As a semi-professional musician
I do tend to listen to the string quartets at weddings. And I was at one in Marlow earlier this year at which the first violinist in said quartet was awful. Apparently they were also 'very expensive'.

Unfortunately my usual brutal honesty came to the fore when the bride's mother asked for my opinion on the music. She was made aware that she hadn't been given value for money. I think I avoided the use of the word 'pish' but only just.

The rest of the wedding was a grand day out though.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 24 Aug 2011, 19:35, 2 replies)

SO with you here
Loads of quartets only hire pretty girls, with absolutely no thought as to whether they're any good at actually playing their instruments. It's really annoying to turn up to a gig and have no idea if your colleagues are going to be competent or not. A while back I was playing with this girl who looked like a supermodel, but she couldn't play Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - I don't think she'd have passed a Grade 7 exam. The people who run these ensembles think that the clients want pretty girls and can't tell if they play well or not so it doesn't matter. But it does - most people DO recognise quality when they hear it, it's obvious that the guests enjoy the music way more when it's played well, regardless of what we look like.
(grandmasterfluffles Come to my Armageddon party on, Wed 24 Aug 2011, 21:24, closed)

Ditto.
Although it turns out that giving one's opinion of the organist's low capabilities and lack of talent isn't all that appreciated, when one subsequently discovers that said organist is a close family friend who is playing for the wedding as a "wedding present". Oops.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 10:16, closed)