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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSIs a contract signed between the westminster ensemble and your clients? Yes, there is always a contract that shows all the important details pertaining to your engagement: the time, location, musicians required and the kind of engagement will be part of any Westminster Ensemble contract. Naturally we can add other requirements if you so desire. There is a deposit of 50% required upon mailing back the contract. Are there any taxes that are added to the cost of having the ensemble perform? The Goods and Service Tax of 7% is the only tax required. How much in advance of an engagement do the musicians arrive? Except for our dance band which sets up their equipment hours before the start of the reception, musicians arrive one half hour before the agreed starting time written on the contract. What kind of attire do the westminster ensemble musicians wear? Generally male musicians wear tuxedos and female musicians wear black evening clothes. Sometimes a client will ask our musicians to be less formally dressed by wearing perhaps a sport coat, casual dress or pants and maybe a tie. Does the Westminster Ensemble hire only professional musicians? The Ensemble always has the finest musicians. We never have students perform with the Ensemble. Our musicians have performed together for many years. Can we hear the westminster ensemble perform at an engagement before we sign a contract? This is often possible! Frequently a bride will ask us where the Ensemble is performing at a ceremony, and if the church is large enough so that her presence will not interfere with a wedding we will be happy to give the details so she and her fiance can attend. Of course the correct attire should be worn when visiting the church or place of worship. Does the ensemble perform outside? Yes,often. We do require however shade to protect our instruments and musicians. It can also be quite difficult to perform if it is cold outside;the temperture should be above 60 F or 16 C. How do we know how many musicians to have at our engagement? The kind of function, your budget and the number of people attending will have an influence in answering this question. Here are some examples: a church ceremony in a fairly large church would need at least three musicians in order to have a full bodied sound. If the Ensemble is performing at a reception and you are having two hundred people, four musicians would be necessary for the music to be heard in the background; a trio would not be sufficient where people are speaking and having a drink with hors d'oeuvres. The Ensemble will be glad to help you decide how many and which musicians are best for your event. Do you accept visa and mastercard? Yes, the Ensemble will accept these cards. However, if the engagement is many months off, we prefer payment by cheque. Do all the classical ensembles perform similar repertoire? If you like a piece of music that you hear in one combo of instruments (for example - string quartet), that piece of music can be also performed by any of the other classical ensemble. |