Arkansas Alumni Association ymphony oonn tthehe Bllueue Daanubenube aboard the Exclusively Chartered M.S. AMMADEUSADEUS BRRILLIANTILLIANT June 22 to July 1, 2017 RAZORBACKS ON TOUR Dear Razorbacks on Tour*: Join us on this exclusive journey to the resplendent cultural centers that inspired classical music’s Great Masters, hosted by Dr. Christopher Knighten. Framed by rolling hillsides, lush vineyards and medieval castles, the legendary Danube River Valley has resonated with musicians and artists, poets and travelers throughout the centuries and we invite you to come experience the charm and allure of this captivating region for yourself. Our comprehensive itinerary showcases fi ve countries in the heartland of central Europe. It has been custom designed and carefully orchestrated to feature private performances encompassing the musical heritage of Europe’s most accomplished composers, including Mozart and Beethoven, and provides opportunities to explore six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Enjoy three nights in the historic, world-class city of Prague, the “City of a Thousand Spires,” in a deluxe, centrally located hotel before traversing the fabled Blue Danube from Passau, Germany, to Budapest, Hungary. Cruise aboard the exclusively chartered M.S. AMADEUS BRILLIANT—a traditional river ship plying the waterways of Europe with the ability to dock often right in the heart of the cities we visit. High notes of your experience will include a distinctive schedule of exclusive and specially arranged expert lectures, private classical music performances, guided excursions in Prague and in each port of call along the Danube River, and an enchanting overnight stay in the fi n-de-siècle grandeur of Vienna, Austria’s extraordinary capital city. I encourage you to book now as this popular program sells out quickly. Early Booking Savings are only available through December 9, 2016. Your connection starts here, BrandydC Cox Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni & Executive Director MEET YOUR HOST - Dr. Christopher Knighten Dr. Christopher Knighten is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music in the University of Arkansas Department of Music. His duties include conducting the Wind Ensemble, teaching graduate conducting and band literature courses, and overseeing all aspects of the University of Arkansas Bands including budget, scholarships, and administration of the Lewis E. Epley, Jr. Band Building. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Knighten served as Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Arkansas. Under his direction the Razorback Marching Band included more than 350 members and performed at the 2009 Liberty Bowl, the 2010 Sugar Bowl, and the 2011 Cotton Bowl. He held similar positions at East Carolina University and Baylor University. * Alumni, members, family or friends—anyone can travel with Razorbacks on Tour! Thank you to our members who make all of our programs possible. U.S./Prague, the Royal Mausoleum and spectacular Czech Republic St. Wenceslas Chapel. Walk through Thursday and Friday, the “Golden Lane,” a quaint byway June 22 and 23 lined with small, Mannerist-style Depart the U.S. for Prague, the houses and workshops once occupied by castle goldsmiths, alchemists, artisans Vienna Coat “City of a Thousand Spires,” of Arms a UNESCO World Heritage and guards. Author Franz Kafka was said site showcasing 600 years to have lived here between 1916 and 1917. of virtually untouched architecture. On the former site of the Upon arrival, check into the deluxe Bohemian Kingdom’s Royal Court, INTERCONTINENTAL PRAHA HOTEL. enjoy a private tour of the spectacular th Attend the private Welcome Reception Municipal House, an early 20 -century Friday evening in the hotel. Art Nouveau masterpiece. Visit the stunning Smetana Hall, where an independent Prague Czechoslovakia was declared in 1918 and Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25 where the post-World War II communist On the guided walking tour, explore the government fi rst met with political reformers diverse cultural legacy of Prague, celebrated led by future Czech Republic president for its splendid combination of Gothic, Václav Havel in 1989. Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Walk along the narrow, picturesque Prague/Passau, Germany lanes of the Staré Mˇesto (Old Town) Monday, June 26 to the Orloj, the ornate, 15th-century Travel across rolling astronomical clock of the Old Town Hall. hills and through the bucolic See the world-famous Charles Bridge, wooded Czech and German adorned with 17th- and 18th-century countryside to Passau, Baroque statues. Enjoy a brief private where three legendary performance of Mozart’s music and a rivers—the Danube, Ilz and specially arranged private tour of the Inn—converge. Enjoy lunch Estates Theatre, where the prodigy’s in a historic, traditional opera Don Giovanni premiered in 1787. German restaurant before In Josefov, the Jewish Quarter of Prague, the walking tour along visit Europe’s oldest extant Jewish the cobblestone streets of house of worship—the Gothic-style Altstadt, Passau’s Old Town. Old-New Synagogue—and walk amongst Visit the Baroque-style the moss-covered, 15th-century headstones St. Stephan’s Cathedral, th The highest and low of the Old Jewish Cemetery. consecrated in the 12 century, organ in Passau’s St. On Sunday, tour the fascinating former where the largest pipe organ are nearly inaudib residence of Bohemian royalty, the Hradˇcany in Europe is housed. complex of castles, churches and Embark M.S. AMADEUS BRILLIANT, museums, whose spires dominate the attend the Captain’s Welcome Reception city skyline. By special arrangement, and, following dinner, enjoy a short view original Beethoven manuscripts and concert of classical music on board. enjoy a private string quartet concert in Melk, Austria/Dürnstein th the magnifi cent, family-owned 16 -century Tuesday, June 27 Lobkowicz Palace. In the riverside town of Melk, visit Visit the neo-Gothic St. Vitus the incredible Benedictine Abbey, Cathedral, the largest and most a showcase of impressive Austrian signifi cant cathedral in Prague, and see Baroque architecture, priceless relics and Cover photo: Budapest’s majestic Parliament Building is a classic example of Gothic Revival architecture and a proud symbol of Hungary’s national rebirth. Photo this page: In Prague, the “City of a Thousand Spires,” the famous Charles Bridge links the medieval Old Town with the splendid Baroque palaces of the Little Quarter, the city’s most intact historical district. EERLINRLIN B UNESCO World Heritage Site Cruise Itinerary GERMANY Air Routing Land Routing DRRESDENESDEN r e PRRAGUEAGUE v i R CZECH REPUBLIC a v a t l V e R nub iver Da SLOVAKIA PAASSAUSSAU DÜÜRNSTEINRNSTEIN BRRATISLAVAATISLAVA MEELKLK WWachauachau VValleyalley VIIENNAENNA BUUDAPESTDAPEST AUSTRIA HUNGARY Admire the Rococo grandeur of Schönbrunn P residence of Habsburg royalty from Marie An stunning 18th-century ceiling frescoes blanket hillsides dotted with the haunting by Paul Troger. In Melk Abbey’s ruins of medieval castles. beautiful kirche (church), admire the perfectly intact multi-panel 16th-century Vienna Wednesday, June 28 altarpiece by Danube School master Former seat of the Habsburg Empire, Jörg Breu the Elder. Vienna’s historic center is a UNESCO A prestigious center of World Heritage open-air museum of scholarship throughout the splendid Baroque architecture. Tour this Middle Ages, the abbey’s remarkable city, which owes its present library is today a repository appearance to Austro-Hungarian of 100,000 medieval Emperor Franz Josef, who created manuscripts. the famous Ringstrasse that displays This afternoon, dock its fi nest landmarks—the impressive in the charming medieval Vienna State Opera house and the village of Dürnstein, situated lavish Hofburg Palace. Visit the below the hilltop ruins of iconic, Gothic-style Stephansdom Castle Kuenringer, where (St. Stephen’s Cathedral). Enjoy a Richard the Lionheart private, specially arranged performance of was held prisoner after Mozart and other composers’ music in the the Third Crusade. west tones of the pipe extraordinary Sala Terrena, Vienna’s oldest . Stephan’s Cathedral Stroll through the quaint, concert hall and where Mozart resided, ble to humans. picturesque village to visit worked and performed. The afternoon and the 15th-century Assumption evening are at leisure to peruse the cultural of the Blessed Virgin Abbey Church and treasures of Vienna on your own. enjoy a short, private organ concert inside the cathedral. Vienna/Bratislava, Slovakia Be on deck this evening as you cruise Thursday, June 29 the Danube’s spectacular and fabled Enjoy a free morning in Vienna or join Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World the optional excursion to the UNESCO Heritage site, where terraced vineyards World Heritage-designated Schönbrunn Dürnstein is nestled within the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains traces of past civilizations, including medieval villages, castles and monasteries. Budapest, Hungary Friday, June 30 Austrian-born, nevertheless the “most Hungarian Habsburg,” Archduke Joseph is credited with creating in Budapest an imperial capital that rivaled Vienna. Buda and Pest—the centuries-old twin cities that face each other across the Danube River—the embankments along this storied river and the Buda Castle Quarter together as one are a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. Begin your tour in Pest to see the iconic and imposing Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site and summer neo-Gothic limestone Parliament Building, toinette to Emperor Franz Josef. built