The Alex Donner Orchestra was a fantastic choice for my daughter's wedding reception! Their playlist is enormous yet they had no sheet music in front of them...astonishing! From big band to contemporary, they covered it all and kept the dance floor hopping. Every age group got up and danced, from 8 to 80+ year olds! At one point it was the guys that dominated the floor, rather than the usual gaggle of girls, awesome! The vocalists were terrific as were the musicians. The music was seamless and flowed from one piece to the next. We only had two real breaks, for speeches and cake cutting. I doubt that most guests noticed that the band members took some individual breaks as the music played on throughout throughout the evening. As we wanted guests to have opportunities to meet, mingle and dance, rather than focus on speeches, there was no MC or other person who jabbered at the mike. The bridal couple requested ten pieces and all were played, from Glenn Miller to NY, NY to Katy Perry to Shout! They rocked! Tons of guests gave them rave reviews during and after the party. If you'd like to hear great reviews about your choice of band, I highly recommend the Alex Donner Orchestra as they know how to keep the focus on fun with great music. read more

The Alex Donner Entertainment Group provides a wide array of musical ensembles to perform any type of musical sound for any event. My fiancee and I hired the Alex Donner Orchestra, on the recommendation of his uncle, to perform at our wedding. We had a two piece group for cocktail hour and a six piece band for dancing at the reception. It was pricey but very worth it. We had a pleasant initial meeting with Alex Donner himself and the manager where we discussed musical style and numerated specific songs that the band should play and others they were forbidden from playing. They were very accommodating and helpful with musical choices. We listened to samples of their songs and choose big band music for the evening. However, during the reception they started to play a little more classic rock which was well received and we gave them the go ahead to play that for the rest of the evening. I was very impressed at the range of music they could play at the drop of the hat. Even though they had prepared for a different genre, they transitioned very well. Everyone at the reception danced well into the night and were so grateful for the awesome music. Alex Donner Entertainment has packages for most budgets. And for a wedding reception, where the most important thing besides the couple is the band, i highly recommend them. read more

Alex Donner Productions played my wedding and was absolutely fantastic! The band understood the crowd and played the exact music that catered to the spirit of the event. I've also seen the Alex Donner band play at many fundraising and charity events, and I've always found them to be superbly entertaining and attentive to the mood and requests of the audience. The musicianship was always of the highest caliber, and the group's rapport with the audience was effortless. read more

Magical - VERY BEST - We danced all night like we were teens -though we were all ages - All guests at our GALA said it was the best they went to - Especially the MUSIC -- Such a range of from big band to 60's to NOW -- ALEX even helped us orchestrate the evening -He gave me tips to get guests dancing as they come in -- It worked - Party started with a bang - then quiet at dinner - dancing again between courses and even got the crowd calm and ready for speeches. A true master. STAR quality - cannot say enough. Very easy to work with in all the planning of the event 10000000% happy. read more

At short notice, Alex Donner was able to organize a top guitarist/singer to play for a cocktail party for me who was very talented. He arrived on time, was attractively dressed in black tie, handled song requests well and was a delight to have perform at my event. I was absolutely thrilled ! I recommend Alex Donner Entertainment very highly. They are real pros ! read more

Just so everyone knows, the reason why I joined Yelp, was to write this review. Where to start... My wife and I really liked the sound of the Alex Donner Orchestra, and we shopped around a bunch. Alex and Jose, the manager, were charming and very friendly, and seemed like they wanted to play our wedding, as we were going for a classic New York theme. We really wanted a mix of the Rat Pack, with some soul and some classic rock mixed in there, really depending on what our guests were responding too. They said no problem, and they have a wide range of music. We originally wanted the full band but the space we had could only fit 6 or 7 band members at the most. We requested a specific singer who we saw in their promotional video, who really belted out the soulful songs we asked to be played, and made a list of other songs we wanted to hear. We also requested that one song not be played at all, due to personal reasons, and they had no issue with that. Finally there was to be a closing song that let everyone know we were leaving the party, and the night was almost over. Everything was planned great, then the wedding started. The two pieces that played the cocktails were good, and that was encouraging. Then as my new wife and I entered the room, we were met by Alex Donner, who was nothing but smiles. He congratulated us and then introduced us to the party. As we walk in one of the first things I noticed was the singer we specifically requested was not there. We did not know this was the case until we walked in, which is inexcusable. Then they started to play a bunch of songs not on our list, including an Elvis medley, which really does fit a classic New York themed wedding, don't you think? At one point in the evening, between his numerous cigarette breaks, I could hear Alex Donner tell his band that they were "f**king terrible." Charming right? A few minutes later, we hear what was supposed to be our closing song, because someone requested it? Well is it not your job to ask for something else, or tell them that song will come later, instead of just ruining the moment. Of course they played it as we were leaving again, just to be sure they got it right. Finally, what could have been the greatest insult of all, when we left and someone requested the one song we did not want them to play, what happens? Not only do they play the song, but announce to the guests that even though the bride and groom requested this song not be played, we are going to play it anyway. Now I will not get into the personal feelings I have about this song, but if I pay you a lot of money, and believe me they are not cheap, you should do what I ask, and not mock us. It was really insulting and really could have ruined a great evening. Lesson learned, never pay upfront in full. read more

Alex Donner is the best. My fiance and I had him play at our wedding 13 years ago, and we are so impressed that we hired him to play at our daughter's wedding in Washington DC. The musicians and singers were first rate and their music selection was excellent. They had the entire reception dancing from start to finish with music for 20 somethings to 60 somethings. Thanks Alex for making a 2 great days even better. read more

played for 2 weddings. superb. came early,left late. complete professionals much better than hardwick or carney.