Review Centre: Medieval / Historic Ensembles

"I hired Stephan pretty last minute to play at my wedding ceremony and during my cocktail hour after a family member bailed. I saw some videos of him on the Internet, and I pretty much knew at that moment that he would be perfect. Stephan was a real pleasure to deal with starting with the booking process. He was very responsive to my emails. His rates are very very reasonable as well, and that never hurts. He was kind enough to learn a song that he did not know because I was walking down the aisle to that song (Storybook Love from the Princess Bride). He did this for no charge. What an awesome and thoughtful gift! It is not often that a musician offers to do something like that. One vendor I had contacted after thinking Stephan might not be available actually told me that the song would be too difficult for him to learn. Lucky for me, everything worked out with Stephan's schedule. I recently watched my wedding video, and it occurred to me that I never talked to Stephan at my wedding to thank him for doing such a wonderful job. He played so beautifully, and the photographs of him playing at my wedding show just how passionate he is about music; it's visibly apparent. Stephan is very talented, and I recommend him with flying colors. I only wish I would have thanked him in person."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Simply Outstanding! I can't recommend Stephan Kane highly enough. First of all, he is an incredibly talented musician - just check out some samples of his arrangements on his website and you will be convinced. I feel honored to have had someone this talented play at our wedding. Second, he is wonderful as a vendor. We contacted him only 5 weeks before the wedding, and even though he already had a commitment for the evening of the wedding day, he worked hard to find a way to be able to play at our wedding. He was flexible, responsive, very professional and, as a bonus, incredibly sweet. Everyone at our wedding who had the opportunity to interact with him had a very positive impression and everyone loved the music. Finally, his pricing is very reasonable - we felt like we got an amazing deal. I recommend him very highly - you won't regret choosing this amazing musician!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A great guitarist! We initially talked to him because we liked his playing style and arrangements from the samples on his website. Stephan is a guitarist's guitarist who really cares about the craft. This is something that shows through in the music. It turns out he's also a good person and very easy to work with. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We loved having Neleta as part of our special day, she is a very talented musician. Would highly recommend!"

Reply by Harpist Neleta Ortiz
Thank you very much Jemma, it was a pleasure to play for you on such a special day, thank you for choosing me. You are a beautiful couple and I wish you all the best! Neleta Ortiz

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Stephan was an incredible addition to our wedding. He did a wonderful job arranging specific songs for us, and learning some challenging classical pieces at our request! His rates were very reasonable, and he was. a great communicator. He also brought along his own mic and speaker system that he graciously set up for us to utilize for our officiant. Stephan is an awesome choice if you're looking for a top notch guitarist for your event!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Stephan Kane, Wonderful Classical Guitarist Stephan Kane played for the reception after our family Memorial Service yesterday. He is very professional and a superb musician. He was easy to work with, has a wide repertoire of pieces from which to choose, shows up on time with all necessary equipment, and is a delightful presence. His music provided the perfect atmosphere for the event. It is a pleasure to work with someone who is so talented, yet understated and, indeed, humble. I would not hesitate to recommend him."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Stephan was a pleasure to work with and played beautifully for our wedding ceremony. We had an outdoor ceremony and it rained, Stephan was very flexible as we adjusted to fit the conditions. Would recommend Stephan to anyone looking for beautiful sounds for their wedding or other events."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Peter gave an excellent presentation to Leeds U3A. He arrived in good time before the meeting and set up a whole range of medieval instruments. Peter illustrated his talk with songs and music played on various instruments including lute, flute, dulcimer, bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy. His knowledge of medieval music was extensive and he chose a wide range of music to make his talk informative and interesting. Our members thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and Peter was able to hold the attention of an audience of 100 people with an hour of great music played (and sung) to a high standard. Very entertaining. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I'm not sure if there are many events that receive such detailed planning attention as do weddings. When my son and future daughter in law asked me if I could find a classical guitarist for their mid-summer outdoor wedding, I was thrilled to be assigned a specific role and to help. Stephan Kane came to us with strong recommendation. He exceeded our expectations from the first moment. At the bride's special request, Stephan was asked to play "La Valse d'Amelie" for the processional. I had heard the piece previously arranged for piano and for orchestra but never for guitar. Stephan created an arrangement for guitar especially for the event. Given that the event was outdoors and the procession stretched a goodly distance, timing the processional was part of the challenge. Stephan did that beautifully. Additionally, he provided lovely selections of his choosing as the guests assembled, appropriate amplification equipment, and executed both set up and break down of his equipment expeditiously and discretely. Stephan was politely responsive to my emails, communicated well and completely, and did for us everything that was expected and more. To me and to many, live music enhances any event. Working with a wonderful musician like Stephan, who is, as well as talented, gracious and humble, makes adding the magic of live music to the ambiance an easy decision. Val J."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We are so glad that we booked Peter to perform at our wedding drinks reception. He played music from a range of eras, and it was ideal for our festive winter wedding in a Medieval venue. We knew he’d be perfect as soon as we listened to some of his sample tracks online, and in person he was even better. Peter provided a great atmosphere, he was friendly and got on well with the guests. Peter phoned a couple of weeks before the event to discuss our preferences for musical eras and instruments. We asked for a range of things (including a few Christmas carols), with slightly more hurdy gurdy, as it’s our favourite period instrument. Our guests loved Peter’s performance, as did we, and we 100% recommend him for events. We’ve had lots of comments afterwards from people saying how great he was. Thank you, Peter, for helping to make our day so memorable and festive"

Reply by Peter Bull
Thanks for this great review! Peter Bull

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Perfection Stephan Kane was nothing but professional, responsive, kind, and helpful from the beginning. After listening to his music samples, I was hooked. After booking with him, my wedding had many changes due to Covid-19. Stephan was flexible, accommodating, and supportive through this whole process, delivering nothing but kindness. On my big day, he was early and efficient, and immediately began to play his guitar, while dressed sharply. He is immensely talented. I could not believe my ears! He transitioned flawlessly from song to song, playing exactly what I wanted (he has an extensive repertoire, even including Hawaiian music), and even learned a new song just for us. The guests raved about how phenomenal he was, and I am so glad I decided on Stephan Kane rather than a DJ. To say the least, his guitar added pure magic to my wedding. I would recommend him to anyone looking for beautiful music for any event. THANK YOU Stephan!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"If you are looking for a guitarist to play at your wedding, HIRE STEPHAN. He is simply the best in the business and made our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour sound beautiful and magical! We decided to do entirely Beatles songs for our ceremony and cocktail hour. Stephan even offered to learn two new Beatles songs outside of his repertoire specifically for our wedding for a small fee. He really went above and beyond to make sure the music was exactly what we wanted! During the ceremony, I will never forget walking down the aisle to "In My Life" and hearing the beautiful strumming of his guitar. Several guests came up to us saying how wonderful Stephan's music was. Not only is his music absolutely stunning, but Stephan was professional, on-time, friendly, and so easy to work with! He was very responsive on all communications and hiring him was one of the smoothest decisions I made in the wedding planning process. Thank you Stephan for your musical talents and making our wedding day so special!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"BEST I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR! Professional, talented, responsive genuine. I sent a very last minute request (2 days before our ceremony) since we forgot to choose a song for our officiant as he walked down the aisle and Stephan came the rescue and learned Waiting in Vain (officiant's favorite) in literally less than a day. AND he did it out of the goodness of his heart. You can tell Stephan is someone who wants his clients to have the day as they imagined and will go OUT OF HIS WAY to make it happen. His music is beautiful and set the perfect mood for our ceremony. I love contemporary songs played acoustically and his repertoire is very extensive. I regret forgetting to take a picture to capture this! To all those who are smart enough to have Stephan play at your wedding or event, be smarter than me - remember to take a photo!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Incredible Stephan was a delight from the beginning to the end. We received so many compliments on his professionalism and talent. He set the perfect tone for our wedding."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Stephen did an amazing job at my wedding. He was able to play a customized playlist and learned a song that we really wanted for my walk down the aisle. He was super responsive to all of my emails and requests. He made the process very stress free. He is also an amazing musician and everything sounded beautiful!! I highly recommend!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: