About this vendor
We are a 5-member brass ensemble specializing in wedding Ceremonies & Cocktail Hours. For Ceremonies we play classical music and for Cocktail Hour we play jazz, but of course we will do whatever the couple wants! This includes Pop, Latin, Broadway or any combination of the above.
Because we are a brass ensemble (no amplification), we are perfect for outdoor weddings, large halls, churches or other such spaces were a string quartet or flute/harp duo will just not fill up the space and provide the thrill that you need at your wedding.
The wedding ceremony/cocktail hour package includes:
30min of prelude music while your guests are being seated
All processional music for the wedding party and the bride
Any music during the ceremony, for example candle lighting, communion, sand ceremony, etc
Recessional music for you and the wedding party.
One hour of relaxed jazz for your cocktail hour as the guest unwind after the ceremony
All of this is with 5 brass musicians (2 trumpets, 1 french horn, 1 trombone, 1 tuba)
The members of The Chamberlain Brass have performed with The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, The American Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra of St. Lukes, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and many other top ensembles in New York City and beyond.
We work with you one on one to coordinate the music for your event from repertoire, energy level and instrumentation to schedule and more. We will discuss the event schedule and all other details will be laid out in advance with a written contract so the music takes care of itself, everything flows smoothly and professionally, and you can focus your energies where they are needed!
Details
Instruments
- French Horn
- Trombone
- Trumpet
Music Genres
- Classical
- Jazz
- Latin
- Pop
Music Services
- Live Music
- Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
- Cocktail Hour
Reviews
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5
out of 5.058 reviews
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My husband wanted a brass ensemble for our ceremony instead of the traditional strings. The Chamberlain Brass were amazing! Super reasonable, very responsive, and were amazing day of. They knew when and how to transition songs. They also learned a couple new pieces in advance of our wedding. Would definitely recommend!
Franco & the Chamberlain Brass band were a major highlight of our wedding, and our guests can't stop talking about how much fun they were. We used them for pre-ceremony and cocktail hour music, and even a parade out to dinner! They were incredibly easy to work with, accommodating, and created such a lively atmosphere for our guests. They are super talented and we highly recommend them!!
I am so thrilled we had The Chamberlain Brass at our wedding! They played throughout our cocktail hour and our guests loved it! I would absolutely recommend them to anyone, they helped make my wedding day amazing.
The Chamberlain Brass quintet was my favorite part of my wedding! I am so happy we booked them! They played during our ceremony and cocktail hour and really added something special to the whole event. They are excellent performers and incredibly easy to work with. Communication through email was always very clear and prompt. They were also able to accommodate a special request for my bridal entry song. Highly recommend!
The Chamberlain Brass played at our wedding on 7/22/2017 in Long Island. They were amazing!! They are so quick with communication, very easy to work with, and help you customize your play list. I highly recommend them for your wedding!
The Chamberlain Brass played our wedding last weekend (April 30, 2017). They were terrific! They were amazing performers, but were also very professional and quick to respond. The last thing anyone planning a wedding needs is a vendor that takes forever to reply or is hard to reach. They offer a very special and unique touch (everyone has a piano player or strings group now - so boring!) and many of our guests mentioned how much they enjoyed the brass quintet. I recommend them without any reservation.
The Chamberlain Brass played at our wedding at the Loeb Central Park Boathouse on Dec. 16 right before Christmas. It was a great choice, wonderful music and very fitting for both the ceremony and cocktail hour, very professional and friendly and prompt in replying, easy to work with. I thought the idea of a brass ensemble was more unique for a wedding and glad we made that choice. Highly recommended.
This band was terrific at our outdoor wedding. They played classical music as guests arrived and during the ceremony, and jazz during cocktail hour. Then they led a parade of us over to the dining area. They performed beautifully and executed flawlessly despite the sweltering July afternoon.
Our selection of The Chamberlain Brass was the second decision we made after selecting the venue. They exceeded our high expectations, and were a pleasure to work with throughout the process.
I loved them! They even did the imperial march for me as I walked down the aisle :) dependable, accommodating and excellent musicians ..
I loved working with Chamberlain Brass! Utmost professionalism and the music was wonderful! My husband and I were looking for something different from the usual wedding DJ or band. All the correspondence was done through email, and everything went smoothly. Our guests loved the music; formal during the ceremony and laid back during the reception. Highly recommended!
Thank you to Chamberlain Brass for a spectacular night!! Every song was played beautifully and all of our guests were very impressed! We are so fortunate that we found them and could not have dreamed of anything better. It was the perfect way to add music to our ceremony and cocktail hour. Surreal...and Classically beautiful.
These guys were the best! The planning stage had absolutely no drama and they handled my special requests incredibly gracefully. And, most importantly, they sounded fantastic! They simultaneously brought fun, pomp and gravitas into our small ceremony space. I'm so glad I found them!
We had the Chamberlain Brass perform at our ceremony at the Tribeca Rooftop.
They made the wedding just extra special.
They worked with us on what we wanted to play for each bit of the ceremony and that added a unique touch, that we wanted.
Go see them perform before deciding (that's what we did).
5 Stars!
Reliable, Ready, Prepared
Chamberlain Brass went beyond my expectations to deliver a stellar performance. Their sound was exactly what I was looking for. I was unable to meet them prior to performance, but there they were as I walked down the aisle for my wedding. They played exactly everything and more that I requested. I highly recommend them for any occasion. They are diverse and well rehearsed.
I highly recommend this quintet!
Chamberlain Brass made our wedding! They worked closely with us to create exactly the kind of ceremony and event ambiance we had envisioned. We wanted a more uptempo and less traditional wedding that would leave everyone smiling and ready to celebrate, which is exactly what we got when Chamberlain Brass marched my father and I down the aisle to a lively swing tune and then back once the ceremony was over. Our wedding would have been a shadow of itself without the extra touches that Chamberlain Brass was able to add and our guests sung their praises as well. Thank you, Chamberlain Brass! Outstanding!
We had the Chamberlain Brass play for both ceremony and reception. Franco, our main contact, was very accessible and helpful in picking selections for both. They were incredibly professional the day of the event, and the brass was beautiful and did not overpower the ceremony or cocktail our (and was I think a nice change from string ensembles, etc). They played classics from "The Wedding March" to the Beatles "All You Need is Love" for the recessional. They were great during the cocktail hour, playing classic American songs like Frank Sinatra, to jazz hits, to even Bob Marley (our request!). Can't recommend them enough!
Having the Chamberlain Brass at our wedding was a great decision. They played before and during the wedding ceremony, then during the cocktail hour. The musicians added a touch of elegance and set a happy tone for the rest of the night. And if you ask for Waltzing Matilda, they'll throw it in for free!
Franco was so easy to work and our guests loved their music. In fact, it was one of the highlights of our wedding. Great value and great service!
Very professional, good by email, managed all the logistics and played beautifully
It was an absolute pleasure having the Chamberlain Brass Quintet at our wedding. They played a mixture of classic and modern tunes. My husband and I had such a positive experience from day one and would highly reccomend to anyone who is looking to add a touch of class to their wedding. They were so accommodating and willing to work with us in creating the perfect music list. I always received prompt replies to all my emails and they even offered to let us sit in on one of their rehearsals. It was watching them live that sold us the minute we heard the first song. An amazing group with amazing talent. We were thrilled with the whole experience and would do it all over again!
We hired Chamberlain Brass for our wedding on 2/14/15 to play at our ceremony and at cocktail hour. During the process of booking, Franco Finstad, the owner, was extremely professional and courteous. He was extremely timely with responding to all emails and inquiries. Even though we booked very far in advance, he never dismissed any of our concerns or questions and treated us with extraordinary respect. The contract was clear, concise, and absolutely in favor of the customer. The prices were very reasonable considering their service, and they offered a number of different payment options to make it convenient.
As far as the performance, all of our guests were so impressed and excited by the live music. They loved how Chamberlain Brass played a great combination of classic and contemporary work to suit our style. We loved this part of our wedding, and would recommend them to anyone who asks!
Franco and his team were so amazing at our wedding! My husband and I agonized for days on picking our processional and recessional songs, and I'm so happy that CBQ played them both beautifully. We had asked them to learn a brass version of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" about a month before our wedding. Not only did they do an amazing job, but our friends gave us so many compliments on choice of recessional song by a live band. My only regret is that I couldn't spend more time at my cocktail hour to get in the live jazz music, but our guests were happy with the general ambiance and spirit of the wedding so I can't complain!
Working with Franco and the Chamberlain Brass was one of the highlights of planning our wedding. As two students of music, who first met in a college music class, who were being married by their college music professor, we definitely wanted the music to occupy a very special place in the day. Being married in a hotel setting, we wanted something that was both grand and intimate, that underscored the true emotion of the ceremony--and did we ever find that with the Chamberlain Brass. Throughout the planning process Franco offered expert advice and guidance as we made our selections. We'll long remember walking out of the elevator outside of the ballroom and hearing the Chamberlain Brass playing--what a rich and wonderful sound. Our guests said that the music performed during the ceremony was some of the most beautiful they had ever heard--for us personally, our wildest expectations were far exceeded with every single note.
I cannot begin to say how happy I am with Chamberlain Brass. From the very first communication I had with Franco, he was helpful, informative and very polite. He continued to be very responsive throughout the months of planning, helping me out tremendously by directly coordinating with the cantor from my church.
On the day of my wedding they bent over backwards to do everything they could to make me happy. And boy, did they deliver!! The music was STUNNING and perfect in every way, I couldn't have asked for more.
My guests are still RAVING about the music and how elegant and different it was.
Thank you so much to Chamberlain Brass!!
We were very happy. They delivered everything they promised and were very easy to work with. They even provided mics for our celebrant to use during the outdoor ceremony and posed for pics afterwards.
Chamberlain Brass made our ceremony and cocktail hour!
My wife found them on the Knot and fell in love with them right away.
I didn't know what to expect as I am not big into classical/jazz but we were extremely happy with them and our guests raved about them.
Franco and co were a joy to work with--very responsive, well priced, and stunningly talented. I could not have been happier, and actually hope I have another occasion to be able to use them!!
Over a year ago, a priest had recommended a few ceremony music ideas to my husband and I. Hearing the sounds of a brass quintet when my father walked me down the isle nearly gave me goose bumps. I started looking and researching on the knot and found Chamberlain Brass. I reached out to Franco, and it was simply the easiest vendor I have worked with by far. I picked the music, provided a play and do not play list, and the rest was pure enjoyment. My guests were blown away and loved Chamberlain Brass! This truly made my ceremony the "wow" that every bride dreams of!!! Absolutely elegant and stunning quintet.
Franco and the quintet added a wonderful touch to our ceremony and cocktail hour. They were fantastic to work with, professional throughout, and highly talented. Highly recommended to add lovely live music to your event.
My husband and I are so happy we had Chamberlain Brass perform at our wedding on August 30, 2014. We hired Chamberlain Brass to play at our cocktail reception prior to our dinner. They were excellent performers - extremely professional and a pleasure to work with. We worked mainly through Franco, who was great. He promptly answered emails, addressed our questions on the contract, and helped us finalize the musical selection for our cocktail hour. Chamberlain Brass played a lovely mix of classic jazz tunes, which worked perfectly with our cocktail location in a sunken garden with lanterns. We could not have asked for more and would highly recommend them to friends and family.
Franco and the brass quintet were amazing!
They arrived early for set up, even though the wedding parking lot wasn't open yet. They have lots of experience with weddings, so they knew exactly how to work with the staff in order to set everything up.
The wedding was at Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn, so it was an outdoor affair. Brass was the perfect choice for such an open space and everyone loved the performance.
Franco was very nice and responsive prior to the wedding, helping out in selection of songs for the ceremony and cocktail hour. The band's website was very helpful in these selections as well.
Definitely comes highly recommended to any event if you're looking for professionalism and class!
We loved working with Franco! He was so responsive and made the planning so easy. Our quests raved about ceremony and cocktail hour music. You will NOT regret working with them!!
Chamberlain Brass set the tone beautifully for our wedding. They played a half an hour intro set as guests arrived and did a magnifient job jazzing up La Vie en Rose for my descent down the aisle (or in the case of the venue, the stairs!)
Franco was also great to work with. Super professional, he responded promptly and was open to suggestions. He was proactive in working with the other vendors and was an absolute pleasure to collaborate with.
Many thanks and a big recommendation! :)
Chamberlain Brass was nothing short of amazing! In the planning stages, the process for song selection, payment, and integration into our ceremony and cocktail hour could not have been easier thanks to Franco! He was able to take a simple ceremony outline and work with the band to integrate our song selections into it flawlessly and as if it had been practiced numerous times. The music was absolutely beautiful for our outdoor ceremony and created a one of a kind musical experience for us and our guests. Could not recommend Chamberlain Brass enough!
I can not begin to express how happy my husband and I are with the beautiful music chamberlain Brass provided for our ceremony and cocktail hour.
Not only was the music perfect, the friendliness and professionalism that the musicians displayed was beyond anything we could have hoped for.
They truly were a wonderful addition to our wedding day and I recommend them highly.
Thank you, Chamberlain Brass!!!!
I liked so much their service. They are very responsible with the their service.
I absolutely loved working with Franco and Chamberlain Brass and I can honestly say that their talents made our wedding one that our guests will never forget. In addition to playing beautiful music during our ceremony that was loud and clear (but not intrusive) during our ceremony in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the group led us and our guests in a parade through Brooklyn to our reception venue. They did a fantastic job and our guests LOVED it! It was such a cool experience and it really made our wedding a unique experience. From my first email up until the wedding Franco was exceptionally responsive and flexible. He seemed genuinely excited to collaborate with us on our wedding plans and help us choose the perfect music. I would recommend Chamberlain Brass to anyone!
Had my wedding two weeks ago and couldn't say enough great things about CBQ. Franco was amazing to work with as a band leader and did everything requested. He even coordinated getting a singer to sing A Thousand Years as I walked down the aisle. My ceremony was outside and they played beautifully. I was nervous about having so many brass pieces in a small room for cocktail hour, but they were not overpowering at all. CBQ is an excellent value and I would highly recommend them!
My wedding this past Sunday was perfect and everything I had imagined. From the very start to the day of, working with Franco and his band, was very easy. Everything was done via email. I chose Chamberlain Brass because I read other positive reviews from here and do not regret it. I got married at the Sand Castle in Franklin Square and also hired a cinderella horse and carriage. The music piece that played as my horse and carriage pulled up brought tears to my husband's eyes. They worked with my venue director and made sure everything was timed perfectly! Having them during my cocktail hour added a touch of elegance as my guest enjoyed the food and mingle.
I have nothing but positive things to say about Franco and the Chamberlain Brass Quintet. He was responsive and proactive from day one. I never waited longer than 24 hours to hear back from him. I was amazed by the music I walked down the aisle to and was even more impressed by the brass sounds during the cocktail hour. Very reasonable in price and quite professional. I'm a very tough critic and I give them 5 stars. Great job!
I found Chamberlain Brass through a promotion on theknot.com, and couldn't be more grateful that I did. It took some time to show my husband the value of a brass group, as he was leaning towards more traditional strings for our ceremony. However after Franco invited us to meet the group and listen to them rehearse before another wedding in the city he was absolute sold. They are all highly professional musicians, and you can tell that the group truly loves to perform. Franco was very helpful in music selection and finalizing our song lineup as well, and the website is excellent since you can hear many recordings of the group to decide on the repertoire. Additionally, Franco was also very understanding of our budget and worked out a plan that fit our couple and our wedding perfectly. Unbelievable value and tremendous service, and all our guests were absolutely blown away by the sound quality and the atmosphere they created for our ceremony and cocktail hour.
The Chamberlain Brass was awesome!!! I'm am unable to find words that will ably describe their awesomeness!!! As a fellow musician, I must say this is possibly one of the best ensemble I have worked with. A great tone, excellent musicality and a real sense of unity.. Franco and the guys were so accommodating and their level of professionalism was exceptional. They really made our day absolutely special.
Thanks guys!
Everyone loved the band during the cocktail hour. My church did not allow outside music so it ended up being a little too costly for us but it was worth it. Thank you Chamberlain Brass Band!
Chamberlain Brass performed at both our church ceremony and our cocktail hour on our June 7th wedding. Franco was very organized and professional and stayed in touch throughout the whole process. I was a little worried about having a brass quintet play in our small church, but they sounded perfect and did not overwhelm the small space, and during the cocktail hour the sound filled the space of several rooms beautifully. We got so many compliments on the band and it really added something special to our cocktail hour and ceremony. They were all very professional and sounded wonderful and were priced extremely competitively. I am extremely pleased and would recommend them to anyone who wants to add something special to their special day!!
We were looking for something different and this Quintet worked out great. They have a huge list of songs to choose from and were able to add a song at our request. Weather completely changed our day, but these musicians were adaptable and professional.
We were late for our wedding (the limo driver had the wrong directions!) and the Chamberlain Brass Quintet kept playing music until we arrived. I cannot say enough about them.They are the best. I am retiring next year and hope to use them again for my farewell party.
Thanks guys for making our day!
Charles and Chris
We envisioned an elegant, classy, and intimate affair for our wedding. We hoped that the Chamberlain Brass band would compliment our vision, and we can honestly say that they by far surpassed our hopes and expectations. They set the perfect mood for our affair. We would recommend them to anyone who's looking for a talented professional. Thanks you Chamberlain Brass for making our wedding an unforgettable experience.
After originally planning on having a string quartet perform at our wedding we decided to go with the brass and we were not disappointed. The rich, full sound created the perfect atmosphere for our outdoor wedding. The musicians were friendly, accommodating, punctual and professional. They could have charged three times as much and their presence would have still been worth it. I can't say enough wonderful things about this brass band.
Two months before our wedding, my brother was rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery. Needless to say much of my time was spent in the hospital. With little time to finalize wedding plans, I took care of the essentials and had to let my vendors run with everything so to speak. Chamberlain Brass Quintet did exactly that. They were very understanding of my delayed responses and put together a wonderful arrangement of music with little direction from me. Our reception was in a greenhouse, so I was a bit worried about how music would carry in a large, glass building. The Quintet's sound was perfect! Rich and voluminous enough for everyone to hear without being overbearing. Thank you for making our ceremony (and cocktail hour) so wonderful!
They were absolutely worth the money. Very professional, took stress off of me, and did everything before I asked. They were the most professional of my vendors and did the best job! When I look back at my wedding, I think about how happy I was to have them there and how they really helped make my wedding very classy! My guests were impressed!
I used CBQ to play the music at our ceremony. They did a great job. Mr. Finstad was the utmost professional. We only spoke on the phone once and the rest of our communication was via email. When Mr. Finstad had to use a replacement musician, he notified me well in advance of our wedding. I appreciated this very much. Mr. Finstad and I communicated regualrly and this made me comfortable. The only issue I had was I wanted a certain entrance played before I walked in. It was played, but they played it right after the bridal party walked in, forgetting that the flower girls and ring bearer had to come out before me. Other than that the band was terrific. They played impromptu songs when requested and never missed a beat. Fantastic job for the money. My church organist was charging me more than CBQ. I was worried, but decided to forgo using my organist and just stick to solely having CBQ play, and I don't regret that decision
My husband and I hired the Chamberlain Brass Quintet for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. We can honestly say it was one of the best choices we made for our wedding! Franco was so easy to deal with, very helpful, organized, and accommodating during the planning process. On our wedding day they sounded amazing (exactly how they sound on the website) and it added a beautiful part to our day. We would definitely recommend using the Chamberlain Brass Quintet for your wedding. I wish I had some kind of event to plan in the future so that I can use them again!
Franco Finstad was incredibly easy to work with and their music was wonderful. Although I was so busy I did not have time to see them (or thank them!) they did a wonderful job for our ceremony and cocktail hour. I can definitely say they were the easiest to coordinate with out of ALL my vendors! I HIGHLY highly recommend them!
Professional, talented, accommodating are just some of the words that describe the quality of this band. We used the Chamberlain Brass Quintet for our outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour. Franco made planning the music list a breeze and we were able to include some of our favorite pieces. When "The Flower Duet" came on for the processional I had tears in my eyes, it was beautiful! Our guests also later commented on how lovely the music was.
Franco was in contact with me at various points prior to our wedding; checking in and confirming details. This made me feel at ease. He and the band arrived on time, and everything was set up promptly and in an organized manner. I would highly recommend this band for anyone looking for live music for their ceremony and/or cocktail hour.
We hired the Chamberlain Brass Quintet to play at our June wedding ceremony and reception cocktail hour, and I have absolutely no complaints. During the planning stages, Franco was very easy to work with. Everything was so organized that we only had to go through maybe 4 rounds of emails before the event. In each of these rounds, Franco would respond to my emails within a day, in not within a few hours, and I never found myself worrying about how things would play out. Unfortunately, I don't remember much of the playing because I was too preoccupied with being a bride, but I did receive many compliments from our guests on how nice it was. I fully recommend the Chamberlain Brass Quintet for your event and would hire them again in an instant.
We used the CBQ for the ceremony and cocktail hour. We had an outdoor ceremony and the brass instruments sounded amazing. There only a couple places where there seemed to be a miscommunication between our wedding coordinator and the brass quintet. Mainly logistical due to the layout of the ceremony site. They are sitting at the front of the ceremony and the aisle was at a bend so it was hard to see who was coming up the aisle. Just a little confusion as to when and what song to play, but otherwise it was beautiful and well performed. They truly added class and elegance to the ceremony and cocktail hour.
Franco and the CBQ were so awesome to work with. Franco stayed in contact the entire time, responding almost immediately to all the emails I sent him throughout our entire planning process. We didn't want to go the traditional string quartet route and I am so happy I found CBQ for our outdoor wedding. The brass band vibe worked so well with our garden party theme and there was no need to rent any additional sound equipment. Highly recommend the Chamberlain Brass Quintet!
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The Chamberlain Brass
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