By Hanna Schutte

Having a chance to take a trip abroad doesn’t come around very often. Receiving the opportunity to travel with 73 other serious musicians and friends is even rarer. Every four years the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, under the direction of Douglas Nimmo, travels internationally during January Interim Experience. This year, the ensemble will travel to Europe, touring through the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. Touring from Jan. 20-Feb. 4, we will visit cities such as Prague, Krakow, Kety, Pomaz, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich.

Preparations have been underway for months, but the real rehearsal takes place during the first few weeks of January. Musicians undergo a rigorous rehearsal schedule, playing for several hours each day to prepare themselves for quality performances. We also attend a class each day, taught by Gustavus history professor Tom Emmert, to learn about the history and culture of the regions where we will travel.

The Gustavus Wind Orchestra will perform a variety of pieces, including the fast-paced, intense, Machine by William Bolcom; the poignant A Hymn for the Lost and the Living by Eric Ewazen; and the well-known Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves by Michael Kamen, among others.

As Dr. Nimmo says, this trip has the potential to be an “ILCHE,” or an incredible life-changing experience. In order to share a bit of that ILCHE, I will write a blog from Europe. Hopefully, I will be able to relay some of the amazing experiences to come.

BLOG HERE

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Eph Ehly and Professor János Czifra will co-direct the second-annual Mozart International Choral Festival, June 29 - July 3, 2011, in Mozart’s birthplace - Salzburg, Austria.

This choral event will take place in Salzburg’s famed Dom, where Professor Czifra holds the same position as Herr Mozart once held - Domkapellmeister.

Some great Mozart - Salzburg links:

Mozart Choral Festival Webpage
Mozart’s Salzburg Church Music
Salzburg Cathedral - Salzburg Tourism
Mozarteum
Mozart’s Birthplace

The Calgary Youth Orchestra is currently touring in Austria. You can follow their tour blog by clicking HERE.

It was a wonderful tour. The tour managers made the trip delightful. We liked the reception at Mirabel Palace, and the lunch at Jutta’s was wonderful. Favorite sightseeing activities were at Neuschwanstein, the salt mine, Hellbrunn, Mozarthaus, House of Music, and Schoenbrunn. My personal highlight was the way the students played in Bad Ischl and the audience response.

Sonja Zeithamel, Director

Click here to see a select playlist of performances from the Texas Youth Orchestra’s successful 2009 Summer European Music Study Tour.

I think Music Celebrations International (MCI) did a great job of organizing the tour, providing us the resources to enjoy a unique, exciting experience. We had a marvelous time, and it has stimulated our interest to travel more. Thanks!

Tom Paulson, Director
Edina Chorale

Rehearsals with Eph Ehly – very pleased! He’s an amazing conductor and encourager, and the chorus loved him. I personally very much appreciated his openness to involving me in the concert, as well. And because we had him for ourselves for these rehearsals, we will take back a lot of helpful ideas that our choir will be able to use!

Festival performance in Minoritenkirche – great! Helmut had done a fantastic job of advertising, so that there was a full and appreciative house! It was a highlight experience.

Recital for the Salzburg Mayor’s rep – good, and fun to be involved in that place. They treated us so well (we were the first Canadian group they had welcomed!), with presents and reception!

Morning Mass at the Salzburg Dom - good. We all felt good about singing in this historical place. A very different sound than the other places (such a large space to fill, and lots of reverb!). The rehearsal hall was wonderful!

Concert in the Pfarrkirche Azrl – this was possibly the best singing experience of the trip. Again, the arrangements had been great. We had a full and appreciative house, the sound in that church was great, and the reception in the yard following the performance (with their choir singing, and us joining together in a song!) was a memory that will stick with us a long time!

I feel that we saw a lot of Austria, and got the highlights of the musical area in. We all fell in love with Austria!

Go here to visit the choir’s tour blog.

Dr. Joy Berg, Director
Concordia Community Chorus

The compositions have long been in the possession of the International Mozarteum Foundation in the city, the organization said.

Few details are being released until an official presentation in a week’s time.

In January, a piece by Mozart which had lain undiscovered in a French library for years, had its first performance.

A spokeswoman for the Mozarteum Foundation said full details of the most recently identified works would only be made public on 2 August.

She said the music would be performed on Mozart’s original forte piano.

Mozart left more than 600 known pieces of music before his death in 1791 at the age of 35.

He had begun composing at the age of five and his works include operas, chamber music, choral pieces and piano concertos.

The two-minute-long piece performed in public in January for the first time was played by violinist Daniel Cuiller before a small audience in Nantes, western France.

The sheet music had been found by staff at the city’s library, and authenticated as the work of Mozart in September 2008.

Go here to read more

Our overall impression is that this was a wonderfully executed tour to Vienna & Prague. We had a positive musical and “beyond” experience.

The performance in the Wiener Konzerthaus was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Where do we begin? Acoustics 2nd only to Carnegie Hall. Ambiance 2nd to nothing else. Concert promotion superb. Great audience. On site MCI staff worked hard to make the logistics come together.

The concert in Smetana Hall in Prague was again EXCELLENT. Great promotion in that the place was nearly full. WE HAD A GREAT TIME. WE ARE ALREADY PLANNING OUR NEXT TOUR WITH MCI.

Dawn & Gerald Tedesco
Sussex County Youth Orchestra

We had a wonderful tour to Austria. Our tour manager was excellent. She met us with smiles and good humor all the time. She dealt with two trips to the hospital with care and willingness to help. She offered great options for enhancing our tour (going to opera performances, riding the Underground, taking side trips to Stille-Nacht chapel and into the city of Munich) All the students and the adults on the trip respected her and appreciated her guidance during the tour. Corinna was amazing. Health problems were dealt with quickly and with great care. I could not have asked for more.

The recital in the Haydnsaal was a very nice opportunity. The hall itself was amazing – beautiful and wonderful acoustics. Great for the small ensembles that we had.

The rehearsal and workshop with Professor Dallinger at the Karlskirche was enlightening for establishing a light and typical classical orchestra sound. He was very energetic and worked well with the kids. I wish there was more time!

The performance in the Konzerthaus as part of the Celebrate Haydn Orchestra Festival was amazing!!! The students and parents couldn’t keep their eyes off of the loveliness of the hall. The sound was amazing. I could tell that the majority of the students played beyond their level in homage to the history of the hall. It was very nice to have an enthusiastic audience to perform for.

The staff at Music Celebrations were wonderful to work with throughout the planning process and I will gladly serve as a reference.

Helen Martell
Artistic Director
Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia

The tour of Austria was fantastic. I have taken several trips with choirs and this is the first time I heard no complaints from participants along the way. This is especially impressive as we all know how notoriously picky singers can be. But seriously, the accommodations and meals were wonderful, the tours and guides were educational & enjoyable, and the performance spaces were inspiring.

By far the highlight of my experience was Lloyd and Georg. I have never in my experience encountered more impressive tour managers. The amount of time and effort they spent on our behalf was simply amazing. I would not do this trip without them! This was for me a once in a life time trip to the heart of music history that could not have gone better. Bravo!

Go here to follow our tour blog.

Nollie Moore
Director of Choral Activities
Columbia College

Follow their tour on their BLOG.

Thank YOU, MCI, “mille fois” for yet another dream tour. The MCI staff went out of its way to take care of so much detail to ensure that Schola Cantorum would have an unforgettable tour of Austria. We are grateful for the consistency and care that you put into your work with all of the groups you promote.

Dr. Don Kendrick, Director
Jim McCormick, Tour Coordinator
Schola Cantorum

The Youth Orchestras of Essex County playing Marche Militaire by Franz Schubert at a secondary school in Vienna, Austria

Forty-one musicians from the Youth Orchestras of Essex County have been touring and performing throughout Austria. Twenty-six of the players are from Maplewood, South Orange, and Millburn or Short Hills. Here’s the final chapter in a blog diary by Mathilda Lombos, a trombonist from Short Hills.

From Dan Schwartz
Performance Manager, Music Celebrations International

We estimate over 1,000 people were in attendance by the end of the concert, and many more came and went throughout the day. Local people were approaching me in the hallways after the concert asking when certain orchestras were performing next in Vienna.

It’s a bit out of sequence, but I’m just now able to write at length about the Celebrate Haydn Orchestra Festival, commemorating Haydn’s 200th Anniversary. The concerts on Saturday were GREAT. Some memories to share:

Helmut [Wondra] (MCI’s concert manager in Vienna) loved the magical moment of being on stage when the orchestra members (especially the students) ooh and aah when they look out into the Konzerthaus for the first time.

When Bay Youth Orchestra director Helen Martell stepped on to the podium for the sound check, she simply started weeping. She stepped off and told the concertmaster to “tune them up.”

Kamehameha High School Orchestra’s Hawaiian piece that they commissioned in the 1990s for their Carnegie Hall premiere may have been the biggest crowd pleaser of the entire evening. Tour Coordinator Nani Dudoit dressed in traditional Hawaiian garb, carried and played a special type of gourd, and chanted in Hawaiian as part of the piece. Right before the piece started, her son, a violinist, raced off stage, ripped his tuxedo off and put on a tiny Hawaiian skirt (no other way to describe it) before going back on stage to do some traditional Hawaiian dance. It was quite a unique experience.

Coe College Orchestra performed three world premieres, including one by conductor Joe Dangerfield. Joe, having just conducted a premiere of one of his own pieces,with famed Viennese violinist Wolfgang David, on stage at the Vienna Konzerthaus, came off stage to collect himself before returning to the podium to conduct a Haydn Symphony.

Our good friend Walt Temme (Mountain View High School Orchestra) gave a great performance of Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Haydn’s Divertimento No. 1. Walt had to take a long pause between two pieces to let in the 400 or so people that had assembled in the lobby for the 7:00pm concert.

Jerry Tedesco from Sussex County Youth Orchestra is a consummate showman. In white tuxedo jacket, he had the audience in the palm of his hand when leading the orchestra in Johann Strauss’s Overture to Die Fledermaus. Helmut commented that they sounded like a real Viennese orchestra when playing it - apparently he has been pounding that concept into the orchestra all year long - “when we go to Vienna, we better play this like we are a real Viennese orchestra!” They surely did!

The Four Seasons Orchestra had three top soloists, including the star of the evening, ASU professor Catalin Rotaru. Catalin, who has done clinics for MCI before, played Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C on his BASS! I can’t think of an analogy to compare this feat to…..it’s kind of like winning the 100m dash with 20 lb weights strapped to each ankle. Catalin simply stole the show and was a great closer to 6 hours and 20 minutes of fabulous orchestra music.

Thank you for making the arrangements for the Four Seasons Orchestra’s Vienna Tour. Our tour went extremely well considering that there were so many things that could have gone wrong and went right instead! You were correct about Oliver being the best tour manager ever. He was on top of everything. I could tell how much he really cares about service and making us welcome in Vienna.

This had truly been a Zen experience for me. The more I conduct orchestras, the more I learn about what is great about human kind and what is sad about our race. When I became ill five orchestra members rushed to help me. Our three soloists achieved the greatest honor of their lives playing Vienna. They performed at the pinnacle of their artistic ability. Many of the Four Seasons Orchestra members expressed their gratitude to me for having the best musical experience of their lives. They loved the Konzerthaus and Esterhazy Palace performances. I loved the Hotel Hilton Danube, the acoustics at the Konzerthaus, Haydn’s beautiful palace, and especially Oliver and all of the people of Vienna that I met. I felt like I had come home.

Yours,
Carolyn Broe
Artistic Director/Conductor
Four Seasons Orchestra
Scottsdale, Arizona

With the release of the iPhone 3GS and the instant access we have to information, you may rest assured that when you tour with MCI, we understand your need to connect. I found this article quite interesting and for those of us who have busy lives, a comfort. When you tour with MCI, we want you to know you can still speak with your family, and if you’re one of the touring directors, still email those you were discussing important matters with. Below is a well-informed article that will provide some clarity on how you can connect wirelessly in Europe.

“With my mantra being “pack light,” I used to be against packing electronics of any kind. But now, I bring my laptop, iPod, digital camera and mobile phone to Europe. With hotels retiring their fax machines in favor of email, mobile phones getting cheaper and easier to buy, and Wi-Fi hotspots popping up everywhere, it’s never been simpler to get connected.

If you tote your own laptop, you’ll find that many hotels and cafes offer wireless access — sometimes it’s free, other times, you’ll have to buy a drink or pay a fee — while some towns have Wi-Fi hotspots scattered around highly trafficked areas. Just pay for a password, park yourself on a bench in your favorite idyllic spot — overlooking a sandy beach, on a floodlit piazza or along a bustling people-watching boulevard — then log on and surf away.

It’s handy to travel with a mobile phone, whether you’re calling a hotel for directions or getting in touch with that lost travel buddy who missed the train. If you want to use a mobile phone in Europe, you have two choices: Take your own, or buy one once you’re there. ”
By: Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

By Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

(Tribune Media Services) — If any European capital knows how to enjoy the good life, it’s Vienna. Compared to most modern urban centers, the pace of life here is slow. Locals linger over pastry and coffee at cafes. Concerts and classical music abound. And chatting with friends at a wine garden is not a special event but a way of life.

For many Viennese, the living room is down the street at the neighborhood coffeehouse, which offers light lunches, fresh pastries, a wide selection of newspapers, and “take all the time you want” charm (just beware of the famously grumpy waiters).

Each coffeehouse comes with its own individual character. Cafe Sperl dates from 1880, and is still furnished identically to the day it opened — from the coat tree to the chairs. Cafe Hawelka has a dark, “brooding Trotsky” atmosphere, paintings by struggling artists (who couldn’t pay for coffee), smoked velvet couches, and a phone that rings for regulars. Mrs. Hawelka died a couple of weeks after Pope John Paul II. Locals suspect the pontiff wanted her much-loved “Buchteln” (marmalade-filled doughnuts) in heaven.

Full Article Here

Traveling international with MCI? Not only will you be experiencing an educational and life-changing musical tour but you’ll also be given the opportunity to indulge in a few cuisines that you may not find in the States. Not only is MCI dedicated to insuring a quality tour, but we’re also interested in the cultural experiences you’ll engage in. This article shows a glimpse of what you might find in some of these infamous countries.

By: Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

Eating and drinking in Europe is sightseeing for your taste buds. Every country has local specialties that are good, memorable, or both. Here are many of the fun experiences that stick in my mind after 30 years of travel. Seek out any of these on your next trip.

Germany’s wurst is the best anywhere, and kraut is not as “sauer” as the stuff you hate at home. Only a tourist puts the sausage in a bun like a hot dog. Munch alternately between the meat and the bread (”that’s why you have two hands”), and you’ll look like a local. Generally, the darker the wiener, the spicier it is.

The hallowed vineyards of Burgundy surround the French city of Beaune. Its venerable Marche aux Vins (wine market) welcomes serious wine buyers and tourists into a subterranean, candle-lit world, where fine wines sit seductively in bottles atop old oak kegs, just waiting to be tasted. Pick up a “tastevin” (shallow, stainless-steel tasting dish) and a shopping basket, descend into the dimly lit caverns, and work your way through the proud selection. Sampling a world of $100 bottles in the company of people who live for their fine wine can be both inspirational and intoxicating.

In Italy, sip wine with college students at an outdoor bar in Padua’s market square. Pour some fine olive oil on a dish, season with salt and pepper, rip a long strip from your bread, dip it, and bite. The last time I was there, a student explained I was making the “scarpette” — the little shoe. Soaking up the oil along with the conversation, we travelers become human “scarpette,” sopping up culture as we explore Europe.
Wherever you travel, it’s fun to meet people over food and drink. It’s part of understanding the culture of a country. Take the initiative not to just see your destination, but to experience it.

Read the FULL ARTICLE

By Eileen Ogintz
Tribune Media Services

(Tribune Media Services) — Another day, another castle. But no one’s complaining.

Not in Prague, which many now call The Paris of the East. It’s crowded with tourists on this brilliant summer day.

Prague, of course, is the capital of the Czech Republic and has been an intersection of continental merchant routes for centuries. And this year, according to a new survey from www.tripadvisor.com, it tops the list of the best European bargain cities, ahead of London, Paris, Lisbon and Budapest.

If you thought Europe was too pricey, think again. With the U.S. dollar stronger than it was last year and with cheap airfares, this may be the summer to visit. Prague especially is guaranteed to be a hit with young visitors, including the two teens I’m traveling with. “Prague has so much more to offer than people expect,” one local mom tells me. And she’s right.

Full Article Here

Albinoni/Giazotto Adagio for Strings and Organ: conducted by Stefan Freund performed by Columbia Civic Orchestra at Franziskanerkirche in Graz Austria, March 26, 2009

Cyrillic Dreams: composed and conducted by Stefan Freund performed by Columbia Civic Orchestra at Franziskanerkirche in Graz Austria, March 26, 2009

The tour experience was incredibly positive. I loved the hotels, meals, and performance venues. The guides and managers were very professional and I thought we had a great relationship with them. The driver was superb and the bus felt quite luxurious!

I want to compliment the professionalism of Music Celebrations. You guys have been great to work with every step of the way and I will certainly recommend you to other groups. I’d be happy to be a reference for you if you like.

Thanks for a great experience for me, my players, and our guests.

Stefan Freund, Director - Columbia Civic Orchestra