"I would be quite remiss if I did not tell you how much that I enjoyed the trip to Italy with the Rowan University Concert Choir. We arrived back in New Jersey nine days ago, and the students are still abuzz with how much they enjoyed the concerts and touring. I know that you took a personal interest in the Rowan University trip, and made several concessions to make it all happen. Thank you for your leadership in MCI, and in this trip in particular. It is very appreciated."
Dr. Z. Randall Stroope
"Music Celebrations provided us with many opportunities we wish we might have had with our former tour company. Concert audiences were 20 times what we had 4 years ago in England, and the venues in Italy were magnificent! Travel arrangements came off without a hitch, except when we had to wait for our own fellow travellers. Our hotels were fine and the staffs at all three were excellent. Thank you for a wonderful tour, and I hope that we get to work with you again soon."
Michael Gorman, Schola Cantorum of Sacred Heart Church
"In 36 years as a conductor, there are many concerts in my memory banks, but a few stand out as extraordinary. One of these is undoubtedly the concert (MCI) arranged for us in the magnificent Basilica di San Miniato overlooking Florence. The acoustics were celestial, the Basilica was filled, the sight overlooking the city of Florence was breathtaking, and the audience simply would not stop applauding. They even made us sing outside afterwards! All the concert sites were perfect places for our a cappella chamber choir. The audiences were so friendly, so responsive. I've taken a lot of tours in my day, the first in 1974. I have to tell you, for concert sites, hotels, meals, guide, personal attention - nothing can beat what you arranged for us in Italy."
Lucy Carroll, William Tennent Madrigal Singers
"Our memories of Italy are sure to be of beautiful cities and countryside, friendly people, and outstanding concert experiences! Thank you for helping to coordinate our Tour and for the many details MCI handled for our trip. The hotels, concert venues, and our guides were just wonderful. It was an unforgettable experience all around; thank you so much."
Marguerite McCormick, Children's Chorus of San Antonio
"This was the second time that I toured with MCI and I knew exactly what to expect from them: courtesy, professionalism, promptness, a willingness to please, and above all, trust. What they said they would do, they did. And better yet, I called the shots, and they formed the tour around what I felt was best for my choir. It was an unbelievable experience, and a dream come true for all of us. Every venue that MCI arranged (seven in all) was beautifully organized and advertised….You need that feeling of comfort when you are far away from home and have the responsibility of so many young people. That is why I trusted Music Celebrations International with my students. My recommendation is this: if you have an excellent performing group, go with a tour group whose performance is excellent."
Bud Clark, Missouri Southern State College Choir
"Thank you so much for taking care of our travel needs. We had a marvelous time in Rome. We were particularly impressed by the tour manager and the bus driver. They were very nice and went all out to help us in every possible way. The places we went to for the tour were excellent. We never thought we would be able to see a lot of places in such a short week. People from our group could not help but say, "this is just too much art to take in, in one day!" Again, thank you so much for such a marvelous time!"
Noel Fisico, St. Thomas More Children's Choir
"The concerts were spectacular! The concert sites were so wonderful. We had great audiences, and we saw a lot of advertising. We had people meet us at each site. I couldn't be more pleased with that. That was why we were there. I can't believe the things we saw. I keep looking at my pictures and tell myself that I was really standing there in Venice or in Rome. It was all pretty amazing."
Michelle Hiscavich, Newtown High School Orchestra Director
"We have had an opportunity to share our music in a number of wonderful places as we toured through them. Our final performance (at St. Peter's Basilica) was pretty amazing. All of us have had a great trip. I can't believe it is over! Thank you for everything you have done to help things go smoothly. It has been a great tour."
Julie Dana, Fresno City College "City Singers"
"What a pleasure it was to conduct my orchestra in top professional level venues with great audiences in five of the world's greatest cities - Rome, Florence, Venice, Salzburg and Vienna. I really appreciate MCI's professional way of working with orchestras and providing us with the best possible concert tour. To any conductor, most important is the music and the performance experience. In this area MCI excels! You have top professionals arranging the venues, promoting the concerts, and providing the best performance experiences possible with the highest regard to professional standards. The concert halls were full and the audiences amazingly responsive. You can imagine how thrilled my young musicians felt performing concerts in beautiful surroundings and receiving curtain calls at each performance! It was a magical moment in each of their lives and I want to thank you and say Bravo MCI! I look forward to working with you on future tours and I recommend that fine music organizations across the country also arrange their next tour with MCI."
John Koshak, Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra
"Great! Fantastic! Overwhelming! All of these describe the Eckerd College Concert Choir and Eckerd Ringers Tour of Italy. Hotel accommodations were wonderful, dinner menus varied, courteous bus driver and the tour manager from heaven. Students commented on what an educational experience it was as we toured the Vatican, meandered through the Uffizi, marveled at Michelangelo's David, gawked in awe of St. Mark's, the duomos in Siena, Florence and Milan. Their humanities courses and textbooks came alive! Concert venues were perfect. My students found a new appreciation for Palestrina, Poulenc and Clausen when we performed in spaces that made every note a feast for the ears. We are already talking about our 2007 tour."
Dr. Marion Smith, Eckerd College Choir
"The whole thing went great. The concerts went extremely well. (In Rome) we had some folks who saw the advertising and came that night to see us which was a pleasant surprise. Very enthusiastic audiences, several encores. I got an email from someone in Wilmington VA who had been in Italy and one of our students invited him to our concert and he was so pleased he said if he was ever in our area he would stop in for an encore performance! (Our tour manager) was magnificent! She was GREAT! She always consulted with me. She really seemed to have our interests at heart. (She was) the best ever tour manager!! It was a great trip. A GREAT TRIP!!"
Dr. Michael Bates, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Vesper Choir
"(Our Italian tour managers) were both amazing!! I would recommend them for any group and I would certainly recommend them to take any group of mine in the future! They worked diligently behind the scenes to make sure things were right for us. They would go to the restaurants while we were on a walking tour to check up on things. Just great folks and the kids loved them! The concerts were excellent. Very well attended. Mass at St. Mark's was awesome!"
Todd Peterson, Barron Collier Concert Choir and Bel Canto
"I love working with Music Celebrations! They let me plan the itinerary and they do all the work. The hotels are 3 and 4 stars and the company is very careful about all the details. They stay in touch throughout the trip, provide a guide that stays with us and takes care of any problems that may arise. When we performed in Italy and Austria, they arranged for us to sing in the most amazing venues. We are now planning our 3rd trip with them. I highly recommend this company for your performing groups!"
Betty Mullett, Choral Director, Riverview High School
