Hire Northumbrian Bells | String duo in Alnwick

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From£200

1 hour

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About Northumbrian Bells

Mum and daughter duo playing violin/flute and clarsach (lever harp)/piano - beautiful music to accompany your weddings or special occasion!

3 of 17 photos

String duo

Alnwick

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Claire and Rachael, Mum & daughter, have been performing together since Rachael was 6 years old. Rachael achieved Grade 8 Distinction in both Violin and Flute exams, accompanied on the piano by Claire. Rachael loved her musical life at Durham Uni graduating with a BA music, MA ( orchestration & arranging) & PGCE! Claire took the opportunity to return to her music with Piano, Violin & Harp playing over the last 20 years. Our professional lives are now taken up with Primary School Reception teaching for Rachael, and Harp & Piano teaching for Claire. We love playing our music together so much, from Classical to Folk and Musical Theatre. We usually make our family listeners cry with such beautiful arrangements, but promise to bring you a happy performance to remember forever!

Northumbrian Bells

5 out of 5

5 verified reviews

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

4.5

Communication

5.0

Punctuality

5.0

Northumbrian Bells' Reviews

5 out of 5

It was an absolute pleasure to have Northumbrian Bells play at our wedding In August. The kindest, most loveliest ladies who played the most amazing music throughout our ceremony at Eglingham Church. Thank you so much for helping making our day so special! We couldn't recommend them enough! Extremely satisfied from the moment we booked and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting you both at the church and lots of lovely chats running up to the Wedding! Thank you again for everything ! Julia & Angus x

Reply from Northumbrian Bells

3 months ago

Thank you so much for your really lovely review Julia & Angus!! We loved playing at your beautiful fairytale wedding and sharing our music with you & your lovely guests! :) Rachael & Claire xx

4.8 out of 5

Absolutely superb!! I cannot rate Claire and Rachael highly enough! They carried out a lot of research and learned lots of additional pieces of music for our day. They incorporated our love of Disney into the day with a little touch a magic! Also- you could not find 2 nicer ladies . A lovely mother and daughter duo who emit so much warmth ! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 🩷 Heather and Andrew xx

Reply from Northumbrian Bells

6 months ago

Thank you so much Heather & Andrew for your really lovely and kind review! We absolutely loved preparing all of your wonderful music requests and playing them for your wedding at Newton Hall! A gorgeous wedding day for a beautiful couple!! Rachael & Claire xx

5 out of 5

Northumbrian Bells, Claire and Rachael are a hugely talented mother and daughter duo who play the most beautiful music, that will bring you to tears. They are super sensitive in finding the right pieces to suit the event. As well as being magical in their musical recitals, they are very special people who I thoroughly recommend.

5 out of 5

The sound of music being played as we entered Howick Hall was enchanting. The ambience and setting in the Chinese Room for the lovely harp and flute duets being played by Claire and Rachael were so relaxing and very welcoming. What a great combination, music and location, well worth a visit to experience and enjoy!

Read all 5 reviews

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Northumbrian Bells' Song list

Popular Wedding Songs:

Canon in D – by Pachelbel

Harp/piano and violin

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – by J. S. Bach

Piano and violin

Prelude No.1 in C – by J. S. Bach

Piano and violin

Wedding March - by Mendelssohn

Piano and violin

Can't Help Falling in Love – by Elvis Presley

Harp and violin

Turning Page - by Sleeping at Last (as heard in Twilight)

Harp/piano and violin

A Thousand Years – by Christina Perry

Piano/harp and violin

La Vie En Rose - by Edith Piaf

Harp/piano and violin

At Last - by Etta James

Piano and violin

Hallelujah - by Leonard Cohen

Piano/harp and violin

Maestro – by Hans Zimmer from “The Holiday”

Piano and violin

Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin (“Here comes the bride”) – by R. Wagner Piano and violin

Classical Music/Romantic Piano Music (arranged for violin/flute and piano/harp):

I Giorni - by Ludovico Einaudi

Piano and violin

Fairytale - by Ludovico Einaudi

Piano/harp and violin

Nuvole Bianche – by Ludovico Einaudi

Piano and violin

Le Onde – by Ludovico Eindaudi

Piano and violin

River Flows in You – by Yiruma (as heard Twilight)

Piano and violin

Soulmate - by Andrea Vanzo

Piano and violin

Wedding Ballet - by Austin Farwell

Piano and violin

Deep Breaths - by Austin Farwell

Piano and violin

Christmas Eve - by Austin Farwell (and any of his beautiful music!)

Piano and violin

Cavatina – from “The Deer Hunter” by S. Meyers

Harp and violin

Ladies in Lavender, Main Theme - by Nigel Hess

Piano and violin

Gynopedie – by Debussy

Piano and flute/violin

Ave Maria – by Schubert

Harp/piano and violin/flute

Anfonaf Angel (Guardian Angel) – by Robat Arwyn

Piano and violin/flute

Meditation from “Thäis” – by Massenet

Piano and violin

Theme from Love Story – Francis Lai

Harp and violin

Schindler’s List – by John Williams

Piano and violin

Chanson de Matin – by Elgar

Piano and violin

Spiegel im Spiegel – by Arvo Pärt

Piano and violin

Für Anna Maria - by Arvo Pärt

Piano and violin

Northumbrian Traditional Music:

Bonny at Morn - Trad., arr. Janet Bennett

Harp and violin

Blow the Wind Southerly - Trad., arr. Janet Bennett

Harp and violin

Felton Lonnen - Trad., arr. Janet Bennett

Harp and violin

Elsey's Waltz - Archie Dagg, arr. Janet Bennett

Harp and violin

Water of Tyne – Trad.

Harp and violin

Farewell to Joe – by Robin Dunn

Harp and violin

Lindisfarne – by Matt Seattle

Harp and violin

Rothbury Hills – by Jack Armstrong

Harp and violin

Whittingham Green Lane – by Jack Armstrong

Harp and violin

Traditional Scottish/Irish/English/American Music:

Farewell to Stromness - by Peter Maxwell Davies

Piano and violin

Ashokan Farewell – by Jay Ungar

Harp and violin

The Swan LK243 – by Catriona Mackay

Harp and violin/flute

Bethanie’s Waltz – by Jenna Reid Harp and violin

Loch Katrine's Lady - by Phil Cunningham

Harp and violin

Gentle Light That Wakes Me - by Phil Cunningham

Harp and violin

Amazing Grace – by John Newton

Harp/piano and violin/flute

Sheebeg and Sheemore - Trad. Irish, arr. Isobel Mieras

Harp and flute

Dreaming on Deeside - by Ailie Robertson

Harp/piano and violin

Moondance – by Ailie Robertson

Harp and flute/violin

Skye Boat Song – Trad.

Harp and flute/violin

Ye Banks and Braes – Robert Burns, arr. Irene Watt

Harp and flute/violin

Danny Boy – Trad., lyrics by Frederic Weatherley

Harp and violin

Follow the Heron – Karine Polwart

Harp and violin/flute

Greensleeves – Trad., arr. Anne Macdearmid

Harp and violin/flute

The Flower of the Quern – by James Scott Skinner

Piano/harp and violin

Da Slockit Light – by Tom Anderson

Harp and violin

She Move Through the Fair – Trad., arr. Ailie Robertson

Harp and violin

Return to Tiree - by Isobel Mieras

Harp and flute

Tiree Bridal March - by Isobel Mieras

Harp and flute

Music from Musicals/Films/Games:

Moon River - by Henry Mancini, from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Piano/harp and violin/flute

I Dreamed a Dream - from “Les Misérables”

Piano and violin

Send in the Clowns - from “A Little Night Music”

Piano and violin

Young Lovers - from “The King & I”

Piano and violin/flute

Come What May – from “Moulin Rouge”

Piano and violin

A Million Dreams – from “The Greatest Showman”

Piano and violin

Music from “Braveheart”

Harp/piano and violin/flute

No Time To Die – Billie Eilish (as heard in “James Bond”)

Piano and violin

Sunday - from “Sunday in the Park with George”

Harp/piano and violin

A Whole New World - from Disney’s “Aladdin”

Piano and violin/flute

Be Our Guest – from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”

Piano and violin

A selection of Disney music, as requested!

Piano/harp and violin/flute

The PM’s Love Theme – from “Love Actually”

Piano and violin

Song of Storms - from “The Legend of Zelda”

Piano and flute

Zelda’s lullaby – from “The Legend of Zelda”

Piano and violin/flute

True Love – from “High Society”

Piano and violin

Popular Music:

Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

Harp/piano and violin

Here Comes the sun – The Beatles

Harp/piano and violin

The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra

Piano and violin

Annie's Song - John Denver

Piano and violin/flute

Lose You To Love Me – Selena Gomez

Piano and violin

Love Story - Taylor Swift

Piano and violin

Enchanted - Taylor Swift

Piano and violin

Northumbrian Bells' Prices

Last updated: 2024

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Performance duration	Price

Customer questions

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

We have performed both inside and outside (in good weather!). Most recently we have enjoyed performing at Howick Hall in Northumberland. We have also performed at a sunny garden party for a care home, and in a wedding marquee on the bride’s family’s farm with a beautiful view of the sea!

Do you have different line-up options?

Rachael plays violin and flute, and Claire plays clarsach and piano. We usually perform as violin/flute and clarsach, but we can also perform as violin/flute and piano!

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

We always try our best to be flexible to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings change slightly in the run up to the event please just let us know as soon as possible.

How much time do you need to set up?

We usually arrive and set up about 1 hour before the performance time so that we have plenty of time to find where everything is. However again we can be flexible with this.

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

We have a set list of mostly traditional Northumbrian and Scottish music but are always happy to try and include specific requests where possible.

Is all of the equipment (e.g. PA & lighting) included in your quote?

We are acoustic and don't require any extra equipment. To perform we would just require two chairs please and a suitable secure space to store our instrument cases whilst performing.

Musicianship

Genres:

Folk, Traditional Scottish folk, Traditional English folk, Classical, Contemporary classical, Film / TV music, Musical theatre, Traditional church music, Traditional Irish folk, Light music

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Types:

String duo, Flute and harp duo, Classical duo

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Event types:

Wedding, Wedding proposal, Hotel / Restaurant event, Private event, Charity event, Church service, Burns night

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Other skills:

Instrumental teaching, Orchestrator, Arranger, Theory teaching

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