We are so passionate about traveling the world that sometimes we forget to focus on just our upcoming tour and narrow down our many wishlist destinations to a single one! Here are a few tricks to help you find the perfect destination for your tour. ▶ Find the venues you love Perhaps you have always wanted to sing at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin or Notre Dame in France. As performance tours focus around your performances, consider choosing your venues first, then the destination will follow! ▶ Focus on a language Musicians tend to be well-versed in many different languages and cultures—it’s just in our nature to know where our music comes from, as music is indeed a worldly experience. So if you’re a big fan of le français, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré—need I name more?—then perhaps it is time for you to visit that city on the Seine, known as the “City of Light”…oui, oui, Paris! ▶ Work around your budget If you’re on a tight budget, choosing a destination that fits your budget is of the utmost importance. The right destination can be saving you hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars! One thing to consider is the expense to fly overseas. Is your group having difficulties affording the flights to Spain this year? Perhaps a trip to Costa Rica will be a good choice for this year while you save up for next year! Remember, there will always be more opportunities with your ensemble to travel. So take it easy, focus on your upcoming tour and find the destination that is the right fit for you and your ensemble. For more information on performance venues and destinations, visit Encore Tours.
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