INTERNATIONAL TOURS
Every three years CYSO provides the opportunity for serious musicians to experience performing abroad. The next tour is in the planning process for early summer of 2014. 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.