A Strings Serenade (aka musical telegram) is a truly unique, personalized performance that’s both fun and unforgettable! This isn’t just a quick song—it’s a meticulously crafted musical experience brought to life by some of the most talented young violinists & violists in the community, ages 8-18. These rising stars engage with the recipient and the crowd, building up to a special set of songs that perfectly match the occasion. And if you'd like, they’ll even pose for photos! The performance concludes with a thoughtful touch: a single rose and a personalized note with your special message. No matter the celebration, we’ll make sure your Strings Serenade is a classy, unparalleled memorable experience that everyone will cherish!

• 2-3 Entertainers from Monarch Strings Studio (violinists/violists) professionally dressed in concert attire, performing 2-3 well-rehearsed songs with harmonies, at a location of your choice (or virtually!)

• Single rose & personalized note from you

• Photo op with entertainers (optional)

Monarch Strings Valentine Serenades are usually around 10 minutes in length. Depending on the environment, and how interactive the audience & recipient are, they could be a little longer or a little shorter. We make sure to include our full routine with every telegram, and love to wow the crowd with how well the kids play at any age! Believe us, when you’re the recipient in the “hot seat,” 10 minutes feels like a looooooong time!

All of our performances are family-oriented and safe for work. We go to all types of places: offices, restaurants, community centers, schools, homes, etc. Please just make sure that you have permission from the establishment (especially schools and restaurants) and that there’s a contact person on-site for the performers. 

We are currently booking Thursday-Saturday, February 13th-15th on a first come-first served basis. We have a limited number of bookings available for those dates and will consider expanding offerings as the schedule fills up, or upon special request. If your schedule is flexible, even better! You can indicate this on your “Book Now" form. 

It’s very important that there’s a contact person on site. You will need to provide that person’s name and phone number through the order form (you can always modify this later), and the entertainers will use them to coordinate on finding the victim…er, we mean, recipient, once they arrive at the venue. :)

In the event that you can't provide a contact person (ex: if we are surprising a person at home alone), then we will need you to make sure the person will be home at the given time and we will ring the doorbell. Some telegram senders have told the recipient that a package is coming and they need to be home to accept it. You can add a note in the “Book Now” order form for any special delivery instructions.

The contact person needs to be on-site and reachable by the entertainers when they arrive at the venue. The entertainers will call or text the contact person when they arrive at the location, or find them via other delivery instructions (such as checking in at the front desk or hostess stand).

The contact person helps coordinate the show; for example, at an office, they would gather the audience when the entertainers are arriving.

They can also help direct the entertainers to the recipient if the location is tricky or they need someone to escort them in. Due to the novelty of professional young musicians, for example, many people will want them to stop for pictures; we'll need the contact person to bring them straight to the recipient(s).

We currently are booking within a 15-mile radius of 64015. If your destination is outside of this area, we will automatically calculate the distance when you submit your booking request and provide a quote for the extra mileage before you are charged.

• Performers need at least a 1-hour window for their arrival time to your chosen destination. If you have more flexibility on days/timing, even better—just note this on your “Book Now” form. The entertainers really appreciate longer arrival windows. For example, if you’re sending a musical telegram to an office and you know the recipient will be there all afternoon, you can set a longer arrival window, like 1-4pm. If you'll need to have the recipient or guests in place for when the entertainer walks in, indicate this in the Additional Notes section of your booking request and we'll make sure to communicate our exact ETA with the contact person on site on the day of delivery. 

• For dinner reservations, we suggest your arrival window starts at least a 30 minutes after your reservation, so that you can get seated and place your orders before the entertainer arrives. If you're having a party, we recommend having the arrival window start 1-2 hours after your party starts so that your guests have time to arrive and get settled in, or 30 minutes-1 hour after your party starts if it’s a kids’ party. Remember, guests are often late and you don’t want to have your entertainers arrive before everyone is seated!

• We recognize that there are sometimes circumstances where it’s not possible to give a full hour arrival window. In those cases, it’s important to contact us ahead of time to confirm that a shorter arrival window will work for them. You can also call/text or email us to discuss your special request.

Many of our entertainers are willing to travel beyond their regular service area (15-mile radius) for a modest fee. We assess the fee at $2 per mile beyond 15 miles, with a minimum fee of $10. When you include your location in your “Book Now” form, we automatically calculate the distance and will notify you of any additional surcharges before receiving payment. You can also modify your location up to a week before performance date (see cancellation policy in FAQ); if the location is closer, any mileage overages can either be refunded or added to your CCVI donation.

We know that sometimes plans change and we’ll do our best to be flexible. That said, we do need to honor that our entertainers are in demand. When the entertainers accept a booking, they block their schedules and create service routes based on requested times & locations, and that means that they aren’t available at that time for other bookings.

You can cancel with no fee up to one week before the performance date (minus any bank-imposed transaction fees).

When the order status is “Confirmed” and you want to cancel, our policy takes into account how much advance notice you’ve given.

• Up until 2 hours before the show time window, you can make changes to any info (i.e. contact person, where to enter) that does not affect the location or timing.

• With 48+ hours’ notice, rescheduling and cancellation is possible, with a fee. Please note if changing the date or time, we will do our best, but we cannot guarantee availability.

• With 24-48 hours’ notice, you can cancel and receive a 50% refund. Pre-paid tips, add-on gift charges, and travel fees are refunded. (Or, you can just keep your booking & choose a different recipient to enjoy the surprise!)

• With less than 24 hours’ notice, you can:

  o   Request a change to the time window for no fee. Time changes are based on availability at that time.

  o   Cancel with no refund on the cost of the entertainers, and no refund for the add-on gift charges. Pre-paid tips and travel fees are refunded.

Because this is a fundraiser for Children’s Center For The Visually Impaired (CCVI), our entertainers are not compensated for their performances.

If your young musicians did a great job, you can show your appreciation with a tip! Just like with any other service, tipping is voluntary and always appreciated. It is customary to tip entertainers similar to how you tip a restaurant server. Most people give 15-20% gratuity, but again, it’s up to your discretion.

For your convenience, you have the option to pre-pay the tip via credit card at the time of booking. You are also free to tip in person with cash. All proceeds from Valentine Serenade bookings go directly to the nonprofit CCVI, but 100% of your tip will go to the performers.

If you or the recipient would like to make an additional donation to the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, you can do so HERE.

Absolutely! We include a single rose with each booking, along with a note from you that we will print out on your behalf.  The entertainers can also present your gifts or a cake you arrange, so long as you (or the contact person) give the item(s) to the performers when they arrive on site.

Entertainers will perform 2-3 songs from their catalog of custom-arranged classic/vintage love songs (i.e., “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, Elvis’ “Love Me Tender”, Theme from “Dr. Zhivago”, etc.). Due to a high volume of booking requests & limited number of performers, we cannot guarantee song customizations at this time but we have consistently had rave reviews from recipients of all ages over the years!

You are welcome to include your request in the Additional Notes section of your “Book Now” form and we will review & also add it to our list for future offerings. In the slim chance it’s a possibility, we’ll send you a quote on the upcharge for your request.

Of course! We would love for you to post them online and be sure to tag us @monarchstringsstudio in all the usual spots--Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor. You can also send them to us at monarchstringsstudio@gmail.com. 

At this time we don’t offer video services, but we do allow you to take your own video. If you do, please post them and tag us! @monarchstringsstudio in all the usual spots--Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor.

Monarch Strings Valentine Serenades are the only on-demand, instant booking musical telegram service in the Greater KC Metro, and as such, we can only accept online payments at the time of booking. But you are welcome to tip your performer in cash!

• Monarch Strings Studio is comprised of well-established families in the community. We have a team of studio parents enthusiastically working in tandem with Studio owner Kristen Tourville to make this fundraising event a success. All our talented young musicians have diligently prepared for this event, and they love what they do! We remain in contact with you up until showtime and our entertainers will definitely show up and do a stellar job. You can count on us to deliver!

• Entertainers aim to get to the location on the early side of the arrival window, but sometimes the traffic is worse than expected, or the performance before yours has an issue arise, and the entertainers could be delayed. If that happens, they will be in touch and let you know what’s going on. On the very rare occasion that an entertainer can’t make it (due a car accident, a snowstorm, an illness, or other unexpected event), we will communicate as soon as is possible. There are some situations that are beyond our control, but we will remain in contact with you and do our best to dispatch another duo or trio to cover for them. If it’s not possible, you will, of course, be fully refunded and offered a discount for a future booking.

You can add any requests to your booking on the “Book Now” form under Additional Notes. Please note that our performances are family-friendly. We will review and if it’s a possibility, we’re on board! If applicable, we’ll give you a quote on any requests that require an additional charge.

Contact us at monarchstringsstudio@gmail.com. If you need to make a scheduling change, our ability to accommodate it depends on performer availability. Please see our rescheduling and cancellation policy for more details.

Contact us at monarchstringsstudio@gmail.com or text us at (913) 717-7799. You will also be provided with text/phone information once your entertainers have been assigned to your booking. There, you can start chatting with your entertainer.