INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE TOURS
Do you work with travel agents/ tour groups on long-distance trips?
Over, 50 years in business. 2200 performing ensembles. 72 countries around the world.
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31% 42% 27%
Sometimes
travel Intropa.
INTROPA I N T E R N AT I O N A L T O U R S
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For the Serious Player from Beginner to Pro
“Depending upon the complexity of the travel arrangements, I sometimes make all arrangements myself and sometimes rely upon a tour company to arrange them for me.” David Bean Morrison High School Morrison, Ill. “We used one last time and I don’t think I will ever go back to doing it on my own. It was great!” Tom Meyer Nevada High School Nevada, Mo. “Having a tour company that has experience with the festival you are going to is very important. References from other directors are always good, too.” Kristi Jasin Franklin High School Livonia, Mich.
Do you have any tips for making group trip/festival experience a success? “Plan ahead. Ask for what you need from different people on the trip. You will find that if you need things, people will try to accommodate you to the best of their ability. Also, don’t forget to ask for discounts from places where you are taking a large number of kids. I did, and one of our dinner 32 School Band and Orchestra, June 2008
buffets went from $16.50 a student to $12.00. That is huge when you are on a budget and have 150 students with you!” Jay A. Durner Delaware Valley Regional High School Frenchtown, N.J. “Careful pre-trip preparation is necessary. Develop a checklist or timeline of specific required items of your district — including trip forms, insurance forms, emergency contact numbers, approval of chaperones, et cetera — along with a checklist of necessary items for the ensembles that are traveling.” John Zimmerman Bellefonte Area Middle School Bellefonte, Penn. “We have ‘Chaperone groups.’ To signal group time, a teacher calls out, ‘Chaperone moment!’ The students have to the count of five to get in their groups. We practice this before even going on the trip. Our groups are between 4 and 8 students per chaperone. The students go through the airport and do any transitioning during the trip in chaperone groups. It is far easier to travel in smaller groups to a common destination than to move a group of 150 through security and hope everyone gets through.” Diane Rener Lake Forest District 67 Lake Forest, Ill. “Make sure your chaperones know what is expected of them. Like the students, they also have responsibilities.” Nicholas Basham Northwest High School McDermott, Ohio
Any other thoughts on travel or festivals to share with your music ed peers? “There are boundless educational opportunities that can only be discovered outside the walls of your classroom. Plan, prepare, put on a smile,