The benefits of travelling with your ensemble can be numerous. Not only is it a great experience for you and your students, it can raise the profile of your program, take your performance to a new level, increase participation and offer additional educational opportunities. Build Your Ensemble’s Reputation Travel provides the opportunity to showcase your ensemble in front of a new audience. Traveling Musical Ambassadors Students develop a sense of pride and accomplishment when invited to participate in a major event and serve as traveling ambassadors for their school and community. These events provide a great public relations vehicle for promoting your ensemble and music education program as well as your school and community on regional, national. or global television. Ensemble Recruitment & Retention Travel adds an extra incentive for students to join the ensemble and stay in the program. Students learn social skills, self-confidence, responsibility, commitment and the value of teamwork. Raise Your Band’s Profile Public relations for your upcoming trip will foster interest about your students within the school and community. The extra amount of time students and teachers spend together provides a great opportunity for getting to know each other outside of the traditional school environment. Sharing time with fellow music students and students they will meet from other music programs fosters a sense of fellowship creating lifetime bonds and memories. Educational Enrichment Your students will see new sights, visit historic landmarks, meet new people and experience different climates as they travel across the United States or to a foreign country. The lessons they will learn from spending time away from home can be invaluable later in life and include responsibility, self-discipline, and teamwork, sense of community and basic life skills gained by living with others. Thanks to our guest blogger, former band director Andrew M. Yaracs! Yaracs is the Author of “Travel 101: A Band Director’s Guide for Planning Student Travel.” Stay tuned for his guest blog series featuring excerpts from his book!
March 26, 2024 Rachel Fensterer Taking Your Ensemble to Ireland Embark on a journey to Ireland, where heritage, tradition, and culture brush together to create a rich musical history. Music has been a language in Ireland for thousands of years. Backstage Blog
March 22, 2024 Encore Tours 15 Cheesy Jokes About Music Ready for some truly corny music jokes? Sometimes, it’s those eye-roll-inducing puns that get us laughing the hardest—or groaning the loudest. Backstage Blog
March 19, 2024 Encore Tours Meet Sean Boulware: Our New Program Consultant for the Western US At Encore Tours, our team is a blend of passionate, well-traveled professionals dedicated to providing unforgettable experiences. We are thrilled to introduce our newest member, Dr. Backstage Blog