The Cotswold Ensemble
Oxford, Oxfordshire
£££
Experienced, classically-trained musicians for weddings and special events in the Cotswolds, Oxford and surrounding counties.
Perfect string quartet music for your civil or church ceremony and wedding reception. We play at venues big and small.
Welcome to the Cotswold Ensemble's String Quartets!
We are a group of 16 professional, experienced, classically-trained, friendly musicians, established in 1988. We play for special events in the Cotswolds and around Oxford, and as we enjoy playing, we are happy to travel further afield. We have been bringing live music to people's special occasions over many years, so we know from experience that having a live quartet makes all the difference to the ambience of a wedding and reception - we have been told this so many times!
We play most often as a string quartet, (two violins, one viola, one cello) because this ensemble has by far the best quality and widest range of repertoire - from well before Bach to well beyond the Beatles. Our quartets are pleased to play the hymns at church weddings where there isn't an organist. If you are wanting a lively reception, book our acoustic Tango Quartet to play tangos as well as regular string quartet repertoire.
Our string duos (1 violin and 1 cello) are ideal for smaller-scale events or events where space is limited.
For music from the Baroque and Classical eras only, ask about our flute/violin/cello trios.
We can also provide a solo violinist or solo acoustic cellist for extremely intimate events.
Every wedding is unique so there can be no standard prices! Contact us for further information, availability on your date, and prices.
The Cotswold Ensemble played our wedding during the summer and did an excellent job. Communication in the lead up to the event was clear and prompt, and our guests were highly complimentary of their performance on the day.
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Fiona was so helpful in the whole process of booking the Cotswold Ensemble. She sent us play lists and helped pick out the right music for parts of our day. They have a beautiful rich sound which made our day and had every guest telling us how wonderful the quartet was. They are a touch of class, well presented and wonderfully played with a huge repertoire of classical and modern music. Thank you for helping us have our perfect day.
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The Cotswold Ensemble played at our ceremony and cocktail reception at our Great Tew wedding last June. It was an absolute pleasure to plan the music with Francis and Nikki as it was to listen to the beautiful music on the day of the wedding. I would recommend them without any hesitation. Thank you so much for making our day so perfect. The Natales xox
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The Cotswold Ensemble played at our wedding service in Lower Slaughter on 12 December 2015. They played a selection of classical and Christmas pieces in the church as guests were arriving and played all the music during the service, including accompanying hymns and carols. They also performed an incredibly beautiful arrangement of O Holy Night, which was sung by soprano Anna Shackleton. The atmosphere that the quartet created was fantastic and many of our guests commented on how much they enjoyed listening to the music. We can’t thank Fiona Hedges enough for her enthusiastic contribution, suggestions and responsiveness. We are so grateful to you for making our wedding ceremony so perfect.
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The Cotswold Ensemble played for our wedding party at the Ashmolean museum. The lively and uplifting sound of tangoes drifting up the staircase as our guests arrived created the most wonderful atmosphere. Many of our guests said how much they enjoyed your playing; we are very grateful for making our party so special.
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We recently got married at the Bay Tree Hotel, Burford and arranged for the Cotswold Ensemble to play during the service, the drinks reception and wedding breakfast. What a fantastic decision!!! They were brilliant, playing a huge variety of different music. We had a number of special requests, and Fiona was a pleasure to deal with in arranging these. I can highly recommend having the theme from Star Wars at the end of the service - the arrangement was spot-on and got a big cheer from our guests!
Fiona & her enthusiasm and The Cotswold Ensemble come highly recommended as a real special wedding day touch.
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The Cotswold Ensemble played at our wedding on the 4th September at Lords of the Manor Hotel in Upper Slaughter. Despite being shuffled about a bit with the weather they coped brilliantly and were the perfect classy backdrop to the day we wanted. The pieces they helped us select for the ceremony were perfect, the play list during the reception part caught the mood perfectly and throughout, the ensemble were discreet, professional and played to a very high standard.
Fiona is worth a special mention. When you have a million and one things to think about and you're suddenly expected to be conversant in everything from Avalanche roses to Loire wines, and registrar processes to "simple" wedding protocol, you need sympathetic constructive help. Fiona is great - very communicative, enthusiastic and lives and breathes music. She invited us into her home to talk through what might be appropriate, was patient, innovative and constructive through several changes of mind, produced a special arrangement for us for one piece and helped us with some other "custom" ideas. She made it easy and provided a service both in the lead up to, and on the day, that was professional and reliable in very detail.
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The Cotswold Ensemble played at our Wedding ceremony and they really added to the occasion. Our guests said how much they enjoyed listening to the ensemble and the atmosphere the music helped create.
They have an extensive repertoire to choose from and it was a real pleasure talking through our ideas with them.
We're so glad we chose them to play at our wedding.
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