Jewish Bands that Rock: Orchestras / Bands for your Jewish Wedding

Any good band will claim to play pretty much anything the customer requests, but they may not be well-versed in the various styles of Jewish music.  Jewish orchestras and bands can play an assortment of Jewish music, from Klezmer to Tel Aviv techno to Israeli folk, like the back of their hand.  In our search for the perfect Jewish wedding band, we found that (at least in the metro-NY area) it seems several Jewish bands and orchestras choose from the same repository of musicians looking to play at a “gig”.  Thus, the name of the music group may differ but the actual musicians / talent in the group has overlap, and that overlap means the quality of the music being played may not differ by much between these music groups.  That being said, when we searched for our Jewish band our focus was less on the quality of the musicians in the group and more on how to get the biggest bang for the buck.  There is room for negotiation on Several Factors that Impact Price, such as:

the Number of Musicians needed, Type of Instrument (i.e., string, vocal, base, etc), Number of Hours needed to perform, if you or a family member or friend are “Connected”, and whether the band or orchestra is Willing to Reduce their Price to fit your budget.

We wanted a reputable Jewish music band and a reduced price, and that’s exactly what we got.  How?  The key to our discount was:

• Average Cost of a Jewish Band / Orchestra:  Establish the “going rate” by calling some of the reputable Jewish music groups and asking for price ranges to play at a wedding.  For us (in 2010), the range was between $4,000 - $10,000.

• Reputation Rules:  Ask family members or friends to think of the music groups used at Jewish events that they enjoyed most.  Word of mouth can help confirm the quality and professionalism of the band.  Several music groups offer music samples on their websites…listening to them may help alleviate any anxieties about their quality.

• Stay Local:  Choose a band that does not require you to pay for travel costs to get to the wedding.  Travel costs can add up.

• Use your Connections:  Some of your family members or friends may be “connected” to musicians in a band that can drop a name and help drop costs.

• Negotiate to Fit your Budget:  The strategy that worked for us was to inform the band that another reputable band was offering $4,500 dollars…much higher than our budget would allow—then we simply asked:  Can you do better?  This actually worked with the band we ended up choosing, and they did an incredible job.  Another notable strategy is to say flat out that you can only afford X dollars (fill in the blank), and ask whether they have options for reducing the price by only working for a shorter number of hours, using less musicians, or using instruments that are less pricey.

In our search for the perfect Jewish band for our metro-NY wedding, we asked several family members and friends to tell us what they think.  

Here is the compiled list of Jewish Orchestras / Bands (admittedly not a complete list, just those highly recommended to us):

• BaRock:  Contact Ari Green; http://barockorchestra.com/
• Greg Wall:  Contact Greg Wall:  201-294-3297; http://simchaallstars.com/klezmerfest/index.html
• Nafshenu Orchestra:  Call 516-371-6660; http://www.nafshenu.com/main/
• Neshoma Orchestra: Contact Jordan Hirsch:  201-837-1396; http://www.neshomaorchestra.com/
• Shalom Orchestra:  Call 212-875-1600; http://www.shalomentertainment.com/
• Shtreiml: Email Jason Rosenblatt; visit www.shtreiml.com
• Yitzi Spinner:  http://www.yitzyspinner.com

Please feel free to recommend your favorite Jewish orchestra or band.