2026 Summer Travel Recap

Every summer, months of planning and rehearsal become something tangible: the first note in an unfamiliar room, a new audience gathering and an ensemble hearing its music differently.

In 2026, Encore travelers brought choral, orchestral and instrumental music to communities across Europe and beyond. They performed in landmark concert halls, historic churches, intimate local venues and open-air settings, while summer programs introduced our groups to Romania, Bulgaria and South Korea for the first time. Here are some of the moments that defined the season.

30+Groups Traveled

1,500+Travelers

90+Concerts Performed

15,000+Audience Count

Full Rooms, Real Audiences

The concert experience remained at the center of our summer tours. For the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, that meant performing at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, where more than 800 tickets were distributed. In Rome, nearly 350 people filled the Church of St. Ignatius for St. Teresa’s Academy Choir. At Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte, Norwalk Youth Symphony adapted to the weather and performed for a crowd of nearly 300 on the estate grounds.

Sacramento Youth Symphony performed for full and enthusiastic audiences at Budapest’s Vigado Hall and at Sala Capitol, home of Filarmonica Banatul Timisoara. In Ireland, ContraFlute performed to a standing-room-only audience at St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church during the Galway International Arts Festival and later played to a full house at Kylemore Abbey. Along the Normandy coast, Chico Community Choir filled the church in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer from front to back.

“The highlights were the concerts: great opportunities from Kemberg to Vienna!”

Scott Krijnen, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra

A meaningful venue is only part of a successful concert. The audience completes the experience. Throughout the summer, our local partners promoted performances, welcomed visiting musicians and helped create opportunities for genuine exchange.

Some audiences numbered in the hundreds. Others gathered in smaller churches and community venues where the connection between performers and listeners felt especially immediate. In both settings, our groups experienced the energy of sharing familiar repertoire with people hearing them for the first time.

The People Behind the Journey

Behind every concert was a team managing the details that allowed directors and performers to stay focused on the experience. Our tour consultants shaped each itinerary before it was booked, our Program Managers handled the details in the months leading up to departure, and our Tour Managers coordinated the daily schedule, rehearsals, performances and inevitable adjustments that come with international travel.

They also brought each destination closer. Their knowledge, judgment and personal attention helped travelers understand the places they visited and made unfamiliar surroundings feel manageable. If you are wondering how that plays out day to day, our director’s guide walks through what to expect on tour.

“Libby did everything humanly possible to make the trip incredible and to meet every need of each participant. Libby is exceptional!”

Paige Long, Metropolitan Flute Orchestra

More Than the Concert

The performances gave each tour its musical purpose, but the time between concerts gave travelers a deeper connection to their destinations. Ensembles explored historic neighborhoods, visited landmarks, met local musicians and experienced the traditions surrounding the places where they performed. For some groups those connections developed onstage through shared concerts; for others they happened during rehearsals, workshops, meals or conversations with audience members after the final piece.

What Made These Concerts Possible

A tour manager who runs the day

Directors rate our tour managers 3.9 out of 4 on responsiveness and organization. Your tour manager handles the schedule, the rehearsals, the venue contacts and the changes nobody planned for, so you can stay with your ensemble instead of the logistics.

See the tour before you commit

Directors can walk the itinerary in advance on a site inspection, alongside the same tour managers who will travel with their group. You see the venues, hear the acoustics and adjust the plan while it is still on paper.

An itinerary built around your ensemble

Nine in ten directors say direct contact with our staff is why they chose Encore, and just as many point to the flexibility to shape the tour themselves. Repertoire, group size, budget and goals come first. The itinerary follows.

“This was the best we’ve done overall. The two main contributors were concert audiences and hotel quality.”

Eniko St Clair, 2026 Spain tour

Thinking About Your Own Tour

Thank you to every director, performer, family member, tour manager and local partner who made the 2026 season possible. Each group brought its own sound, goals and personality to the journey, and we were proud to help bring those experiences to life.

If reading this made you picture your own ensemble on one of these stages, there is more time than you might think. Summer 2027 is still open, and the groups traveling then are shaping their itineraries now. If 2027 is too soon for your calendar, 2028 is a comfortable runway: it gives you room to build interest with families, plan fundraising and choose repertoire with the tour in mind. Either way, the first step is the same. Request a quote or schedule a call with a tour consultant, and we will start with your goals rather than a catalog.