The SweetBeats
New Haven String Quartet & Ensemble
Live strings for New Haven ceremonies, cocktail hours, and celebrations, from the Green to the Connecticut shoreline.
Classical Strings for a City That Loves Music
Looking for a New Haven string quartet? The SweetBeats String Ensemble brings conservatory-trained musicians from the New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory to weddings and events throughout New Haven and the Connecticut shoreline.
New Haven has a deep classical tradition, and guests notice when the ceremony music is played well. Choose a solo violin, a duo, a trio, or a full quartet, and a repertoire that runs from Bach and Handel to jazz standards and string arrangements of modern songs.
Planning the Reception, Too?
Pair the String Ensemble for your ceremony and cocktail hour with The SweetBeats Band for a packed New Haven dance floor.
Shoreline and Garden Ceremonies Near New Haven
Plenty of couples look just beyond the city, to waterfront venues in Branford, Guilford, and Madison, or to garden settings around East Rock. Outdoor ceremonies are lovely with strings, as long as the musicians are protected.
String instruments react to direct sun, damp air, and cold, so we ask for a shaded, covered spot and a plan B indoors. With that in place, a garden prelude and a seaside recessional sound just as good as they look.
Booking Made Simple: 4 Steps to a Flawless Event
Reach out to see if your date is open.
We’ll respond quickly to confirm and answer any initial questions.
Talk directly with our team — no middlemen.
We’ll help you choose the right band and provide honest advice tailored to your event.
Once you're ready, we’ll finalize the booking with a simple contract and deposit to lock in your date.
Once booked, you’ll receive a personalized planning form.
This covers your timeline, music preferences, names, and any special requests — making sure everything is perfectly customized.
On the big day, we arrive early, fully prepared, and ready to perform.
Every song, cue, and moment is handled so you can relax and enjoy.
A Song List Built Around Your Day
We play a prelude as guests arrive, then the pieces you choose for the wedding party, your entrance, and the recessional. Favorites include Pachelbel’s Canon, Bach’s Air on the G String, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, alongside arrangements of songs like “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
If there’s a song that matters to you and it isn’t on our list, ask. Our musicians can learn most songs on request.
Strings’ Packages for Ceremony and Cocktail
New Haven String Ensemble Song List
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Air on G-String (Bach)
Water Music Suites (Handel)
Arioso (Bach)
Sheep May Safely Graze (Bach)
Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
“Air” from Water Music Suite (Handel)
Xerxes.Largo (Handel)
St. Anthony Chorale (Haydn)
“One Hand, One Heart” (Bernstein)
“Nocturne” from Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn)
Wachet Auf (Bach)
“Winter” from Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
Ave Maria ( Schubert)
“Waltz” (Tchaikovsky)
“Pavane”( Faure)
Messiah. Hallelujah Chorus (Handel)
Over The Rainbow (Harburg)
You Raise Me Up (Lovland)
What a Wonderful World (Weiss)
Ave Maria (Schubert)
Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart)
Andante from String Quartet in A minor (Schubert)
Largo in D (Handel)
Amazing Grace (Traditional)
The Heavens Are Telling (Haydn)
Be Thou My Vision (Traditional Irish Melody)
Children’s Prayer ( Humperdinck)
Deep River ( Spiritual)
Go Tell it on the Mountain ( Spiritual)
He’s Got the Whole World ( Spiritual)
Meditation from Thais (Massenet)
My Heart Ever Faithful (Bach)
On Wings of Song (Mendelssohn)
Te Deum (Charpentier)
Bridal Chorus “Here Comes the Bride” (Wagner)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell)
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Ave Verum Corpus ( Mozart)
Flower Duet (Delibes)
Panis Angelicus (Franck)
Ave Maria ( Bach)
I can’t stop falling in love (Presley)
All you need is Love ( McCartney)
Tenderly ( Gross)
Only You (The Platters)
Erev Shel Shoshanim (Processional)
Simon Tov and Chosen Kalle Mazel Tov (Recessional)
Od Yeshoma
“Sunrise, Sunset”
Oif’n Pripetshok
Hatikva ( The Hope)
Bashana (Traditional Jewish)
Yedid Nefesh ( Wedding Processional)
Have Nagila
Tsena Tsena
Jerusalem of Gold ( Traditional Jewish)
Wedding March (Mendelssohn)
La Rejouissance from Royal Fireworks Music (Handel)
Brandenburg Concerto #3 (Bach)
“Spring” from Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
Entrance of Queen of Sheba (Handel)
I can’t stop falling in love (Presley)
All you need is Love (McCartney)
Tenderly (Gross)
Only You (The Platters)
Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You
Yellow (Coldplay)
Palladio (Jenkins)
Rocky Top (Osborne Brothers)
“Rondeau”-Theme from Masterpiece Theatre (Mouret)
Meditation from “Thais” (Massenet)
All I Ask of You (Webber)
Ashokan Farewell (Ungar)
Brandenburg Concerto #3 (Bach)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)
Minuet in G (Beethoven)
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
Divertimenti (Mozart)
Shaker Melody “Simple Gifts” (Copland)
Ave Maria (Gounod-Bach)
Humoresque (Dvorak)
Salut d’ Amore (Elgar)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (Debussy)
Nocturne in E flat Major (Chopin)
Finale from Sonatina in g (Dvorak)
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Handel)
Greensleeves (Traditional)
Pierre a Notre-Dame (Boellman)
Vivaldi. Concerti from L’Estro Armonico
Ceremonies Among Historic Churches and Campus Halls
Many New Haven weddings start somewhere with history. The three churches on the New Haven Green, the Gothic architecture around Yale, and the city’s older halls and clubs all have the kind of acoustics strings were written for. In a stone sanctuary, a quartet carries without any amplification at all.
We match the size of the ensemble to the room. A quartet suits a large church or hall, while a duo or solo violin works beautifully in a chapel, a private club, or a smaller restaurant ceremony.
Yes. We travel from Boston to New Haven and the Connecticut shoreline for wedding ceremonies, cocktail hours, and events.
Our trio is two violins and a cello. The quartet adds a viola, which fills out the middle of the sound and suits larger churches and halls.
Yes. String music works well in historic churches. Check your church’s music guidelines first, since some limit secular songs during the ceremony, and we will plan the program around them.
Yes. Our musicians can learn most songs on request, whether classical, pop, rock, or jazz.
Yes. Many couples book the String Ensemble for the ceremony and cocktail hour and The SweetBeats Band for the reception.
Your Party Starts Here
