wedding musicians, unplugged musicians, acoustic bands, accordion player, duo, trio, quartet, roving musicians, singer and entertainers in Sydney
hiring musicians, entertainers, bands and singers in Sydney, Gosford, Newcastle, The Hunter Valley, Wollongong, Bowral and the Southern Highlands
where to find acoustic bands, instrumental bands, entertainers, unplugged music, musicians, acoustic music without amplification in Sydney
Bands for hire in sydney duo, trio, quartet, bands, accordion players, guitar, flute players, string bands, musicians with Public Liability Insurance, singers for hire for functions, festivals, parties, weddings, anniversaries, community events, store promotions and roving music in Sydney
The year 2011 in review
The year 2011 has proven to be our most productive year since the inception of the Viva bands in 1996. We performed on over 200 occasions including performances at many great venues such as the Opera House, Notes Live, The Art Gallery of NSW and the Factory Theatre plus some recording work for TV commercials and two radio shows, a great diversity of work with a few resident jobs thrown in, we also managed to post 28 video's on youtube
We passed on quite a few gigs to our musician friends who are great quality as well
Our recent Collaboration with Corinne Andrew
We met Corinne Andrew at the Victoria room, Darlinghurst while we were performing there, we found to our delight she is a stunning French singer that specializes in similar music to the Duo, consequently we have formed a collaboration with Corinne for trio gigs
The year 2012 in review
We are looking foreword to a great year with a quite a few advance bookings including high profile corporate events at the best Sydney Venues, It seems that Corinne is becoming very popular, it is certainly a thrill and a rare privilege to witness her stunning performances of French, Spanish and Portuguese Fado music, her vocal rendition of a traditional French accordion classic "Indifference" stands out as simply amazing
If you are required to book a band through an agency, we can provide you with contacts to some reputable agencies where we regularly direct enquiries that we are unable to accommodate
Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. Viva with Corinne Andrew (trio) was chosen as a result of their success at the Sydney Fringe Festival to provide music live for a series of 3 weeks in February 2012 at the exhibition of Picasso masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. We followed this up with a show at Canterbury Leagues club ( the home of the Bulldogs) and a radio show on the 26th February
Corinne Andrew is considered to be a world class artist and a quality session singer for major production studios based in Cannes, Sydney and the USA, Corinne has an extensive resume as a leading artist for cabaret performances and theatrical productions throughout Europe and Asia. Sydney is very fortunate to have such a high caliber artist available locally
UPDATE
Our three nights at the Art Cafe were a rousing success, we really enjoyed performing to such an enthusiastic audience!.
See a video of performances by Corinne Andrew and Viva at youtube
VIVA with Corinne Andrew, the corporate band
Corinne Andrew website is at www.corinneandrew.com.au
roving music sample by Sydney musicians is as at roving music video
Choosing a band
It can be very difficult to choose a band that exactly suits your requirements, it's usually a personal preference. The Viva bands are often at venues that are fortunate to know about the quality of their music, their successes are reflected in the many references on our testimonials page.
Covers bands - Viva bands
Australian audiences are mostly familiar with covers bands, however, the Viva bands are a little different with a unique record of exceptional quality performances. The accordion-bass player and guitar-flute player have been performing together locally and Internationally for over 30 years and now they have a collaboration with a world class singer Corinne Andrew who has a very diversified repertoire, Corinne is also a session singer for major production studios, she sings in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanase languagesWe have published many video's at youtube
If Vocal music is not required, Viva the duo has the ability to perform up to six hours of purely instrumental music and to work unplugged and acoustic without any amplification if necessary
A big plus for the Viva bands
The use of an accordion, guitar and flute is absolutely loved by International audiences, the band can also produce lots of guitar solos plus some flute specialties.
The music we produce is unique and that gives us a lot if confidence as leaders of the field in our genre, particularly with French music and a stunning French singer
A helpful suggestion would be to check out some of the venues that the Viva bands work at, perhaps they may be similar to your particular event, the link is: Viva gigsInstrumental music, band prices
String bands and orchestras with violins enjoy a monopoly when it comes to instrumental music and music without amplification for weddings and special functions in Sydney, leading this group is the Palm Court Orchestra. Musicians in string bands and orchestras are usually classically trained and generally play their instruments extremely well
We noticed there were very few alternatives to a string band if a venue required classy and unobtrusive background music. We developed Viva the duo as a very economical and a very mobile band that provides a similar function as a string orchestra performing instrumental music with: Jazzy accordion, Spanish guitar, bass and Yamaha grenadilla flute. Viva the duo are the leading alternative to a string orchestra in Sydney and are currently enjoying many venues and corporate functions with their particular music
The bands pricing structure is at: band prices
(photo) Typical staging for Viva the duo at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks
Rock, pop and covers bands usually perform amplified and vocal music
Pop, rock and or pop covers bands are hugely popular, primarily because record companies and commercial radio generally only expose bands that perform pop or covers music, Australian audiences hear very little else on the Radio or TV. These bands mostly perform music that require vocals and high quality powered amplification, they often organize computer generated backing tracks to accompany their vocal performances
Hundreds of covers bands share a similar and well known repertoire that are most recognizable and popular with young audiences
the successes of the Sydney Viva bands
A great deal of the Viva band's current work is return performances for our clients who have enjoyed the quality and rich diversity of the music that the Viva bands perform. Viva the duo fees are very competitive starting at $300 for 1 hour performance plus $100 per hour thereafter in the Sydney Metro area weekdays, prices for the Viva trio and quartet are POA
The definitive music samples from Viva bands
Viva the duo
- Listen to samples of tunes with accordion, bass, guitar and flute from Viva the Duo CD "The Journey -Popular music From Around the World " at youtube
music samples from Viva with Corinne Andrew (trio)
- Cabaret music with English and popular French tunes on a cruise liner around Greece featuring Corinne Andrew and a concert in Sydney with Viva the duo youtube
- Padam Padam youtube
- Indifference youtube
- Under Paris Skies youtube
- Portuguese Fado music youtube
music samples from Viva the band (quartet)
- Easy listening music samples youtube
Public Liability Insurance
Viva the duo have Public Liability Insurance cover, a requirement to perform at Local Council and Public Venues. It is important to note for your protection, each individual member of a band or entertainer must provide a certificate of currency for their insurance
Band Testimonials
Many clients are delighted when the band perform popular French, South American and European tunes that are generally well known but rarely heard being played live. The band also perform a standard fare of Jazz standards, classic show tunes and Latin music, refer to our testimonials page.
Availability of bands in Sydney
Check if the Viva bands are available at our current bookings page
Latest News: Viva the band formerly known as "The Echomen" are currently the subject of surf band cults emerging in Europe. A six page documentary about The Echomen can be found in the British Magazine, The New Gandy Dancer (December 2003 edition). A recent publication of the Last Post (spring 2011) featured a documentary called "Whatever Happened to the Echomen"
other bands for hire in Sydney
In this era of "pop" entertainment, there are very few opportunities for musicians to perform at live events, the norm for entertainment in Sydney appears to be with female vocalists belting out torch songs to huge productions of backing tracks. As a matter of economy few venues could afford to hire the number of musicians that are utilized on typical backing tracks, some such as the "Idol" singers have backing tracks that replicate up to 30 musicians and backing vocalists, live musicians and bands cannot compete with these backing tracks, consequently there is a diminishing opportunity, for young musicians in particular, to actually earn any income at all from performances or backing of artists at live events
The viva bands do not use backing tracks, consequently, there are few alternative bands of a similar style in Sydney, however, we provide listings of many other styles of bands that cover a variety of most live music requirements and preferences. Listed on our; index page are many other Sydney bands, ranging from experienced International musicians, recording and television artists to local garage bands and some covers bands, including some artists that mime or perform to music tracks that are manufactured on computers.
Important note - to save you time when hiring a band
Most of this particular home page is utilized to extensively describe the Viva bands and their activities, particularly their International tours and major local venues, If this is more information than required and you just want to find out what our music is like and our prices, click on the following highlighted links below for the items of interest:
- prices to hire viva bands link to Viva the band prices
- duo musicians link to Viva the band (duo) information
- Trio band link to French music by Viva duo and trio
- quartet band link to Viva the band (quartet) information
- prices to hire musicians, bands and string orchestras link to prices information
- band music samples link to Viva youtube videos
- current gigs where the band can be seen link to current gigs
- Business advertising- fee sacrifice - check our advertisement in local newspapers and press releases for venues or business promotions at this Link
- Index to a number of other bands, venues, wedding service providers etc. Link to Index
Prices to hire Viva bands
For commercial venues and private functions, the starting fee for Viva the duo is $300 in the Sydney metro area for a 1 hour engagement
For Interstate venues, the fee basis for the duo is $1,200 for a 3 hour performance period, we arrange and pay our own transport and accommodation
The prices to hire Viva the band (quartet) is $650 for 3 hours in the Sydney Metro area
Venues for Sydney Viva bands
Some notable venues that Viva the band perform at include: Sydney Opera House forecourt, Opera In The Vineyards, Sydney Convention Centre, Maritime museum, Overseas Passenger Terminal, restaurants at The Rocks, Olympic Park, Darling Harbour, South Sydney Juniors, Illawarra Catholic club, The Mounties, Dee Why RSL, Cronulla RSL, Sheraton hotels, Accor Hotels, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Bright Festival Vic, Manly International Jazz Festival, Newcastle Jazz Festival, Kiama, Jazz Festival, Dubbo Jazz Festival, Thredbo Jazz festival, private functions and weddings plus Interstate and International venues etc. etc.
Viva the band (duo) for a function at the Sydney Opera House
Viva the duo performed at a function at the Opera House forecourt for a.t.s. Pacific Group, part of the Stella Leisure Group,
for their 30 year anniversary. They are hosting their key clients from around the world, (mostly European countries) plus representatives of
Qantas Holidays, Jetset, Harvey World, Travelscene etc
Thank you! everybody loved your music... Paulette Crowder, Director Encor events
Viva the duo at the italian village, the Rocks
Viva the duo performance at a party for Francoise Preese, the principal of French a la Carte
Thank you! Ton said you were fantastic! Thanks again and we will definitely recommend you for future events. Amy Stagnitta Business Development Manager - Restaurants The Dockside Group
International venues: Thailand, Philippines, Guam, Japan, Taiwan
International promotional Tours: France, Spain, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, England
National Venues: Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Brisbane, Ipswitch, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Sydney, Newcastle, Gosford, Terrigal, Avoca, Hunter Valley, Wollongong, Kiama, Thredbo, Canberra, Bright VIC, Perth, Lightning Ridge, Tumbarumba
Our recent performance at a celebrity wedding
Viva the duo performed their special music for Lenka Kripac, a popular recording artist for Sony International. The occasion is her marriage to James Gulliver Hancock. Viva the duo also accompanied Missy Higgins who entertained at the event. Lenka's dad, Jiri, also played with the band
Lenka and James are now the proud parents of a beautiful boy born 27th March, congratulations!
Queensland Flood Benefit Appeal
Viva the duo at The Corso, Manly
providing entertainment for the Queensland Flood Benefit Appeal
Viva the band 2011
Viva the band performing at Saint Augustines function at Brookvale in February 2011
Viva the duo promotional tour of Europe June - July 2010
Some of the most interesting music in Europe seems to be performed on accordion. The accordion is also very popular in Argentine, China, and New Orleans in USA. It is interesting to note Elvis Presley (photo), John Lennon and Fred Astaire played accordion
Django Reinhardt the worlds most revered guitar player
Viva the duo arriving at the Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz festival at Samois Sur Seine at the beginning of their amazing 6,000km tour of Europe in 2010
If you have time, check out this youtube video of music we recorded of a young gypsy guitar player who was staying next door to us at a camp site whilst we were at the Django Reinhardt festival, the standard of musicianship is extraordinary and unlikely to be heard in Australia: Gypsy jazz
Viva the duo at Abbey Road studios in London and Aranjuez, Spain
The photo depicts a monument in the city of Aranjuez dedicated to Joaquin Rodrigo for the tune Concierto De Aranjuez. There are inscriptions for the tune and melody engraved in the footpath, Viva the duo from Sydney, Australia (photo) have recorded a simplified tune for accordion and guitar called Aranjuez Mon Amor
List of Jazz music for Nice Jazz Festival plus Pink Martini billboard poster in Cannes
Posters of events featuring Charles Aznavour, Pat Metheny and Norah Jones, we photographed this poster in the Piazza San Marco, Venice which was fringed with a number of delightful orchestras with accordion, violin, guitar, flute and piano etc. playing popular Italian and Latin instrumental tunes
Introducing the managers
Peter and Marie Rappolt are the managers of the Viva bands, Peter was a recording and television artist of the 60's, one of the pioneers of "Surf" music in Australia with his band The Echomen producing records on Australia's hit parades and backing many popular 60's entertainers such as the Bee Gees, Johnny Farnham etc. Peter and his wife Marie performed over 400 concerts to American and Australian forces in the Vietnam war, the continued their performances for further 3 years throughout Thailand, The Philippines, Guam and Japan as well as owning a popular nightclub in Bangkok. In the late 70's they toured Australia for many years performing: covers, rock, soul and disco music at similar venues as Old 55 and Jimmy Barnes with cold chisel. They have now developed the popular Viva the duo and Viva the band (quartet-quintet) into truly exciting and entertaining bands with a diverse repertoire of eclectic European music (with a leaning towards French and South American music) along with the standard fare of Jazz, Swing and Latin music
Viva the duo return to Europe from June 21st until August 2nd
The Paris experience
The quartet traveled to Paris in 2000 and the duo toured throughout Europe in June and July 2010, they located a few live music venues at Les Halls and the Latin quarter. At Les Halls the bands performed mostly Jazz, Latin, Edith Piaff cafe' tunes and Django Reinhardt style gypsy Jazz. In the Latin Quarter the bands played many different styles of music: Russian, Hungarian, Ukraine, Greek, Turkish, Spanish and Italian etc. For a number of weeks we listened and absorbed some of the character of the performances of the music. Upon returning to Australia, Viva the band began developing the music in a style reminiscent of their experience in Paris. To our delight, we found that that we were freed from the constraints of copying other artists music, such as in covers music, we were able to create our own improvisations in our renditions of the "new" music
Monsieur Camembert is another Sydney band that comes to mind when eclectic European music is required, they also play some Klezmer music
We hope that listening to the Viva bands gives the listener an opportunity to share in some of our experiences of the joy and character of the music in Paris, Europe and South America. We notice that our repertoire of world music is unique in Sydney and is very popular when the duo and quartet perform at Jazz festivals and community events. The Viva repertoire has been responsible for the wonderful response to our performances at local, national and International venues
We have provided links to lots of other bands you can check out as well
We hope the (busy) Viva bands are available for you, however, if we are not available or not the style of band you are looking for, there are lists and a database of other bands on this site that may be available contact details are provided. The lists include all types of bands, duo's, trios', quartets. Check them out on the bands network Index page
For information about hiring a duo for weddings or functions go to: duo hire information
For information about hiring this quartet for weddings or parties, go to: quartet hire information
Description of web site for wedding and function bands
The Viva bands have an extensive history of International performances. The most prominent being in Taiwan in 2004 and 2005 where the band performed for a series of concerts to audiences in excess of 5,000 plus television performances, the photo depicts Viva and a group of International performers being welcomed in a street parade in Taichung and later welcomed by the Mayor. Their television performances were broadcasted a few times per day over a period of 2 weeks in 2004 and 4 weeks in 2005, there are also numerous presentations of Viva the band at some of their overseas engagements shown on youtube
The development of the Viva bands
The viva bands are the evolution of the original recording and TV Surf band The Echomen. The founders of the Echomen and Viva bands progressed through the Rock and Roll Era of the 60's, 70.s and 80's. In 1996 they dispensed with a massive array of electronic equipment and focused on more intimate entertainment with mostly acoustic and portable equipment
a band for themed functions
If you are intending to conduct a venue with a romantic Paris theme, Viva the duo include some French music in their repertoire and are able to provide a French theme with their selection of French cafe' and Edith Piaf tunes on authentic instruments of musette accordion, bass, flute and Spanish guitar. This delightful feature of the duo has been invaluable in supporting a French theme at many French themed events, in particular, A Night of Romance and Ah La Belle Paris for the presentation of Opera in the vineyards and French themed exhibitions attended by French dignitaries in Australia at The Australian National Maritime Museum.
a band for entertainment at Vineyards at the Hunter Valley
Description of Viva music styles
A list of Viva the band songs and duo tunes can be viewed at repertoire page Viva repertoire
Hiring a duo for a special show
The duo perform concerts at major club Venues and corporate functions and can also provide staged events or roving performances at community events and store promotions. The duo of accordion, bass, flute and Spanish guitar perform from a repertoire of Jazz, swing, Latin, salsa, Spanish and stunning show tunes as well as chic French music
In addition to band work, the duo have developed their repertoire to perform as a specialty instrumental act for club or corporate entertainment and theatrical productions.
As an act, the duo perform a 45 minute showcase of their special show tunes including some French, Spanish and Gypsy Jazz music. The duo is currently featured as Viva "Paris" duo as an International act in the Roddy Montez production of the Viva Latin American and International show. The duo has also performed for theatrical productions and many French themed events.
Hiring a quartet for weddings and functions
Viva the band (quartet), extends the duo's sound with Vocals in harmony, congas, flute, percussion and extra guitar added to the band. The band provides lively performances of Latin and Salsa along with a varied repertoire of popular Jazz, swing, French and Cabaret show tunes. The quartet is very popular for parties and functions, delighting their audiences with their diverse repertoire.
Music for a ceremony or a function
Wedding Ceremony
- Background music during arrival of guests
- Bride arrival (fanfare)
- Tune (eg. "It Had To Be You") during signing of register
- Background music during photographs introductions etc
Wedding reception or dinner, dancing function
- Background or dinner music . Jazz standards, bossa nova's etc
- Dance music at dinner parties playing swing, bossa nova's tango's etc
- Dinner concert show (If required)
- Up beat dance music at dinner dances: Jazz, Swing, Latin, Salsa etc.
Hiring a roving band for community events, marketing expos in Sydney
The jazzy duo, with their strong instrumental content of show tunes is popular at Council events, University functions, shopping centres, community events, marketing expos, art festivals, wine and food festivals etc. with venues and clients such as: Opera in the Vineyards, Westfield shopping centres, Warringah Mall, Feastability at Newtown, Warringah, Art Gallery, Coca Cola, Oddfellows, Krispy Kreme, Gloria Jeans, Yalumba wines, De Bortoli winery, Lindeman's winery, Orlando Wyndham Estate winery, French Trade Commission, Manly Council, Mosman Council, Newcastle Council, Gosford Council, City of Canada Bay Council, Canterbury Council, Penrith Council, Warringah Council, Liverpool Council, Nelson Bay Center, Warners Bay Chamber of Commerce, The Entrance Town Centre Management, Marrickville Council, Sydney University, Macquarie University, International House, Mc Donald College of performing arts, Jaguar, Mercedes, Porsche promotions and many more
Viva the band has a background of television and recording work and easily adjust from being a concert band, performing to International audiences in their thousands, to being an affordable combo for playing background music or music for dining and dancing at special parties, functions and weddings. Check our pricing page to see just how affordable the Viva bands are.
Our current gigs listed at Link and venues pages will give you a good idea of the bands work, these pages should assist you in deciding if the duo, quartet or sextet is suitable for your special event.
The history of Viva the band in Australia and Internationally
You can read more about the bands extensive history in our history page
The band combinations are reasonably priced and are geared for wedding receptions, corporate functions and community events, check our prices at pricing page
To see more of this site, go back to the index at the top of the page or click on these links
- venues for sydney wedding receptions links
- history of a sydney wedding band link
- music for wedding receptions link
- gigs where sydney bands are currently performing link
- wedding reception venues link
- live music venues in Sydney links
- testimonials and reviews about wedding musicians in Sydney link
- weekend getaway, for family entertainment, food, pets allowed link
- prices for function bands and musicians in Sydney link
- French music for themed functions in Sydney link
- wedding protocol at wedding receptions link
- jazz bands in Sydney links
- covers and rock bands in Sydney links
- wedding services in Sydney links