Choir Tours Performing Arts Tours Around the World . 2015 ACFEA provides you with... • Knowledgeable staff who travel extensively in the places you want to tour acfea.com • A dedicated Tour Manager who works with you from the initial proposal until the end - of your tour 800 627-2141 • Offices and representatives worldwide, with experienced local staff, to ensure that your tour runs smoothly “I am always • Opportunities for your choir to perform with professional orchestras – a concept impressed with we pioneered • Distinctive cultural experiences to accent your tour such as homestays, special dinners the accessibility of and unique workshops the ACFEA staff, • Up-to-date online information – customized for your group – on the Tour Central section from planning to of our website implementation. • Personal service throughout, including group presentations, careful handling of all I feel as though individual travel requests, a pre-departure briefing for the entire group approximately one month prior to your departure and assistance with check-in at your departure airport ours is the only tour happening – and I know that’s not true.” Imagine performing... In Cuzco, after visiting ancient Incan sites such as the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu during Deborah DeSantis, a tour of Peru Artistic Director, Colorado Children’s Chorale In the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice and the Chiesa Santo Stefano al Ponte Vecchio in Florence during a tour of New songs in various African languages, taught by an African conductor during a tour of South Africa Off the beaten track in intimate venues in Bosnia For appreciative audiences in Auckland, Napier, Wellington and Christchurch while exploring one of the world’s most scenic countries during a tour of New Zealand In St. Petersburg’s Glinka Capella and Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall during a tour of Russia In a wide range of concert venues such as the Beijing Central Conservatory, Hangzhou Grand Theater and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center during a tour of China

Berea College Concert Choir gives an informal recital in the Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Fountain Valley High School Troubadours 2014 Tour of China excerpt of an article written by Kevin Tison, Director of Vocal Music, Fountain Valley High School ACFEA has hit yet another home run! In June of 2014, we embarked on our fourth international performance tour, planned by Hugh Davies and ACFEA’s great staff abroad. After three previous tours to Europe, which were all amazing, I was ready for a change of direction, taking us to China and Hong Kong for ten days of spectacular performances and adventure! Photo courtesy of Marianne Swienink-Havard If world-class venues packed with enthusiastic audiences were Chorus of Westerly not enough, the tour was filled with profound and meaningful historic and 2014 Tour of the cultural experiences– visiting such Czech Republic, iconic places as the Great Wall (where CHINA Austria and Hungary HUNGARY we also did a casual performance), the terracotta warriors, beautiful jade and silk “If there’s one thing I learned through this process, it’s that with factories, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen great risk comes great reward. I want to tell every one of you Square, the ancient city wall of Xi’an and Victoria Peak in Hong that if you are ever given the opportunity to take a risk that Kong with its stunning views. My goal was to have my students could result in something amazing, you must take it.” These were experience firsthand what they read and learn in so many other the final words delivered by Ryan Saunders, the 35-year-old academic areas of school. No longer just photos and narratives in Executive Director of the Chorus of Westerly, during his speech textbooks, these places and experiences were brought to life! on the last night of the group’s tour of Central Europe. As the boat on which the group was dining gracefully floated down A personal highlight for me was getting to conduct a full the Danube through an illuminated Budapest, Ryan and Music performance in the beautiful He Luting Concert Hall at the Director Andrew Howell stood on the top deck, observing with internationally renowned Shanghai Conservatory of Music. I can still misty eyes all the gleeful members of the group singing, taking remember the faces of all the Chinese children, peeking over the photos and just enjoying every last drop of this epic adventure. edge of the balcony as they watched the concert below. I’m sure I had a huge smile on my face for at least two days after this concert! The tour began in Prague, where they performed Dvoˇrák’s Stabat Mater with a local orchestra in Smetana Hall to nearly 1,000 eager audience members. They continued to Vienna, performing for a packed St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Finally, they arrived in Budapest, giving a concert in the Matthias Church that was so full that several would-be concertgoers had to be turned away at the door for lack of space. While having packed halls for outstanding performances was certainly a highlight for the Chorus of Westerly, the feeling of accomplishment will last far beyond the end of the applause. To read these articles in their entirety, you can download the latest version of our annual newsletter, Tour Notes, found at www.acfea.com.

2 ACFEA Turns 60

by Hugh Davies, President, ACFEA North America

Founded in 1955, before almost all of our staff were born, we are celebrating our 60th birthday in 2015. Even I, the longest-serving employee in North America, will have 'only' been with the company for 29 years by then, a humbling thought that emphasizes the durability of the organization regardless of any individual. Golden Gate Men’s Chorus LATVIA When we started, tours were much longer (not least 2014 Tour of Latvia and Lithuania because the transatlantic journey was by sea) and LITHUANIA much cheaper (I have a brochure for a 1967 tour, The outstanding Golden Gate Men’s Chorus from 12 years later, advertising 22 days in 8 countries for San Francisco, directed by Joseph Piazza, had never $745, including airfare). But much has not changed: been on an international tour before 2014. However, we are still staffed by musicians, we still inspect every far from choosing a mainstream destination for its first overseas adventure, hotel and every performance venue, we still give pre- the group decided on Latvia and Lithuania. departure briefings, and we still see groups off at the The focus of the tour was the World Choir Games in Riga, where they departure airport. It seems we got a lot right from participated in three Champions Competition categories: Male Choirs, the very beginning. Musica Sacra with accompaniment, and Spirituals. They were delighted I am honored to be part of an institution that has to win gold medals in the first two and a silver medal in the third– given so much pleasure to so many people for so congratulations! many years, and very content knowing that, when As a warm-up for the competition, and taking advantage of the opportunity the time eventually comes for me to retire, the to see a little more of this relatively unexplored corner of Europe, the chorus company has a momentum and longevity of its own. spent four nights in Lithuania, visiting Vilnius and Kaunas. They performed Happy birthday, ACFEA! in Vilnius’s St. Catherine’s Church and Kaunas’s Philharmonic Hall, with the former being a particularly memorable and rewarding event.

ACFEA staff in Savannah, GA during our 2014 Global Summit

Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir 2014 Tour of Germany GERMANY The Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir (RMCC), based in the Denver area, comprises both mixed and single-sex ensembles of varying ages. As its mission states, RMCC “actively seeks children from diverse backgrounds and offers the opportunity to experience musical excellence in a multicultural environment.” In June, 2014, RMCC crossed the Atlantic for the group’s first foray into Europe. Starting in Berlin and ending in Munich, the choir explored both big cities and small towns throughout Germany. Highlights of the tour included a moving performance for the Jewish High Holy Days at the ruins of the Jewish sector of Buchenwald concentration camp, and an impromptu performance of Biebl’s Ave Maria in Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. In addition, the group had the opportunity to stay with local hosts in Wangen im Allgäu, a small town that opened its doors and hearts to the visitors.

3 acfea.com Where Europe next? Morris Knolls High School Choir Whether you want to performs in St. Peter’s Church in Riga, Latvia perform in some of the most prestigious venues in Europe or get off the beaten track, ACFEA has offices and representatives throughout the world that work with your ACFEA Tour Manager to help you reach your tour goals. From South The Choir of America to South St. Wilfrid of York Africa, Asia to Australia, Episcopal Church rehearses in St. Paul’s ACFEA can take Cathedral in London during its you there. weeklong residency

Plano Civic Chorus performs in the Església Santa Maria in Blanes, Spain Australia South & Africa New Zealand Mississippi College Singers on top of Table Mountain, overlooking Winston-Salem State University Choir Cape Town with Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy students in Henley-on-Klip

4 Sacramento Children’s Latin America Chorus at a tea village near Hangzhou Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir is joined by the mariachi performer who was inspired to dance during their singing of the Mexican hat dance

Asia Heinz Chapel Choir at Lake Titicaca in Peru

The San Francisco Boys Chorus has an informal sing-along during a sightseeing trip to Poas Volcano in Costa Rica

Boston Children’s Chorus Australia at Angkor Wat in Cambodia & New Zealand

St. Louis Colorado Children’s Children’s Choir Chorale in front of the with Chilton St. James Sydney Opera House Choir in Wellington, New Zealand

5 acfea.com ACFEA has arranged Allegro Community Children’s Choir, KS (Director, Christy Elsner) tours for hundreds of Office Locations choral groups from 2014 Tour of and Philadelphia the United States and Boulder First Congregational Church Choir, CO San Francisco (Director, Kajsa Teitelbuam) 2014 Tour of and Canada. Some of our recent clients Seattle Centre College Choir, KY (Director, Barbara Hall) 2014 Tour of Spain include: Bairnsdale, Australia Citrus Singers, CA (Director, Douglas Austin) 2014 Tour of Germany and the Czech Republic Berlin Colorado Children’s Chorale (Director, Deborah DeSantis) Bucharest 2014 Tour of , the Czech Republic and Austria George, South Africa Cornelia Connelly High School Advanced Women’s Ensemble, CA (Director, Patrick Zubiate*) Guadalajara, Mexico , the Czech Republic and Hong Kong DePauw University Chamber Singers, IN (Director, Gregory Ristow) 2014 Tour of Mexico London Edmonton Singing Strings, AB (Director, Petar Dundjerski) Rättvik, Sweden 2014 Tour of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic Shanghai Edmonton Youth Choir, AB (Director, John Wiebe) 2014 Tour of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia St. Petersburg Georgetown Day High School Choir, DC (Director, Ben Hutchens) 2014 Tour of Spain Vicenza, Italy Greenwich Academy Madrigal Singers, CT (Director, Beth Raaen) 2014 Tour of Denmark, and Sweden Overseas Staff Hartford Chorale, CT (Director, Richard Coffey) 2014 Tour of France & Representatives Heinz Chapel Choir, University of Pittsburgh, PA (Director, John Goldsmith*) Nick Abbott 2014 Tour of , Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia Director of Sales, Europe Hershey High School Choir, PA (Director, Joe Farrell) Elizabeth Assmann Tour Manager, London 2014 Tour of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary Dan Bucur Highland Park United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, TX (Director, Bradley Welch*) Regional Representative, Romania 2014 Tour of Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic Andrew Cheung International Choral Collaboration, SC (Director, Alicia Walker) 2014 Tour of South Africa Artistic Consultant, Hong Kong Catherine Clambaneva Kappella Kyrie, AB (Director, Melanie Turgeon) 2014 Tour of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary Tour Manager, London Lenoir-Rhyne Youth Chorus, NC (Director, Florence Jowers) 2014 Tour of Germany and Austria Helen David Director of Operations, London Miami University Choraliers, OH (Director, William Bausano) 2014 Tour of Italy, Austria and Germany Eleanor Etherington Ottawa University Concert Choir, KS (Director, Jeff Anderson) 2014 Tour of Italy Tour Manager, London Sylvia Garcia Marin Placer Pops Chorale, CA (Director, Lorin Miller) 2014 Tour of Spain Manager, Latin America Princeton University Glee Club, NJ (Director, Gabriel Crouch) Tony Hastings 2014 Tour of Germany and the Czech Republic Projects Manager, Europe Catherine Langston River City Men’s Chorus, AR (Director, David Glaze) Tour Manager, London 2014 Tour of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria Robert Latimer San Jose State University Chamber Choir, CA (Director, Jeffrey Benson) Manager, Australia and New Zealand 2014 Tour of the and France Anna Lavery Seattle Girls’ Choir, WA (Director, Jacob Winkler) 2014 Tour of Canada Tour Manager, London Clare Lawrence Seattle Men’s Chorus, WA (Director, Dennis Coleman) 2014 Tour of Germany Regional Representative France and Spain Second Presbyterian Church Choir, AR (Director, Bevan Keating) Elfriede Leimer-Rizzotti 2014 Tour of Germany, Austria and Hungary Regional Representative, Italy Shallaway, NL (Director, Kellie Walsh) 2014 Tour of Nicaragua and Costa Rica Anders Lindstrom Regional Representative Sno-King Community Chorale, WA (Director, Frank DeMiero) Scandinavia 2014 Tour of Italy, Austria and Germany Pieter Myburgh Southern California Children’s Chorus, (Director, Lori Loftus) 2014 Tour of Ireland Manager, South Africa Alina Peretti Spiritus Chamber Choir, AB (Director, Tim Shantz) 2014 Tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland Regional Representative, Poland St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Choir, TX (Director, David Henning) Sue Peter 2014 Tour of Austria and the Czech Republic Regional Representative, Germany Richard Savage Tacoma Youth Chorus, WA (Director, Judy Herrington) 2014 Tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland Managing Director of ACFEA Europe Taylor Choir of Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, CO (Director, Deke Polifka) Jeff Sha 2014 Tour of England and the United Kingdom Manager, China Texas A&M University Century Singers, TX (Director, Eric Posada) 2014 Tour of Germany Becky Shaftoe Senior Tour Manager, London University of Jamestown Choir, ND (Director, Aaron McDermid) Tassos Strikos 2014 Tour of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary Regional Representative, Greece West Valley College Chamber Singers, CA (Director, Lou De La Rosa) Bea van der Kaaij Regional Representative 2014 Tour of the United Kingdom and France the West Village Chorale, NY (Director, Michael Conley) 2014 Tour of Croatia Olga Yemelyanova Regional Representative, Russia * No longer active director of this group For short biographies, please visit acfea.com/why-acfea/our-people 6 North America Staff SEATTLE

SAN FRANCISCO

Rachel Flamm (800) 627-2141 (425) 776-3273 110 Third Avenue North Yuhi Aizawa Jefferson Packer Suite 202 Hugh Davies Combatti Edmonds, WA 98020 (800) 886-2055 [email protected] (415) 453-6619 777 Grand Avenue, Suite 206 PHILADELPHIA San Rafael, CA 94901 (800) 886-6995 [email protected] (215) 336-1434 118 South Street, First Floor Philadelphia, PA 19147 [email protected]

Amanda Bauman Colleen Evans Our goal is to provide YUHI AIZAWA COMBATTI COLLEEN EVANS is a Tour Administrator in the San is a Tour Administrator in the unique opportunities Francisco office. She grew up in Philadelphia office. She graduated Kanagawa, Japan and has sung in from American University with degrees for memorable choirs and played piano all her life. Yuhi in Vocal Performance and Business moved to the United States to attend Administration. Colleen has been and life-changing Westminster Choir College, where she singing in choirs since an early age, experiences. earned a degree in Vocal Performance beginning with the children’s choir Emily Frye Jeffery Thyer as well as performed and toured with at her church, followed by multiple Henriksen Westminster Choir and Kantorei. She choral groups at her high school. While performs regularly with professional at American, Colleen sang with the groups in San Francisco, one of American University Chamber Singers JEFFERSON PACKER which is Volti, the award-winning and toured with them throughout is a Tour Manager in the San Francisco chamber ensemble dedicated to the Russia. Colleen has also traveled within office and is a lifelong singer and pianist. performance of new vocal music. Yuhi Europe and Central America and is He began touring internationally as a has traveled to Italy, France, Southeast excited to visit countries she has yet to performer while a student at Harvard, Asia, Taiwan, Nicaragua and Australia. explore. where he received a degree in Music and Romance Languages and Literatures, AMANDA BAUMAN RACHEL FLAMM before going on to pursue a master’s is a Senior Tour Manager in the is a Tour Manager in the Seattle office. degree in Piano Performance at San Philadelphia office. Amanda has been Originally from the Chicago area, Francisco State University. Jefferson has performing in bands and choirs her Rachel sang with the Palatine Children’s lived in Greece and Italy, and toured Unseen but entire life, including several ensembles Chorus for 14 years, touring with Germany and the Czech Republic as at her alma mater, Duquesne University, them throughout North America and Manager of the San Francisco Symphony Indispensable and the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, Europe. She graduated with a degree Youth Orchestra. He is particularly fond for which she also served as board in Music from Carleton College, where of Latin America for his own travels, but The Tour Managers are ACFEA’s member for several years. She has she played clarinet and sang as well as there’s nowhere in the world that he front line, but there are many others travelled extensively in Europe, South studied abroad in Germany and Austria. wouldn’t like to see, or see again. in our organization who make America and Asia, but her true passion Rachel has also traveled throughout our tours happen. We gratefully is Africa, where she met her husband, Europe, Asia, Mexico, South Africa, Israel JEFFERY THYER acknowledge the mighty efforts of: Maurice. and Jordan. She currently sings with is a Tour Manager in the Philadelphia the Northwest Chamber Chorus. office. He grew up in Indiana and holds Bill Barber HUGH DAVIES a bachelor’s degree in Church Music Group Travel Manager is President of ACFEA North America, EMILY FRYE HENRIKSEN from Indiana Wesleyan University and a based in the San Francisco office. is a Tour Manager in the Philadelphia master’s degree in Choral Conducting Añña Budden Born in England, he has a master’s office. She grew up in Missouri, where from Ball State University. Previously, Business Assistant degree from Cambridge, where he she sang with the St. Louis Children’s Jeffery was Director of Program sang at King’s College under Sir David Choir for nine years, including on tours Development for Distinguished Christine McLaughlin Willcocks. Hugh sang professionally in to Russia and Scotland. Emily received Concerts International New York General Manager Europe, including with the Monteverdi degrees in Music and Magazine (DCINY), a concert production company Greg Newell Choir, before teaching music in Journalism from Drake University, in New York City, and Conference Marketing Manager Australia. He now performs as a during which time she traveled to Consultant for the American Choral soloist and with several professional Paris for a study abroad program and Directors Association (ACDA). He Ken Olson ensembles in the Bay Area. Hugh was toured Europe with the university’s currently sings with the Greater South Operations Manager on the board of Chorus America for choir. She has also traveled extensively Jersey Chorus. Jeffery has traveled to nine years, and is currently President of throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and several countries in Europe as well as to Andréa Wallis American Bach Soloists. South America. Turkey, Mexico and Nicaragua. Operations Administrator

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About Us ACFEA has 60 years of Albania Argentina Australia Austria experience planning Bosnia Brazil Bulgaria Cambodia Canada performing arts tours. Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia We are accomplished Finland France Germany Greece Holland musicians and travel Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Ireland experts with a worldwide Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Macedonia network of offices and Mexico Montenegro Morocco New Zealand Nicaragua Northern Ireland Norway Peru Poland Portugal representatives. Romania Russia Scotland Serbia Slovakia We are dedicated to Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden providing every group Switzerland Turkey Uruguay USA Vietnam Wales with the highest quality tour. San Francisco . 800-886-2055 Seattle . 800-627-2141 Philadelphia . 800-886-6995 www.acfea.com EMAIL [email protected]