Welcome home 2024 tour musicians!
CYSO INTERNATIONAL TOURS
Welcome back!
CYSO European 2024 Concert Tour
SLOVENIA, HUNGARY, AND SLOVAKIA
Cities of Ljubljana, Budapest, Bojnice, Bratislava and more
Tour dates are June 27 - July 9, 2024
13 day tour
A FIVE CONCERT TOUR – Weaving a blend of history and culture with the beauty of European landscapes and ancient landmarks
TOUR OVERVIEW
Background
Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) has organized a European concert tour every three years since 1990, except for a pause during the COVID pandemic. The upcoming 2024 tour will be the 11th concert tour for CYSO.
Tour Dates and Rehearsals
The tour dates are June 27 - July 9, 2024. Tour rehearsals will start immediately after the CYSO Spring Concert in early May 2024. Rehearsals will be Monday evenings, with one or two Saturday rehearsals.
Background
Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) has organized a European concert tour every three years since 1990, except for a pause during the COVID pandemic. The upcoming 2024 tour will be the 11th concert tour for CYSO.
Tour Dates and Rehearsals
The tour dates are June 27 - July 9, 2024. Tour rehearsals will start immediately after the CYSO Spring Concert in early May 2024. Rehearsals will be Monday evenings, with one or two Saturday rehearsals.
What is the 2024 tour itinerary?
The tour orchestra will fly from Seattle to Zagreb, Croatia. The tour will include Opatija, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Budapest, Hungary; Bojnice & Bratislava, Slovakia as well as other locations along the way. The plan is to fly out of Vienna, Austria at the end of the tour.
We will have guided tours in Ljubljana, Budapest and Bratislava. Paid entrance to Postojna Cave, Ljubljana Castle and Bojnice Castle are included as well as a Pletna boat cruise on Lake Bled.
Five concerts are planned. The tour company is working on securing contracts for each venue. These will be announced when confirmed. For past tours, we have had some parents travel independently along some or most of the same route taken by the orchestra during our tour. Family members--if you know you will be present for one or more of the European concerts, contact Dennis at [email protected] , as we can usually arrange to reserve tickets for you. Many of our European concerts have sold out.
The tour orchestra will fly from Seattle to Zagreb, Croatia. The tour will include Opatija, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Budapest, Hungary; Bojnice & Bratislava, Slovakia as well as other locations along the way. The plan is to fly out of Vienna, Austria at the end of the tour.
We will have guided tours in Ljubljana, Budapest and Bratislava. Paid entrance to Postojna Cave, Ljubljana Castle and Bojnice Castle are included as well as a Pletna boat cruise on Lake Bled.
Five concerts are planned. The tour company is working on securing contracts for each venue. These will be announced when confirmed. For past tours, we have had some parents travel independently along some or most of the same route taken by the orchestra during our tour. Family members--if you know you will be present for one or more of the European concerts, contact Dennis at [email protected] , as we can usually arrange to reserve tickets for you. Many of our European concerts have sold out.
Application Process
Applications for orchestra members should be available at the www.CYSO.us website.
The process typically includes--
• Application form
• Two recommendation forms
• Interview
• Initial tour payment
Eligibility
Members of Youth Symphony typically have first priority. We also consider and accept some members of Junior Symphony and Premiere Orchestra depending on the individual’s skills and maturity.
Timeline for applying
Applications will be accepted starting this spring, and will remain open over the next several months.
Some orchestra sections may fill early, so there is no guarantee that all sections will remain open into fall
2023. As one example, we had six clarinet players apply relatively early for one tour, and we were not
able to accept additional clarinet players after that time.
Cost
$4975.00 per participant. This can be paid in installments. Payment options include check (made out to
“CYSO Tour”) and PayPal. A PayPal account is not required. PayPal accepts most major credit cards and
debit cards as well as payments from a person’s checking or savings account.
Applications for orchestra members should be available at the www.CYSO.us website.
The process typically includes--
• Application form
• Two recommendation forms
• Interview
• Initial tour payment
Eligibility
Members of Youth Symphony typically have first priority. We also consider and accept some members of Junior Symphony and Premiere Orchestra depending on the individual’s skills and maturity.
Timeline for applying
Applications will be accepted starting this spring, and will remain open over the next several months.
Some orchestra sections may fill early, so there is no guarantee that all sections will remain open into fall
2023. As one example, we had six clarinet players apply relatively early for one tour, and we were not
able to accept additional clarinet players after that time.
Cost
$4975.00 per participant. This can be paid in installments. Payment options include check (made out to
“CYSO Tour”) and PayPal. A PayPal account is not required. PayPal accepts most major credit cards and
debit cards as well as payments from a person’s checking or savings account.
How is the tour organized?
The focus of the tour will be the five concerts scheduled. There will be a pre-concert rehearsal at each concert venue. We balance the focused work of performing with guided local historical tours as well as some flexible time for exploring local points of interest.
What is included in the tour cost?
• Roundtrip airfare
• Hotels (typically two people to a room, separate beds)
• Breakfast and dinners
• Guided local tours, including entry fees to local museums associated with the guided tours
• Tour bus
• Courier (more under “ACFEA” below)
What is not included in the tour cost?
• Lunches, snacks
• Cost of passport (visas typically not required, there may be exceptions for those who are not U.S.
Citizens)
• Travel insurance (highly recommended but not required)
• Instrument insurance
• Fees for oversize/overweight luggage (large instruments will be addressed below under
“Instruments”)
The focus of the tour will be the five concerts scheduled. There will be a pre-concert rehearsal at each concert venue. We balance the focused work of performing with guided local historical tours as well as some flexible time for exploring local points of interest.
What is included in the tour cost?
• Roundtrip airfare
• Hotels (typically two people to a room, separate beds)
• Breakfast and dinners
• Guided local tours, including entry fees to local museums associated with the guided tours
• Tour bus
• Courier (more under “ACFEA” below)
What is not included in the tour cost?
• Lunches, snacks
• Cost of passport (visas typically not required, there may be exceptions for those who are not U.S.
Citizens)
• Travel insurance (highly recommended but not required)
• Instrument insurance
• Fees for oversize/overweight luggage (large instruments will be addressed below under
“Instruments”)
Every three years CYSO provides the opportunity for serious musicians to experience performing abroad. The tours are specifically designed to balance performance, exploration and history which makes for an amazing, fun and fascinating experience.
Below is a summary of previous tours.
2017 - The tour started in Erfurt, Germany. We had a day trip to Eisenach, birthplace of J.S. Bach and a town where Martin Luther spent time. In Leipzig, we toured the Thomaskirche, another historically important part of the life of J.S. Bach. On this 500th year after the Reformation, we visited Wittenberg to see where Martin Luther lived and the church where he posted his 95 Theses. Dresden was next, with its deep and varied history. After a concert to a full house in Kirchensaal in Herrnhut, talented local musicians gathered to perform the “Star Spangled Banner” in our honor, as this was the Fourth of July.
The tour continued to Prague, Czech Republic. The Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Town and more. A joint concert with Charles University Orchestra at the Church of St. Simon & Jude Church was another sell-out. Bratislava, Slovakia was our final concert stop with a performance in the Slovak Radio Hall. Full house, standing ovation. After a day in Salzburg, Austria, the orchestra headed to Munich for the flight home.
2014 - This tour started in the world-renowned Rock Church in Helsinki, Finland. From there, we traveled by ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. Gerry Marsh arranged selections from The Sound of Music and CYSO was joined by the Estonian Radio Children’s Choir in a spectacular performance that earned a standing ovation from a capacity crowd. The next stop was Riga, Latvia where the Fourth of July concert was celebrated by a packed house in Riga’s Great Guild Hall and more standing ovations. The charm of the cobblestones and twisting, narrow lanes in central Riga felt very comfortable due to the warm reception we received from our hosts. Our tour ended with a concert in St. Casimir’s Church as part of St. Christopher’s Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania.
2011 - CYSO had a successful concert tour of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. Some of the highlights include a guided sightseeing tour of Budapest, a joint concert with the Nandor ZSolt School of Music String Orchestra at the Castle Theatre in Budapest, which opened the concert of the Estzergom Castle Theatre Festival 2011, a guided sightseeing tour of Banska Stiavnica, a concert in the Hunyady Hall at Bojnice Castle, a concert in the Church of the Holy Cross in Zakopane with the mayor and local dignitaries attending, a visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine, a guided walking tour of Krakow and Wawei Castle, a concert at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, a guided sightseeing tour of Warsaw, and a concert in the Fryderick Chopin University of Music featuring a piano concerto with a famous Polish composer Marek Walarowski. CYSO’s performances reached the hearts and souls of hundreds of Eastern Europeans, and were the result of rigorous team work, synergy of collaboration, and high expectations of musicianship.
2008 - This year's touring orchestra traveled to Scandinavia for 13 days. They spent a few days in each of four different countries - Denmark, Norway,
Sweden and Finland. They visited one city in each country - Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, and finally Helsinki - playing concerts in several different types of venues.
2005 - Our group spent 15 days in the heart of Europe and visited the homelands of many of the greatest composers and musicians of all time. They saw seven cities in Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic and they played five concerts in some very unique venues.
2002 - A group of 41 musicians toured eastern Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria visiting both Prague and Vienna as well as many other historic
sites.
1999 - This year our group visited Italy, Switzerland and France where the CYSO Touring Orchestra played several exciting venues including the Celimontana Music Festival in Rome, a wonderful concert in the mountain resort of Barga near Florence, a concert at the bandstand at the Kiosque de Musique Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and were included as one of the venues at the world renowned Montreux Jazz Festival.
1996 - In the Summer of 1996 the group had a very successful tour of Austria, Germany and Switzerland (Rome to Paris).
In 1990 and 1993 our talented young musicians joined local school and youth symphony orchestras in Great Britain for a two week tour that included
sight-seeing and performances in several cities in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.