It’s conference time! The Encore team and I had the pleasure of attending the Florida Music Educator’s Conference earlier this month. What a huge gathering of music teachers, second only to the Texas Music Educator’s Conference in mid-February in San Antonio! I personally LOVE conferences. It’s so great to hear wonderful performances, attend awesome workshops with rising stars and see old clients as well as meeting new ones. With all the changing times and social media ever-expanding, it is so refreshing to have these conventions. I have been attending them for over 30 years—and honestly, they haven’t changed much at all. It’s reunions with old friends and colleagues, inspiring concerts, discovering new music and the irreplaceable gift of verbally sharing our ideas, successes and failures, all in person. I think that in many aspects, conferences will always be this way, and I am so grateful for these timeless experiences. Conferences are also a great opportunity for Encore to roll out some new choir tours to Europe, as well as unique and customized travel opportunities for all ensemble types. It’s also a chance for us to unveil international choir festivals and parades. We are very excited to announce that we are now travel partners with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland! We are also thrilled to be partnering with a choral festival in Vienna taking place in St Stephen’s Cathedral with Gerald Wirth, the conductor of the Vienna Boys Choir. This summer in June, the festival will be performing Verdi’s Requiem in honor of Verdi’s 200th birthday, featuring a full orchestra and professional singers (and a huge audience, I’m sure!). St. Stephen’s Cathedral is magnificent and it is an absolute thrill to sing in there. Enjoy the conferences that you will be attending this year and celebrate each gathering. Think of the incredible amount of talent, brains and experience that come together all for the art of music. That alone is an inspiration! If you are interested in travelling to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, click here to learn more about next year’s event!
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