Wedding•Reviewed on June 18, 2023•From Kensington, MD
The International Strings musicians created the right mood during our daughter’s wedding and added that something special through their music library of types of music, as well their music expertise. I would definitely hire them again.
Review by Russell A.
Wedding•Reviewed on October 14, 2019•From Washington, DC
They were easy to communicate with and I absolutely loved how they sounded. So many of my guests commented on how great they were and how it added to our wedding. I highly recommend them.
Review by Katy S.
Wedding•Reviewed on September 18, 2019•From Ridge, MD
We were very impressed with International Strings! They played at our wedding during the ceremony and cocktail hour. They were excellent musicians and easy to work with. Would highly recommend!
Review by Caitlin H.
Wedding•Reviewed on October 2, 2017•From Alexandria, VA
International Strings played for our wedding. Without having seen our ceremony we were able to communicate enough that they played the music exactly to the length we needed for the procession and it ended perfectly with me (the bride) just getting to my spot at the front. Throughout the night they played the perfect music for each phase--cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing with an exciting piece that got all of us up and dancing to close down the night. We had compliments from so many guests on how wonderful the musicians were. Truly a professional and fun group!
Review by Julia S.
Corporate Function•Reviewed on July 7, 2017•From Reston, VA
My company has booked International Strings twice for corporate events and hoping to book them a third time. They are very pleasant to work with and put on a great performance. Our first event with them, people literally stayed longer than any of our events prior just to listen and watch them play. I would highly recommend them, very appropriate for corporate events.
Review by Chad B.
Corporate Function•Reviewed on May 13, 2017•From Linthicum Heights, MD
The musicians were professional and very talented. A number of people in my group commented how much they enjoyed the International Strings and how much they added to our event. I would recommend them without reservation.
Review by RONALD G.
Rehearsal Dinner•Reviewed on May 8, 2016•From Ashburn, VA
Two separate events a rehearsal dinner as well is the cocktail party after the wedding ceremony the second day. Showed up early were ready to go when the guests arrive everybody loved the music they were very professional top-notch I highly recommend them for your event.
Review by Rachel L.
Wedding Ceremony•Reviewed on April 30, 2013•From Mechanicsville, MD
International Strings were a pleasure to work with. They are an incredibly talented group and I would recommend them to anyone and everyone. Our guests were blown away by them and our wedding would not have been the same without them!
Review by Anthony M.
Wedding Reception•Reviewed on June 21, 2011•From Georgetown, MD
The International Strings were the perfect touch for our wedding. They played at my ceremony as well as at the reception. They did not miss a note. Their precision on their instruments brought tears to peoples eyes while I walked down the aisle. They were also the perfect touch to the cocktail hour at our reception. Everyone commented on how talented they were. I am so glad that I went with having them perform at my wedding and reception. It truly added a touch of class to the event.
Review by Dave J.
Private Party•Reviewed on February 26, 2011•From Arlington, VA
They were fantastic! I had them come play privately for a surprise dinner where I proposed to my girlfriend and they were above and beyond my expectations. Not only did they play beautifully, they also showed up exactly when I asked them to in order to surprise her and were willing to take any requests we had during the dinner performance. I'd recommend them in a heartbeat.
Review by Tara L.
Wedding Ceremony•Reviewed on October 30, 2010•From Sandy Spring, MD
We hired International Strings to play at the ceremony and cocktail hour of our wedding. It was an utter pleasure working with the band from the moment we contacted them. Very responsive and accommodating, International Strings was able to learn/arrange and play a song that was not in their repertoire. Aside from their beautiful sound (we've been receiving rave reviews from guests), the band's professionalism left us completely confident that everything on the music side of the wedding was under control. Other than briefly touching base with the musicians upon their arrival, they were completely self sufficient and did an all around fantastic worry-free job. Thanks!!
Review by Wendy W.
Wedding Ceremony•Reviewed on May 29, 2011•From Arlington, VA
Many of the guests at our wedding remarked on how wonderful International Strings was. Even the caterers, who have surely heard plenty. I handed some business cards from Inernational Strings to the caterers, who plan to recommend them to others. they made our wedding special!
Review by Jill E.
Wedding Cocktail Hour•Reviewed on October 26, 2010•From Alexandria, VA
International Strings did a wonderful job at my wedding cocktail reception. I have a classical music background and so I have very high standards for musicians and I could not have selected a better group. We also received rave reviews from our guests for their music. They were the perfect touch to the perfect day and I highly recommend them to anyone.
Review by Alexia H.
Wedding Cocktail Hour•Reviewed on June 21, 2011•From Baltimore, MD
International Strings did a fabulous job for our wedding. We had classical music for the ceremony and more jazz-based selections for the cocktail -- they played a wide repertoire and our guests loved them. They were even willing to learn a new arrangement of a song that my bridesmaid sang during the ceremony. Overall we were extremely happy with International Strings, from booking through performance. Thank you!!!!
Review by Matvei S.
Private Party•Reviewed on April 26, 2010•From Alexandria, VA
The International Strings was wonderful and made our special event perfect. I was extremely impressed by their professionalism. They showed up ahead of time, did everything I had requested and completed the job perfectly. It’s rare to come across such a wide range of styles delivered by a string group. Our guests absolutely enjoyed their music! I would highly recommend them for any kind of event.
Review by Cathy H.
Wedding Ceremony•Reviewed on July 30, 2011•From Ridge, MD
Like all weddings, the day was completely hectic. During all the chaos before the walk down the aisle, the sweet, melodic sounds of International Strings could be heard throughout the venue. It was AWESOME!! Not only were they an amazingly talented group but in the oppressive heat of the day they were nothing but smiles and compliments for me and the groom. I would without a doubt recommend International Strings and have given them nothing buy rave reviews to the future brides that I know. Again, thank you Slava and group for making our day so special (and classy)!! ~ Cathy & Alun
Review by Michael W.
Funeral•Reviewed on April 28, 2010•From Brandywine, MD
My experience was very pleasant, the performers were on time and very accommodating. We discussed the type of music prior to the event and I asked for suggestions to keep the music within the mood.
Review by Stephanie B.
Wedding•Reviewed on May 9, 2016•From Richmond, VA
Review by Nicholas R.
Wedding•Reviewed on May 17, 2016•From Alexandria, VA
Review by Megan M.
Corporate Function•Reviewed on July 28, 2011•From Washington, DC
Review by Andrew B.
Celebration•Reviewed on October 11, 2013•From White Marsh, MD
Review by Jenn C.
Community Event•Reviewed on July 11, 2019•From Chevy Chase, MD
Unfortunately they weren't the easiest to work with and we found them kind of dull. The lacked the energy and excitement we were looking for.
:
We appreciate the feedback and high score on overall talent and professionalism. This event was planned as a corporate promotion that aimed at attracting new customers / bypassers. It took place outside in 100 heat that very much worked against the goal of the promotion - people didn't want to be in the sun in the 100 heat listening to music no matter how great the performance is. On our end - we played the songs that we agreed with the clients, with great energy, we performed them standing - as per clients request and did our best to make this event a success. At the end we got very positive comments from the organizers and few people who did stick around to listen.
Review by Anne B.
Wedding•Reviewed on November 14, 2012•From Alexandria, VA
We hired International String Trio for our wedding ceremony and reception. The musicians that showed up were not the musicians shown on their website, but random musicians we had never seen play. We paid for them to play for a total of 5 hours, but they only played maybe 3.5 hours or so. They butchered one of the songs during the ceremony (everyone noticed). They only played for about 15 minutes through our dinner and played recorded music the remainder of the time. After dinner, we had listed specific songs we wanted played and one we REALLY wanted played. That never happened. If you want random musicians to show up on your special day, I'd stick with Craigslist.
:
The main musicians of International Strings of Washington DC played at this event. All of the songs that the clients have requested were played at the appropriate times; most likely the bride was in the photo session when some of the selected pieces were played - that is why she didn't hear them. Music was provided for the whole duration of 5 hours (4.15-9.15pm).
As per our agreement with the clients we took a couple of short breaks during 5 hours period, during which we provided elegant background music from an ipod to avoid awkward silence. We played all the selections for the ceremony, first dances and even relocated 3 times to accommodate the clients request.
Review by Stephanie W.
Wedding Ceremony•Reviewed on September 25, 2011•From Lancaster, PA
Intl Strings is not so much a group as it is a collection of random musicians in Slava Tolstoy's rolodex. The individuals were good (which for their fee they should be) but lacked the cohesion of a group that plays a lot together. This meant they didn't get the ceremony music right, (reason we booked them). We dealt with Slava prior to Wedding, he was a slow in responding via email and didn't always answer our questions. Thought he was going to be there on the day, he wasn't so an email letting us know he was sending a replacement would have been more professional. Issue during cocktail hour that Planner could have handled but instead band bothered Groom& Brides Mom
:
Our main trio that always plays together performed at this event - International Strings of Washington, DC. Slava Tolstoy is the group's manager. All the music was played perfectly as requested by the client. There were no mistake in the ceremony selections - it was a flawless performance! While we were playing at the cocktail hour the other band, that was hired by the clients and was not supposed to play until later, started playing next door. The wedding coordinator was nowhere to be found. The leader of our trio respectfully asked members of the wedding party to talk to the other band. It was done and we continued to play. Everything was handled professionally.
