The students valued the rich culture of the San Antonio area. Many students were moved by the Mission of San Juan and the video they watched about the fate of Native Americans during that era as Spanish priests and settlers influenced their lives. All of the students had studied the significance of the Alamo to American history, but came away with new understanding after visiting the site. The students spent an evening at the Don Strange Ranch. They experienced a cowboy chuck-wagon barbeque, held an armadillo, fed Longhorn steers, had hay rides, went fishing, and played horse shoes and volleyball. Many students felt their experiences at the ranch and interacting with the people there were among their favorite memories.

The choirs also sang at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum on Memorial Day. The choir performed several patriotic selections as part of their program. The students were touched at the audience’s reaction to those pieces. Many people had tears in their eyes. A man from Stoughton, WI, was there and he was so proud that our students sang with such depth. A man from Austin, Texas, found my email to compliment us on our performance and to let us know that our performance of those selections had made his Memorial Day complete.

Our tour experience was excellent in many ways and our students have great memories of the trip. Thank you for the work Music Celebrations did to arrange the trip.

Jan Knutson
Choir Director

Seeing Mickey & Co. gets more expensive for third time in past two years

Another reason why touring groups should avoid Orlando and perform in MCI’s National Festival of the States concert series instead!

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices for the third time in two years, company officials announced.

An adult one-day, one-park pass will increase 6 percent, $67 to $71 beginning Sunday. Discount packages also will be affected, but the per-day cost could be less than $23 for adults who buy as large as a 10-day package.

The change is due to an annual planning cycle of travel wholesalers, tour organizers and commercial publications, Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

Click here for full article

“If we succeed, the country is ours. It is immense in extent, and fertile in its soil and will amply reward our toil. If we fail, death in the cause of liberty and humanity is not cause for shuddering. Our rifles are by our side, and choice guns they are, we know what awaits us, and are prepared to meet it.”
-Letter from Daniel William Cloud of Kentucky, a defender of the Alamo, en route to San Antonio, dated Dec. 26, 1835

On this day in 1836, the Battle of the Alamo began when Mexican Army General Antonio López de Santa Anna marched his army across the Rio Grande through poor weather to suppress the Texas rebellion.

The small Alamo Mission of San Antonio was only a short stop en route to Santa Anna’s ultimate objective of capturing the Texas government and restore the rule of the central Mexican government.

In January 1836, William Travis - commander of the Texan army - was ordered by Sam Houston to go to the Alamo and defend it. Travis arrived in San Antonio with a mere 29 reinforcements - a group that eventually rose to nearly 200 after pleas for assistance in nearby communities were answered.

Still, Santa Anna’s troops far outnumbered the Texas; nonetheless, the defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna’s army.

According to legend, Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — and all except one did so. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to Santa Anna.

Eventually the Alamo fell, but the battle has lived on in lore and symbolism as the heroic struggle against overwhelming odds.

Music Celebrations has strong ties to the local culture and community in San Antonio. Among other historical sites, music ensembles that participate in the National Festival of the States concert series have the opportunity to visit and explore this epic American symbol of the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

Experience Wild West charm in the state’s most popular city - San Antonio

San Antonio is very much like the Tejano music that gives it its characteristic pulse—passionate if a bit sentimental, vibrantly colorful, and funky enough to groove to the nasal wail of accordions. Its food is fiery hot, its dance halls even hotter, and its ability to tickle the visitor (with fascinating historic sights, scenic riverside strolls, top-notch museums and cultural festivals) has made it a red-hot force in the tourism industry, Texas’ most popular city, drawing 7 million visitors each year. With the largest Hispanic population of any major city in the US, it also can feel like a trip across the border, the moment you cross the invisible borders within the city itself that divide the touristy areas from the more authentic neighborhoods where residents live, eat, and dance until the wee hours of the morning. One day isn’t enough to see it all, but with the itinerary below, you’ll sure have fun trying.