendly, professional and very flexible to my needs. They delivered an excellent performance and I would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone. "
Customer review by Raj Johal
27/12/2009 Blond
"Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for playing at our wedding at Channels. I had always imagined walking down the aisle to 'Don't Wanna Miss a Thing'.
The second I heard you, I was gone. It was just beautiful. And then again when we signed the register. The arrangements we had requested were amazing. My only regret is that I didn't book you for longer. "
Customer review by Lisa and Martyn Saul
07/10/2009 Blond
"Hi there Clare,
I hope you are well!
We recently had our wedding at Little Wymondley Priory barn on Friday 25th Sept and had Blond String Quartet playing at the church and venue, then the party band Jumpin in the evening.
We both just wanted to say how amazing both were!! They really made our say so special, and as well as being so fantastic, they were also very friendly and personable.
So thank you - thank you for a great service and also for being a pleasure to deal with over the stressful time that was arranging our wedding!! We really are very grateful, and will definately be recommending your service.
Our wedding day was amazing, the weather was hot and sunny and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - thank you for everything!
From Katie and Neil Hughes x"
Customer review by Katie and Neil Hughes
01/10/2009 Blond
"Very happy with Blond's performance! My Guests loved them! Ten out of ten! "
Customer review by katherine robinson
11/08/2009 Blond
"Alive Network provided a fantastic choice of acts for our wedding, and a highly professional and responsive booking service. I dealt with a long list of various contacts when I was planning my wedding (from photographers to cake makers to our contact, Clare, at Alive Network) and Clare was amongst the quickest to respond to my questions. She was also the only contact who got in touch with me proactively in the weeks before the wedding day itself, instead of waiting for me to contact her! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Alive Network.
Toni Baldwin
"
Customer review by Toni
23/06/2009 Blond
"The Alive Network, took a great deal of work of me in regards to finding entertainment for our wedding. Before we found them we had no idea where to turn! They gave me loads of ideas and options.
Blonde made our wedding day, everyone commented on how great they were.
The only problem was I didnt want them to finish!!! I have already recommended Alive Network to all my friends who are getting married etc. I will definitely use them again. "
Customer review by Tess
08/10/2008 Blond
"Having booked and worked with Blond before I knew that they would be the string quartet I needed to create an elegant ambiance at the champagne reception of a very prestigious occasion.
For their second set they moved to the marquee and once again provided a wonderful entrance for the guests to enter that part of the evening.
They are a pleasure to work with and they will remain my choice for any elegant event.
As always it is reassuring to work with Rebecca Corneby and Alive Network who have always endeavoured to find me the right artist for the right occasion.
Blond is based in Hertfordshire but most of the
String Quartets
working with Alive Network will travel UK wide. View the areas where Blond will perform along with links to more String Quartets in those locations
Alive Network are Blond's UK Booking Agents. If you would like to hire Blond please complete an online enquiry or call us on 0845 108 5500.
Alive Network is the UK's largest live music entertainment agency with many String Quartets for hire. Established in 1999, we provide high quality live entertainment for over 5000 events per year. When you make an enquiry to hire Blond, your own personal entertaiment coordinator will answer any questions or queries that you might have and liaise directly with Blond to get you the best possible price, and to ensure they they will provide exactly the right entertainment for your event.
Booking Blond from Alive Network is easy, safe and secure. Your booking is secured with a legally binding contract giving you complete peace of mind that you're in safe hands. Alive Network personally vets feedback from all of Blond's performances to ensure standards are met.
In short, hiring Blond from Alive Network ensures you'll remember your live entertainment for all the right reasons.
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Registered offices: Ground Floor Suite, Silk Mill Studios, Princess Street, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1DD, United Kingdom
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06/09/2010
Customer review by Avril & Gurbinder
Instant online quotes and availability confirmation