The Kenwood Strings
A string quartet, trio or duo for memorial services, playing classical repertoire and arrangements of a person's own music.
About this business
Origin story
The quartet formed in 2013 out of a South Side conservatory's alumni orchestra, playing weddings to pay for a recording nobody bought. The memorial work arrived by accident and is now most of the calendar.
Why families choose us
Four players, or three, or two, depending on the room and what you want to spend. We play the repertoire you would expect — the Bach airs, the Barber, Faure, Schubert — and we arrange other things constantly, because most families now ask for at least one piece that was never written for strings. That arranging is done by our violist, it takes about a week, and it is the part of the work we are proudest of: a Stevie Wonder song for a quartet sounds like nothing else at a service, and it sounds like the person. We also record tribute tracks in a small studio in Kenwood if a family wants the arrangement to exist afterward. We play seated, we need two chairs per player and no amplification indoors, and we are used to working to a service sheet that runs late.
Ownership
Who they serve
Community served
Instruments & genres
Instruments
Genres
Services & pricing
Service
Price
Up to ninety minutes, prelude through recessional, at one location.
$950
flat
The same service, scaled to a smaller room or a smaller budget.
$550
from
Written for us by our violist, yours to keep afterward.
$300
flat
The arrangement recorded in our studio and delivered as a file.
$450
from
Common questions
Can you play a song that was not written for strings?
That is most of what we are asked for now. Our violist arranges it, it takes about a week, and the arrangement is yours afterward.
What do you need in the room?
Two armless chairs per player, a space about eight feet square, and no amplification indoors. Outdoors we bring our own stands and weights.
What if the service runs long?
We hold and keep playing. The ninety minutes starts when the doors open, and nobody has ever been charged for a eulogy that overran.
What families say
New to EndCo — be among the first. No family has written about The Kenwood Strings here yet.
Did you work with The Kenwood Strings?
Reviews here come from families who have actually sat with a member. If you spent time with them, a few sentences about how it went is the most useful thing the next family can read.
Service area
Address
4536 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60653
Location and coverage
4536 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60653
Get directions ↗Travels to
South Side / Near South · Downtown / Central · North Side · Far South Side · Suburbs · Evanston · Oak Park