We loved having Parkwest Strings do the ceremony and cocktail music for our wedding. We had a trio, which was perfect for our small wedding. Parkwest Strings has an extensive music list to choose from and will also learn requests if you want music that is not listed in their repertoire. We had classical music played before and during our ceremony and modern music played during cocktail hour. The musicians are all very talented and incredibly professional. Songhea made planning the music for our wedding a breeze with clear instructions, a wedding worksheet to complete, and quick communication. We highly recommend this group! read more

Songhea and her crew were phenomenal at my wedding this past weekend! They played for our ceremony and then for the duration of our reception at the Hancock Building. My husband and I found them on GigMasters.com, and we could not be happier with the service they provided. Songhea was our point of contact and was very easy to work with an extremely accommodating. For a string trio, they charged around $800 for 3.5 hours which we thought was reasonable, especially when compared to other area musicians. I especially appreciate them learning a new song so we could walk out to "Everlong!" I would hire them again in a heartbeat for any special event! read more

Parkwest Strings - Performing Arts Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My wife and I had Parkwest Strings play at our wedding on May 20, 2017. If I could afford to have them play classical renditions of all genres of music to me all day, I gladly would. We had them play at both our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. They played everything at the ceremony perfectly, as well as the cocktail hour. I nearly cried when they played 'Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight' as my then fiance was walking down the aisle. Even after the cocktail hour was over and people were shuffling out to the reception, my wife and I just wanted to stay back and listen to them all night! As far as planning, we worked with Songhea and everything was very easy to outline for the ceremony/cocktail hour. She gave us a list of all the songs that could be played, and gave us an outline to fill out for the ceremony. Everything was played correctly and in order and we couldn't be more happy! read more

Highly recommend! We booked Parkwest Strings for our wedding to play during the church mass and during cocktail hour and they were amazing! Songhea was very receptive and communicated with the church organist in order to strategize in playing together during mass. The cocktail hour was amazing with the quartet playing all the songs we had chosen. Having them definitely added a beautiful touch to our wedding event. read more

I was looking for musicians to play at my wedding ceremony in Lemont, and found Parwest Strings via Gigmaster.com. Songhea contacted me, we met to plan things out, and she was very friendly and accomodating. Their prices were super reasonable and they were absolutely wonderful the day of my wedding. I had a violin and cello and everything sounded just fantastic! read more

We hired them for our wedding and they did an excellent job. They were very professional and played all the songs we requested. We received many compliments from our guests. I would highly recommend them for any event. read more

Hiring Songhea and Parkwest Strings for our wedding was one of the best decisions we made. Songhea worked with our singer to get all of the music pulled together. She also helped write music for a specific song for which we couldn't find the sheet music. We had a piece roughly transposed from guitar tabs. It wasn't very good and needed a lot of work. I sent it off to Songhea with a recording of what I wanted it to sound like, and they did the rest (at no extra charge). It was perfect. Our singer was my aunt who lives in NJ, so they had no time to practice with her before the morning of the wedding. You never would have known. The quartet sounded so beautiful in our big church. So many people wondered why we didn't go with an organist until they heard the quartet and understood why we hired them. Everything sounded beautiful, and I will always remember hearing them play as I waited in the back to come down the aisle. Their prices were reasonable, and I was happy with everything. Hire them. read more

We loved Parkwest Strings for our wedding! They played beautifully! Songhea is very professional and very easy to work with. We met up before the wedding day and went over the music plan for the whole ceremony. I asked her if they could learn a new piece for my bridal entrance. It was a traditional Russian folk song that meant a lot to my family. Parkwest Strings musicians learned it without any problems. On the day of, the musicians arrived on time and played beautifully. I would highly recommend them!!!!! read more

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We had Parkwest Strings play at our wedding ceremony on July 14th, 2018. First, they were very easy to work with, and the booking and billing process was quick and simple. We only needed them for our ceremony, but they were willing to travel between ceremony and reception. They played our requested selections beautifully and worked with the organist to play parts of the catholic mass, even though they weren't required to play those pieces. The string trio added to the enchanting atmosphere we were looking for and helped make our special day that more amazing. Finally, we found their price very affordable and within our budget. We definitely recommend them. read more

Based on my recent experience with this group, I'm very puzzled by the 5-star reviews. It was after reading these Yelp reviews that I called Parkwest Strings to inquire about a string ensemble for my daughter's church wedding on August 22nd. I spoke with Songhea Sackrider, presumably the group's leader, and exchanged several emails regarding selections, time and logistics. All seemed to go well, but after subsequent emails and phone calls where I was told she'd get back to me with a final contract, she never responded. I left numerous voice messages that were never returned. Very strange. I know how busy things can get, but the absence of professionalism and follow-up was quite disappointing, to say the least! Not even a courtesy email or call to explain her lack of response or, at the very least, to let us know they couldn't make the event. However, Songhea ended up doing us a HUGE favor. After I gave up emailing and leaving multiple voice-mail messages, in a last-minute search for an alternate ensemble we found a truly fabulous string group (via Yelp): Accolade Musicians. They more than exceeded our expectations, proving to be a glorious remedy for our dismal experience with Parkwest Strings. read more

We had a string trio for our ceremony and cocktail hour and it was absolutely wonderful! Songhea and the other musicians were able to accommodate all of our song requests and they sounded great! We were able to work with some audio equipment and record the music so that we have a recording of it and we cannot wait to listen to all the songs as we loved each and every one we heard while not running around. read more

Thank you Parkwest Strings for making my daughter's Sweet 15 an unforgettable one!! You played all her favorite songs and even threw in Thriller!! It was so nice to see all of our guests enjoying your music. We will refer you to all of our friends!! Thanks again! read more

Parkwest Strings played beautifully for our April 2016 wedding ceremony. Songhea was so easy to work with. She offered recommendations for specific songs beyond just providing a general list. She and her musicians were familiar with our venue, and so I didn't need to worry about anything. Highly recommend using Parkwest Strings' talent and service! read more

I found most of the vendors for my May wedding online using yelp, wedding wire, the knot, etc. I scoured reviews and hoped the best. And with Songhea and Parkwest Strings, that's what I got. It was a great and easy experience working with Songhea from start to finish. We chose all our own songs for our ceremony and cocktail hour and had a wide variety (think everything from The Cure to Snoop Dogg). They could play everything! My only tip is make sure they can be heard. The noise from our crowd during the cocktail hour drowned them out. read more

I worked with Songhea from Parkwest Strings for my wedding ceremony music. She was AMAZING to work with. We spoke via email during the months leading to the wedding and hand a face to face meeting 2 weeks before. They are extremely familiar with catholic ceremonies and her and her quartet added a nice touch to the regular catholic mass music. She also learned a handful of songs for us a couple weeks before the wedding. They were able to perform "Circle of Life" during the prelude and they also learned Beyonce "Halo" for our Unity Candle ceremony. Talk about versatile. It sounded amazing!!! Songhea also worked directly with our music coordinator at our church which I appreciated because it took alot off my plate and I didn't have to worry about anything. She addressed things that I didn't think of like what we wanted them to wear. If you are looking for a professional, well versed, experienced, and easy to work with group for your next event, stop right here and contact Songhea right away. Thank you so much for making our wedding ceremony so special! read more

We hired a string trio from Parkwest Strings for our May 2012 wedding. They did a great job despite record high temperatures and even accommodated a special request that they had to learn for the wedding ("Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, for our recessional). The sound was great and fit right into the wedding, and we were extremely happy with their performance. read more

We found Parkwest Strings online and hired them for our wedding...they were exceptional! Many of the guests said how wonderful their music was, they were enjoyed by all ages! Young guests even recognized familiar rock/pop songs and were amazed at how great the songs were played by the string trio. Truly an amazing group! My only regret is that we didn't have them play longer into our reception. My family is already thinking of future events we could hire them for just so we could hear them play again! read more

Parkwest Strings (Songhea) was so amazing to work with! We hired them for our wedding in October and were so pleased with the process, the music, their professionalism and their ability to play special requests. They played at our ceremony and moved quickly to perform at our cocktail hour. Their prices are AMAZING! I had such a great experience and I definitely recommend them! read more

Absolutely beautiful!! We hired Parkwest Strings for our September 2013 wedding at Holy Family Church. It was everything we envisioned and we could not have been happier! We hired the quartet and they played the entire Catholic mass, working with our cantor to arrange everything! After we selected the songs, they took it from there! It had been my dream to walk down the aisle to Bach's cello suite no. 1 prelude and they played it perfectly! Simple and elegant. Additionally, Songhea was exceptionally easy to work with and incredibly accommodating! We wanted to exit the church to the Raider's Theme from Indiana Jones and they happily learned it for us!! It was awesome!! I would highly recommend them for any event!!! Thank you, Parkwest Strings!! read more

Parkwest Strings played the music for my daughter's wedding and did an excellent job. When I saw my daughter's song choices (fairly contemporary), I thought there was no way that a string trio would perform them, but they did so beautifully. We had an outdoor wedding and so the guests got to enjoy the park and the ambiance created by a string trio. It definitely added to everyone's enjoyment of the service. I thought their prices were reasonable and communication was excellent. read more

We booked PW Strings trio for our wedding ceremony last month and they were amazing. They arranged two songs for us at our request PERFECTLY. Everyone has complimented our ceremony music, it was lovely, and Songhea was great to work with. We highly recommend PW Strings for any event. read more

Parkwest Strings performed at my wedding a few weeks ago at the Knickerbocker Hotel in downtown Chicago and It was an absolute pleasure to have them as part of our special day. Parkwest played from the wedding ceremony prelude until the end of the hour long cocktail reception. Unfortunately my wife and I didn't get to enjoy them as much as our guests (we had pictures to take) but everyone said that they filled the room with the beautiful sounds of both Classical and Contemporary music. Throughout the entire process Songhea was professional, attentive to our needs and requests, worked around our hectic hours when it came to consultation times and gave great input on song selection. She suggested two or three songs for each portion of the ceremony and used our selections to determine what our guests would enjoy for the reception. I would highly recommend Parkwest Strings. I think they would bring that special touch of class to any event. read more