Wedding
Celebrations
Weddings, Parties, Proposals, etc.
The days worth dressing up for — a walk down the aisle, a party in full swing, the moment someone says yes. We bring the music that makes the celebration feel like one.
A Growing Chamber Ensemble
The concert hall,
brought to your living room.
Live music, wherever life happens.
You imagine the moment. We make it musical.
Based in Eastern Connecticut
Your space, our music.
Why “Troubadour”?
Named for music that travels
Eight centuries ago, in the south of what is now France, troubadours were poet-musicians who wrote songs of love, wit, and longing — and carried them on the road, playing wherever people gathered: a castle hall one week, a courtyard the next, a village square the week after. The music never waited in one place for an audience to find it. The musicians brought it to the people.
Today's concert world works the other way around — the audience travels, and the music stays put. We borrowed the troubadours' idea, and their name, to turn that back around: the same work on a different map, in living rooms, galleries, gardens, and celebrations. No stage, no concert hall required — it is the troubadour's road, eight hundred years on. Tell us where the music should happen, and we'll bring it.
Where We Play
Music that travels to the occasion
From intimate gatherings to extraordinary occasions, we bring the music to you.
Gallery Opening
Corporate Events
Gallery Openings, Banquets, Ceremonies, Schools, Care Homes, etc.
Live music gives the room its atmosphere — elegant company for art, conversation, and the people you are welcoming, from the first guest to the last toast.
Living Room
Indoor
Mansions, Living Rooms, Restaurants, any venue
Our favorite rooms of all: yours. Music that turns a living room — or a grand mansion hall, or a restaurant's quiet corner — into a concert hall for an evening. Swipe or use the arrows to step through the rooms.
Vineyard
Outdoor
Vineyards, Picnics, any venue
Blankets on the grass, a glass in hand, and live music drifting over the vines — for vineyard evenings, picnics, and long golden afternoons under an open sky.
The Musicians
Meet the musicians
Troubadour Ensemble is a growing roster of musicians. Book the full ensemble, or a smaller combination that fits your room and your occasion.
Select a musician’s name to read their biography.
Cello & Piano
Founder
Born in Taiwan, Yu-Hsin Wu is a cellist and the founder of Troubadour Ensemble, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University following a Master of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University.
As a performer, she has played as a substitute with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and appeared with the Da Capo Taiwan Chamber Orchestra and the Sun Taipei Philharmonic. A regular participant in the Formosa Chamber Music Festival, she performed the Dvořák Cello Concerto as a soloist at the Concerto Winners Concert. She also writes program notes and artist biographies for international musicians. With over a decade of teaching experience, she has taught at Minghsin University, directed the string orchestra at Songshan High School, and gives private lessons in cello, piano, and music theory.
Violin
Violinist Ann-Frances Rokosa is a member of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Mannes School of Music and is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rutgers University, where she studies with Todd Phillips of the Orion String Quartet. Her teachers have included Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan, and Shmuel Ashkenasi.
A versatile performer active in orchestral, chamber, and solo settings, she has appeared with Symphony in C and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, as well as in chamber music performances and outreach concerts throughout the Northeast. Equally dedicated to education, she also serves on the faculty of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and as an Artist-Educator with the Kingston Chamber Music Festival.
Violin
Violinist Brenna Cox is a freelance performer based in the New England area and holds a tenured position with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Master of Music in violin performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Music from Shenandoah University.
As a performer, she has played with the Rhode Island Festival Orchestra, Chorus of Westerly, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Niantic Bay Playhouse. She is also a Suzuki violin teacher: she has served on faculty with Merit School of Music in Chicago and City Strings of Chicago, and currently teaches at United Music School in Westerly, RI and Community Music School in Essex, CT.
Double Bass
Double bassist Cole Sheffer is a Musician First Class with the United States Coast Guard Band, which he joined in May 2025, where he also performs with the Coast Guard Traditional Jazz Band. He holds a Bachelor of Music from James Madison University and a Master of Music from Michigan State University.
Before joining the Coast Guard Band, he held positions with the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra and the Flint Symphony Orchestra, and performed as a substitute with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. His festival engagements include the Mostly Modern Music Festival, the Brevard Jazz Institute, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He also teaches at Thames Valley Music School, where he gives private lessons and coaches young musicians.
Drum Set & Piano
Percussionist Daniel Raney is a Musician First Class with the United States Coast Guard Band, which he joined in February 2021 as timpanist. He holds a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Paul Yancich, and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Robert van Sice.
Before joining the Band, he freelanced with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Erie Philharmonic, and the West Virginia Symphony, and spent summers as timpanist of the National Repertory Orchestra and fellowship percussionist at the Aspen Music Festival. He has also taught percussion and drum set at the Westlake Music Academy in Ohio. Originally from Austin, Texas.
Violin & Viola
John Castore is a Rhode Island-based violinist and instructor. He studied at Boston Conservatory with Ronan Lefkowitz and at Rhode Island College with John Sumerlin, and performs with the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and the Chorus of Westerly, among other ensembles.
As a soloist, he has performed Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 1, Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, and Vivaldi's "Winter" with the Rhode Island College Chamber Orchestra, and will return as Guest Featured Soloist to play Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Rhode Island College Symphony Orchestra in Spring 2027. He also teaches violin and viola at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and the United Theatre Music School, and serves as Assistant Conductor and Instructor with the Westminster Youth String Ensemble.
Saxophone & Viola
Saxophonist Kurt Cox is co-principal saxophonist of the United States Coast Guard Band, where he also holds the alto chair in the Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory and a Master of Music from Northwestern University.
Described by conductor Nadége Foofat as "a unique young artist with a unique and clear vision," his playing spans jazz, symphony orchestra, wind band, chamber music, and contemporary music. As a chamber musician, he spent seven years as baritone chair of the Masso Quartet and NUNC5!, premiering new works through commissioning projects such as Inter-acts. He has performed at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival and was a prize winner at the North American Saxophone Alliance competition.
Trumpet & Vocal
Vocalist and trumpeter Renee McGee is a Musician First Class with the United States Coast Guard Band, where she performs as lead and section trumpet. Trained as a jazz musician, she brings that same artistry to the microphone, singing with the Troubadour Ensemble.
She holds a Master of Music in jazz studies from the University of North Texas, where she was the first woman to hold the lead trumpet chair in the One O'Clock Lab Band and also directed the Five O'Clock Lab Band, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She teaches jazz trumpet at the University of Connecticut and serves on the faculty of Thames Valley Music School, and she is an endorsing artist for S.E. Shires trumpets.
Websitereneemcgeetrumpet.com
The Ensemble
Music sized to your occasion
There is no fixed lineup — the ensemble takes shape around your occasion, your space, and the music you love.
A wedding ceremony might call for strings alone; a house concert might add piano; a celebration might want something brighter and bigger still. We build each program from the musicians on our roster — strings, piano, and more as the roster grows — mixing and matching until the sound fits the room and the moment. A singing line over a warm foundation, a full quartet in conversation: everything from Bach to tango sits comfortably in the mix.
- Fits almost anywhere. A few chairs' worth of floor space — a chapel corner, a gallery wall, a living room by the fireplace.
- Fully acoustic. No amplification, no cables, and no power outlet needed — the one exception is piano: if you'd like it and the venue has no grand or upright of its own, we'll bring a digital piano that needs a single power outlet. Beautiful in rooms where plugging in isn't an option.
- One booking, complete music. Prelude, ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, or a full concert set — paced to your event, not to a playlist.
- A program shaped with you. Choose the pieces you love; we'll arrange the order and the mood around them.
The ensemble is growing. New musicians are joining the roster — violin and piano are already part of the sound, and more are on the way. Have something bigger in mind? Tell us about it in the booking form — we'd love to hear the idea.
Sample Program
An Afternoon with the Ensemble
A house-concert program, about one hour with a short pause
- Sonata in G major for Cello and Bass Jean Barrière
- Air on the G String J. S. Bach
- The Swan, from The Carnival of the Animals Camille Saint-Saëns
- Duetto in D major for Cello and Double Bass Gioachino Rossini
- Salut d'amour Edward Elgar
- Libertango Astor Piazzolla
Every program is built with you — this one is simply where the conversation starts.
Repertoire
From Bach to the song you walked in to
A selection of what we play most. The full list is longer — and if your song isn't on it, ask us about an arrangement.
Ceremony Classics
- Canon in D Johann Pachelbel
- Bridal Chorus Richard Wagner
- Wedding March Felix Mendelssohn
- Ave Maria Franz Schubert
- Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring J. S. Bach
- Trumpet Voluntary Jeremiah Clarke
- Arrival of the Queen of Sheba G. F. Handel
- Hornpipe from Water Music G. F. Handel
Baroque & Classical
- Four Seasons: Spring Antonio Vivaldi
- Eine kleine Nachtmusik W. A. Mozart
- Ode to Joy Ludwig van Beethoven
- Air on the G String J. S. Bach
- Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude J. S. Bach
- Largo from Xerxes G. F. Handel
- Duetto for Cello and Bass Gioachino Rossini
- Sonata in G major Jean Barrière
- Divertimento selections W. A. Mozart
Romantic & Lyric
- Clair de Lune Claude Debussy
- Waltz of the Flowers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Gabriel's Oboe Ennio Morricone
- The Swan Camille Saint-Saëns
- Experience Ludovico Einaudi
- Gymnopédie No. 1 Erik Satie
- Salut d'amour Edward Elgar
- Nimrod from Enigma Variations Edward Elgar
- Libertango Astor Piazzolla
- Méditation from Thaïs Jules Massenet
Modern Favorites
- Can't Help Falling in Love Elvis Presley
- Hallelujah Leonard Cohen
- Here Comes the Sun The Beatles
- Perfect Ed Sheeran
- A Thousand Years Christina Perri
- All of Me John Legend
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight Elton John
- Friday I'm In Love The Cure
- Best Day Of My Life American Authors
A song that's yours? With enough notice, we'll arrange it for the ensemble — one special request is included with every wedding booking.
Good Questions
Before you ask
How far do you travel?
We're based in Eastern Connecticut. Travel nearby is included in your quote; for places farther away, we're happy to travel when the engagement is a good fit, and we'll quote any travel fee clearly up front, before you book.
How far in advance should we book?
Weddings are often booked six to twelve months ahead, and spring and fall Saturdays go first. That said, a small ensemble is nimble — if your date is soon, ask anyway. If we're free, we're there.
What do you need from the venue?
Very little: armless chairs for the players, a few feet of floor, and reasonably level ground. We're fully acoustic, so we need no power, no sound system, and no setup crew — we arrive, tune, and play. The one exception is piano: venues with a grand or upright piano are especially welcome, and if you'd like piano but the venue doesn't have one, we'll bring our own digital piano — all it needs is a single power outlet. For outdoor events we need shade and a dry, sheltered spot, for the instruments' sake as much as ours.
Can you learn a special song for us?
Yes — that's one of our favorite parts of this work. Every wedding booking includes one special arrangement, written for the ensemble. Just give us at least six weeks' notice so the arrangement has time to become good.
How long can you play?
A typical ceremony booking covers a half hour of prelude plus the ceremony itself; cocktail hour and dinner usually run one to two hours. A house concert is a single set of about an hour. Tell us your timeline and we'll shape the music to it, breaks included.
What does it cost?
It depends on the date, the playing time, and the travel involved, so we quote each event individually — no packages that don't fit anybody. Send the booking form below and we'll reply with a clear, itemized quote. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Booking
Tell us where the music should go
1
Tell us about your event
Fill in the form below — date, place, occasion, and anything you're dreaming about. Two minutes is plenty.
2
We shape the program together
We'll reply with availability, a quote, and music ideas. Then we talk — pieces you love, the mood you're after, the logistics.
3
We arrive, and the music comes to you
On the day, we show up early, set up in minutes, and play. You get to simply be at your own event.
Not sure yet? That's fine — most people who write to us are still sketching the idea. A rough date and a town is enough to start the conversation.
We answer every inquiry personally, usually within two days.
Write to us directly
yuhsin442hz@gmail.comPlay With Us
Join the Troubadours
The ensemble is growing — violin has joined the roster, piano is on its way, and there is room for more. If you play an instrument and love the idea of carrying music to living rooms, galleries, and gardens, we would love to hear you.
We're looking for professional and advanced musicians based in Connecticut or Rhode Island who are at home in more than one style — as comfortable with Bach as with a tango — and who enjoy playing up close, in rooms where the audience is an arm's length away.
- A résumé or short bio — where you've played, what you play, who you've played with.
- A recording or video of your playing — a phone recording is perfectly fine. We listen for musicianship, not production quality.
- A few lines about you — the music you love, and the occasions you'd like to play.
Prefer to attach files?
yuhsin442hz@gmail.comEmail your résumé and recordings or videos as attachments — or use the form and paste links instead.
Funding & Support
Help the music travel further
Booking fees pay the musicians who play your event. Support from patrons does something more: it carries live music to people and places that can't book it themselves — library afternoons, school visits, senior communities, and free community concerts.
Sponsor
Sponsor a Community Concert
Underwrite a full performance for a library, school, or senior community. We'll choose the venue and program with you, and the concert is presented in your name — or in honor of someone you love.
Become a SponsorHost
Host a House Concert
Open your living room and cover the musicians' fee, and your home becomes the concert hall — our favorite kind of venue. You provide the room and the guests; we bring the concert.
Host a ConcertGive
Give What You Can
Sheet music, new arrangements, travel between towns — small gifts keep the ensemble on the road. Any amount helps, and every dollar goes directly to the musicians and the music.
Make a GiftTroubadour Ensemble is a young, independent ensemble, so gifts are warmly received but not tax-deductible at this time. Every contribution is arranged personally — write to us and we'll find the way that suits you.