Thanksgiving is coming up, and we have so much to be thankful for. I’m thankful for my family, my friends, and my colleagues. I’m thankful that we are back to traveling and continuing to change the lives of directors, music educators, and their groups — it’s what Encore does best! As we look ahead to traveling in 2022, many destinations are now either denying entry to unvaccinated visitors or have introduced vaccination requirements in order to move freely within the country. Even in locations without such official regulations, delivering a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all becomes difficult to achieve in the close quarters of a group performance tour when some travelers are vaccinated while others are not. Given these restrictions, all Encore Group Leaders and travelers will need to be fully vaccinated in order to travel. Just like a passport, vaccination cards are going to be an essential travel item for the foreseeable future. For 2022 travel, requiring vaccinations is the responsible and logical policy. If it becomes clear that vaccines will continue to be necessary for 2023 travel, you can expect the policy to remain in place. We hope this policy gives all of our travelers peace of mind. There is now no reason to worry that you will be sharing a bus or hotel room with an unvaccinated traveler, and you don’t need to worry about missing out on any elements of your itinerary. I’ve been vaccinated for months, am now boosted up, and have loved recently traveling to Spain, Italy, Greece, the UK and France. And, as always, can’t wait to travel again. See you out there somewhere.
November 2, 2026 Encore Tours Venue Spotlight: Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral Explore St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna: its history, its deep ties to Haydn and Mozart, and what it’s like for your ensemble to perform there. Backstage Blog
October 27, 2026 Encore Tours Music Tour Planning Mistakes: 7 Horror Stories to Avoid Every music director has heard one. The tour where the price went up after families had already paid. The concert where the ensemble outnumbered the audience. Backstage Blog
October 21, 2026 Encore Tours Meet Encore Tours at the 2026 Midwest Clinic Encore Tours is heading to The 80th Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, taking place December 16–18, 2026, at McCormick Place West in Chicago. Backstage Blog