Common Booking FAQs

Please contact me via email or call me at (231) 342-2021 to check my availability. Please specify the exact time and location. Once my availability is confirmed, I will e-mail a planner for you to return with the deposit, or you can download one here. I happily accept VENMO payment or a direct mail check from your bank, as well as personal checks and cash.  You may email the planner sheet to me, or if you wish to mail directly to me with the deposit, please use the following address:

Sylvia Norris

2986 Silver Farms Lane

Traverse City, MI

49684

Some couples wish to use more than one musician. If this is the case, I typically hire the other musicians for you. The harp sounds wonderful with many other instruments, including, duo’s with flute, violin, cello, viola, or trumpet. Trios include harp, flute and cello, or, harp, violin, and cello, and of course larger groups of up to six players are possible. Northern Michigan has a wealth of fine musicians because of the proximity of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, which has been a bedrock of excellent musicians for nearly a century. I also work with fine singers, and can provide superb soloist and vocal duo’s.

Some people want to be able to utilize a family member or friend to perform and this is also possible, but I feel less confident in guaranteeing the final product when I work with non-professionals. I also must charge an additional $50.00 for rehearsal time with the family member or friend. 

Many people hire me to play part or all of the reception, either alone or with one or two others. One of my favorite combinations is to use a flutist who also doubles on saxophone. This grouping allows for lots of versatility in the styles, (from classical to jazz with everything in between, including dozens of current pop covers). As a solo harpist, my “background music” repertoire runs to hundreds of different selections. 

During the process of booking a wedding I receive a deposit to secure the date. I ask to be paid the remaining balance preferably two weeks before the wedding date. I know that once you are married, you will want to focus on your guests, not this detail. I do have to charge an additional fee if I am owed a balance after the wedding. The late fee charge is 15% of the original fee.

Please call me at (231) 342-2021 or email me at sylvia.norris.harp@gmail.com with your wedding date, time, exact location, and personal requests (i.e. duo, trio, voice, trumpet, etc.) for a price quote. I do not give quotes on my website because my prices vary due to many factors, including the difficulty of transporting the harp to a particular outdoor setting, number of special requests for music not currently in my repertoire, distance and expenses to the venue, etc.

Yes, by selecting the music page of my website you can listen to a sample of my playing. The samples are mostly traditional and classical; they will give you an idea of my ability, but not the breadth of my repertoire. I literally learn new pieces nearly every week during wedding seasons, so my already large repertoire is constantly growing to reflect the changes in current wedding music selections

Yes! I think the harp sounds gorgeous outdoors. I play only full-size concert pedal harps which have a very lush and rich sound. People are often amazed that the harp, while often not amplified, is able to carry beautifully outdoors.

The harp is a very precious and costly instrument running into the tens of thousands of dollars and would be irreparably damaged by rain, therefore if rain is threatening, I cannot play outdoors unless I am in a protected location. In that case, no one else wants to be caught out either, so a quick relocation is always the best solution. I always request that my couples specify a rain location for all unprotected outdoor venues.

Yes! I am happy to add to my repertoire of wedding music offerings. As you can imagine, the options are limitless, but my time is not. I will be happy to learn two or three new tunes for specific wedding clients. Depending upon the request, each one could take up to fifteen hours of practice time for me to perfect and, as a busy professional, I can’t always fit that additional prep time into my schedule. The good news is that I can draw from my already huge repertoire of standards and covers to find selections that fit into the theme, mood or genre of music that you wish to showcase for your wedding ceremony.