Thursday, December 3, 2015

Let’s catch up at The Midwest Clinic

Dear Friend

If you are heading to Chicago for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic I would enjoy a chance to catch up on either Wednesday 16 or Thursday 17 December.

I’d be keen to chat about your next international tour; safe and amazing destinations, the Frank Ticheli festival in Austria and a wide range of insurance options to fit different destinations and concerns. Most importantly I’d welcome the chance to chat about how to ensure smooth planning for overseas tours in the current world context.

Let me know if you will be there too and we can make a place to meet and have a coffee (or more) if you have time.

Wishing you well for the holiday season

Oliver Scofield


KIconcerts: Frank Ticheli Festival Austria 2017

Our 2017 Austria festival features Frank Ticheli


Our custom tour destinations include:

Europe: ItalyAustriaFranceSpainGreeceCentral Europe, Czech Republic, HungaryFinland/EstoniaCroatia/Slovenia
UK/British Isles: England, Wales, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Asia/Oceania: ChinaAustralia, New ZealandIndia
The AmericasCosta RicaArgentinaPeruMexico
Africa: South Africa

KIconcerts – America’s leading international concert tour organizer!

  • We offer a great range of international custom tour destinations to suit all genre, budgets and performance aspirations
  • Our roster of international festivals is second to none led by outstanding educators/conductors and composers
  • Audiences matter to us as much as they do to you - our concerts are well promoted and staged to attract the maximum audience - attentive and warm
  • Safety, comfort and ease are the hallmark of our accommodation, restaurant and coach arrangements
  • Tour Managers and local guides are selected for their empathy for musicians - making history come alive - informative not intrusive
  • You are welcome to contact any of our previous clients to get their views on KI

KI's prices include:

  • Tips
  • 2 good meals a day
  • Core travel insurance
  • All sightseeing and entrances listed
  • Safe, clean and comfortable twin share 3.5 star hotels
  • Private bus and own travel manager for groups of over 40
  • One complimentary package for every 20 full paying travelers
  • 24 hour emergency back up in the US and in the country of travel
  • Fuel surcharges and air travel taxes (up to the current $500 p/p)
  • Access to our MyKIconcerts.com tour planning program for directors and travelers
  • Concert arrangements – venues, audience, accompaniment, rehearsals, festival costs
In addition we do not charge extra if a group requires individual billing or the group’s numbers require an additional bus/tour manager.

We will match the pricing of any comparable tour.

We invite new clients to visit our office team in Colorado as our guests – knowing that personal relationships are the cornerstone of every successful tour.

KIconcerts: Custom and Festival band tours

Monday, November 30, 2015

Thanking you for bringing peace to a troubled world

Wishing you and your loved ones
A wonderful holiday season

A season to celebrate
All that is good and for which we are thankful

A season to reflect
On the sadness and absence of peace

Music fashions order from chaos
Uplifts, inspires, unites – understood by all

Music transcends that which separates us
Lighting the darkness – harmonizing discord

May the music you create and stimulate in others
Build the peace that all ultimately crave

Your craft and talents call you to be a peacemaker
For those you love and those you are yet to love.



PS This was written prior to the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Clinic shootings on Friday that killed three. This clinic shares a street with KIconcerts some 3-4 miles away next to our local supermarket. The sadness referenced above became even more personal as a result. Along with everyone in Colorado Springs we thank all the police and emergency workers and grieve alongside them and the families directly affected.

From all at KIconcerts
Thank you & happy holidays!



Thursday, October 22, 2015

You deserve a TOP NOTCH performance tour company

You’re thinking of an overseas concert tour
You need value for money
You’ll consider safety and comfort first
You’re seeking pleasant passionate folk as your travel partners
… people with experience and offices around the world
You want a festival with an inspired leader or a custom tour
…or the best of both worlds
You demand and deserve great venues, appreciative audiences…and unique immersion/exchange opportunities
Check us out with your peers here.

KIconcerts is a top notch tour company.

Custom Tours

KI stages great custom tours across Europe, in China & India, Central & South America, Australia & New Zealand as well as throughout the UK & Ireland in addition to our exciting festival offerings.

2017 & 2018 Festivals

Kennedy – Greece (New Year 2016/17)
Loeppky – Austria (May)
Peter – Austria (June, young men's/women’s/mixed choirs)
Stroope – Spain (June)
Dickson – Italy (June)
Sailer – Italy (June)
Leck – Ireland (June, Children’s Choirs)
Buchanan – Passion of Italy (July)
Dilworth – UK/France (July, Spirituals/Gospel)
Hella Johnson – Sydney Opera House (July 2018)

Included in our pricing:
Group tips | Travel insurance | Fuel surcharges | Individual billing option | No price increase if numbers require additional bus | Great PR/audiences for concerts | Great head office support before and during tour | Terrific tour managers, bus drivers and in country support | MyKI online planning tool for your tour | 1:20 comp packages.

Contact us

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Perform in Australia - affordable again! Custom & festival choir tours down under

KIconcerts: Australia custom and festival choral toursG'day mate

The Aussies (& Kiwis) at KIconcerts are here to tell you that Australia is competitive with many European destinations again. The Aussie dollar has dropped more than 30% against the US dollar recently.

Let’s show you around our backyard and stage you in this great land – comfortable, cultured, fun, furry and welcoming.

Three movies, a meal and a nap will see you there from the West Coast. Great connections from NYC, DFW etc.

Sydney – the jewel in the crown
Cairns – the Great Barrier Reef and Rainforest
Brisbane/Gold Coast – affordable
Melbourne – Europe down under

Sydney’s Opera House
will be hosting Craig Hella Johnson at our
2018 Festival Down Under. You’re invited!


Oh and New Zealand – is on the way or a great destination in its own right.

World class venues
Appreciative audiences
Enthusiastic exchanges

Down under – the way life is meant to be!

Oliver Scofield

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Staging Faure’s Requiem - Rome choir festival, early June 2017 with John Dickson

Dear Friends,

Perhaps the opportunity of international travel combined with music-making has shaped my life as a professional musician as much as any other experience.

Seeing the world through other cultures and singing in some of the globe’s great venues are life-changing experiences, whatever your career path.

I hope you will consider singing the Fauré Requiem (tbd) with me while we explore the grandeur of Rome and the delights of Tuscany.

Choirs will also combine to sing Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Individual touring and concert opportunities after the Rome Festival will be available for those interested.

Download prospectus for Italy 2017 with John Dickson

I welcome your interest

John Dickson 
Artistic Director & Conductor

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Join Catherine Sailer in Italy – summer 2017 choir festival – Sing Mass at St. Peter's Basilica

From the ancient Roman Forum and Colosseum, to the magnificent Sistine Chapel, Rome is an artistic treasure trove waiting to be explored.

Drink in the sights, sounds, and flavor of Italy, and immerse yourself in history and culture.

This is the land of Palestrina, Monteverdi, Gabrieli, and Vivaldi, and now we can add our voices to the chorus of history. Join us as we sing during mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral and Vivaldi's Gloria in our festival concert.

Download prospectus for Italy 2017 with Catherine Sailer

I am delighted to invite you to take this journey with me as we explore and perform in beautiful Italy!

Catherine Sailer, D.M. 
Artistic Director & Conductor

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Greece – a stunning destination – concerts, islands, history! –custom & festival choir tours

KIconcerts: Greece custom and festival performance tours
KIconcerts: Greece custom and festival performance tours


KI hosted choirs and orchestras in Greece this year. Each loved the country, complimenting the people, food, concerts, island tours and the incredible ancient history that abounds in the city.
We just returned from our breathtaking tour of Greece. It was everything we had hoped for and more!
Our custom tours from spring through fall feature the option for the three day or four day Greek Island cruise, opportunities for exchange and stand-alone concerts, the tour of the Acropolis and ancient Athens as well as visiting the Plaka and other famed sites.
Our 3 concerts to packed houses, the 3-day island cruise - Santorini and the Acropolis were so amazing that my students keep talking about the trip every day, every hour! I have led 4 overseas trips and been on 5 others and I feel that this Greece trip tops them all!
Our Greek winter festivals feature a week in temperate Athens with a day trip to some of the islands and the chance to welcome in the New Year with the Athenians.
2015/2016 Simon Carrington
2016/2017 Karen Kennedy
I can’t say enough about the hospitality of the Greek people and the wonderful planning by the entire KIconcerts team including the Greek ‘Expedition’ team. Thank you Oliver, Kathy, Susan, Michael and the entire KI team. Chris Simon, Director, Council Rock High School Orchestra
Touring Greece is comfortable and secure. Visitors to Greece are always welcomed with all the hospitality and warmth the Greeks are known for

Oopa!!!


Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Visita España – Visit Spain! – custom choir tours & festivals

KIconcerts: Spain custom and festival performance tours
http://www.kiconcerts.com/custom-tours/spain/
Visit Spain to perform while appreciating the history and the global presence of this proud nation. Eat tapas at a sidewalk café, see a flamenco show while savoring the colors, sounds and movement of this dynamic country.

The capital city of Madrid was designed to impress. Tour the King’s Palace, view the many national institutions, see the bull rings and Real Madrid soccer stadium, stroll through Madrid’s most famous squares - Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor and visit Toledo for a day to soak in the Moorish architecture and unique atmosphere of this famed city.

Barcelona captivates: promenading on Las Ramblas, living the history of the Gothic Quarter and being intoxicated by Gaudi’s architectural mastery or Picasso’s brilliance. Gaudi’s breathtaking Sagrada Familia has to be seen to be believed and singing there is a great honor. We can visit the Montserrat Abbey to hear the boy choir singing Gregorian chants, as they have across the ages and then enjoy an exchange concert in Manresa.

Spain boasts great venues, plentiful audiences and a wonderful spirit for custom and festival concert tours.

In 2017 we have great pleasure in presenting the Stroope Spain festival. Join with Z. Randall Stroope for 4 days in Barcelona enjoying individual concerts, combined rehearsals and the gala festival concert. Then continue to Madrid or perhaps to the South of France for further touring and concerts…Avignon (Palace of the Popes), Provence (the Impressionists), Monaco (Monte Carlo) and Nice (gateway to the French Riviera).

See you in Spain - nos vemos en España!

Oliver Scofield

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Z. Randall Stroope is leading the June 2017 Spain choral festival, join him for Festival Barcelona

Dear Friends,

Of all of the career activities that come to mind for conductors and singers, perhaps one of the MOST rewarding and memorable is international travel.

Two things are immediately attractive about this fantastic festival itinerary - the tour company, KIconcerts and the destination. I personally endorse KIconcerts, and were friends with their leadership long before I conducted any of their festivals. Quality and service are first with KI. When things need immediate attention on tour, they will be there for you. I know.

Couple KIconcerts with the destination - Spain, and you have a perfect combination. Spain has ALL of the flair and sights you expect in Europe, but it is rarer for American choirs to tour through Spain - you are special there, and the cost factor is very attractive. You can also extend your tour to some fantastic locations in other countries.

KIconcerts - Download Festival Barcelona prospectus

Give it a long, hard look and, if you like, contact me directly. I stand behind this proposal 100% and am incredibly excited about the timing, performing opportunities, travel arrangements and the cost.

Hope to see you on board!

Z. Randall Stroope
Artistic Director & Conductor

Friday, September 25, 2015

Rome, Florence, Venice, Sicily, Amalfi Coast, Milan - custom choir tours & festivals

KIconcerts Italy custom tour and choir festivalsSing Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, exchange concerts in Tuscany, performances in Venice…Italy honors choral music like no other nation!

We stage concerts wherever you wish to travel in Italy – historic venues, amazing acoustics, enthusiastic audiences, intimate spaces and iconic locations – plentiful in every Italian town and city.

Enjoy the food, ambiance and sightseeing: the Coliseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Florence Duomo, Michelangelo’s ‘David’, Ponto Vecchio, the canals of Venice, St Mark’s, the Doges Palace – no other country offers all this and more.

KIconcerts Italy custom tour and choir festivalsIn addition to our Italy custom tours all over Italy, we proudly announce our 2017 festivals:
John Dickson’s Rome Choral Festival in early June 2017

Choirs participating in festivals then continue on their own touring/concert pattern outside of Rome. Festivals are very welcoming of groups of singers within a choir if the full choir is not able to tour.

Join us in Italy

Oliver Scofield

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Passion of Italy - individual & combined concerts - July 2017 with Heather J. Buchanan

Singers, Conductors, Directors,

Imagine performing in Italy - the country with arguably the greatest Western musical heritage.

Passion of Italy is a choral festival for fine singers to perform with their own choirs in individual concerts, as well as combining to form the Festival Gala Choir. I’m honored to lead this exciting Italian choral adventure following the tremendous success of our 2014 Sydney Opera House festival.



Be transported back in time by touring the Vatican, Coliseum and the Roman Forum as well as the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the surrounding piazzas.

Also consider options to continue touring to Florence and Venice.

Your musicians will create a lifetime of musical memories by singing in St Peter's Basilica and in one of the great Rome cathedrals, as well as more intimate settings. Musically, Vivaldi's vibrant "Gloria" will be the repertoire centerpiece!

I would love you to consider joining me in Italy in July 2017 along with other passionate and dedicated choristers. Please contact me for more information about the musical elements and my friends from KIconcerts regarding the tour aspects.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Heather J. Buchanan 
Artistic Director & Conductor

Join Frank Ticheli in Vienna – Austria Band Festival, July 2017

What a pleasure it is to offer you two great performance options in Austria in 2017. In addition to the band festival I will be leading in Vienna there is the option to travel with me to Schladming to perform at the famed Mid-Europe Festival for bands.

There will be individual performance opportunities and rehearsals of the Gala concert combined repertoire (30 minutes approximately) under my direction. The Vienna gala concert spotlights individual bands before culminating in the combined band finale. Bands then can opt to continue touring through Salzburg to Munich for additional individual performances or to come with me through Salzburg to Schladming.


Schladming has hosted the Mid-Europe festival for many years. I am delighted to have been invited to guest conduct at this renowned wind band festival again. Those bands that have traveled with me will perform at the Festival individually and again with me as the combined band! You will also have the opportunity to hear and interact with many great bands from around the world.

Since I began working with KI, we have enjoyed sensational summer festivals in Australia at the Sydney Opera House, in Italy, and, most recently, in England; our festival program in Austria promises to be equally thrilling. Almost nothing matches the excitement of taking your band abroad to perform in stunning international venues for wildly appreciative audiences. I want to share this rare experience with as many of you as possible. Full bands are encouraged, but smaller groups of selected musicians from your band are also very welcome, focusing their performance on the combined literature.

I urge you to consider my personal invitation to become a part of this tradition and to share in the wonderful history and culture of central Europe

Dr. Frank Ticheli 
Artistic Director & Conductor

Monday, September 21, 2015

Henry Leck Choir Festival – Sing as One & Together as Many – Ireland, June 2017

I am pleased to invite you to our 2017 Ireland Choral Festival!

Irish summer days are long with sunset around 10pm, leprechauns are welcoming and four leaf clovers abundant. Ireland is a country of great whimsy, culture and beauty and we plan to explore all three.

Individual choirs (who wish it) will sing in their own right. We will join for combined choir rehearsals and will stage gala concerts in Cork and Dublin featuring our individual choirs and presenting the force of our full combined festival choir!

Enjoy the comradery and joy of combining in great venues with warm audiences while touring as your own choir and singing individual concerts as desired.



Join me ‘singing as one and together as many’ in one of the great countries of Europe

Henry Leck
Artistic Director & Conductor
KI's Distinguished Music Advisor


Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sing spirituals/gospel music with Rollo Dilworth – London/Paris – July 2017

Both the spiritual and gospel styles are strongly rooted in the American choral tapestry. Let’s take the finest of our gospel music and spirituals to share in London and Paris.

We will offer workshops, individual concert opportunities (for those who wish them), combined rehearsals and a gala concert in both London and Paris. Our gala concert will spotlight the individual participating choirs as well as the combined festival choir.



I believe this festival will appeal uniquely to church, community and fine student choirs. It will be our chance to revel in this music, to learn from each other and to share with new friends from around the world.

This will be a festival of exuberance, passion and fine singing. I am excited to lead it and to build enthusiasm for this music in countries where it is loved but not so well known.

Will you join me on this great adventure?

Rollo Dilworth
Artistic Director & Conductor

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

UK/Ireland – destinations for great choral singing – custom choir tours & festivals

KIconcerts: UK/Ireland performance toursThe United Kingdom offers everything: history, a shared culture/language, music and iconic sightseeing.


London, Wales, Scotland, the Harrogate Festival and Ireland offer many great touring options.

KIconcerts: UK/Ireland performance toursEnjoy individual concerts, exchanges, shared performances, grand and intimate venues and warm appreciative audiences.

The 2016 Irish festival opportunities are:
Elena Sharkova – June
Janet Galván – July


In 2017 we are honored to present Henry Leck in Ireland and Rollo Dilworth in London:
Henry Leck – Cork & Dublin with children’s and youth choirs
Rollo Dilworth – London & Paris with choirs that feature spirituals/gospel music in their repertoire.

The UK/Ireland offers all the pomp and circumstance one associates with this part of the world.

Join us in one of the most comfortable and easiest European destinations.

Oliver Scofield

Friday, September 11, 2015

Young women’s, men’s & mixed choirs – Austria Notes of Joy Choir Festival 2017 with Sandra/Tim Peter

Singing colleagues

Join us in two of the great cities of culture in Europe; Vienna and Salzburg for our Notes of Joy Festival. We love our work with students of all ages and know the value of intercultural and international experiences in travel and music!

We welcome women’s ensembles, men’s ensembles as well as mixed choirs, utilizing our experience with female and male voices separately and together.

We will present individual choir concerts and combine to sing as a festival choir celebrating Notes of Joy, allowing our echoes to join those of the ages.

We’ll walk in the footsteps of the masters, immerse ourselves in the world from which much of our great music springs and enjoy the appreciation of warm audiences in commanding venues.

Download Prospectus for Notes of Joy Festival 2017

Austria is not to be missed by any musician and this will be a great experience for all of us! We are very excited about this and hope that you will consider summer of 2017!

Sandra & Timothy Peter
Artistic Directors & Conductors


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Performing in Austria – Prague/Budapest/Germany – custom tours & choir festivals

KIconcerts - Central Europe Custom Tours
KIconcerts - Central Europe Custom Tours

Austria is the ideal gateway to Central Europe.

Immerse yourself in the wonder of Salzburg and the grandeur of Vienna with concerts in both. Consider touring to Prague or Budapest. Visit Munich in Southern Germany or head to Northern Germany visiting Leipzig, Halle, Wittenberg and finishing in Berlin.

Austria is also a favored location for festivals. In 2016 Rollo Dilworth leads a school and children’s choir festival there.

In 2017
Ian Loeppky invites college and community choirs to a unique festival in mid-May welcoming each director to conduct a portion of the massed festival choir
Sandra and Tim Peter feature young women’s, men’s and mixed choirs in a festival that highlights each independently and together.

All our festivals offer many individual choir performances and the touring is all designed solely for your choir.

The ‘sound of music’ is alive and ready for your choir to contribute to the great music and culture of the area.

Oliver Scofield


Tuesday, September 8, 2015

VOICES UNITED AUSTRIA! with Ian Loeppky - College/Community choirs tour Austria – conduct the combined choir!

Fellow directors

I present you a festival focused on college/community choirs showcasing the individual talents of each participating choir and director.

is a festival of distinction in May 2017. We invite your choir to sing in its own right in individual concerts and in the gala concert setting. We also invite you to share the conducting of the combined choir.

College and community choirs, especially those that might not always have the opportunity and resources to perform internationally in their own right or with larger accompaniment are particularly welcomed.

Download Prospectus

‘Voices United’ is being staged in Austria - a country so many of your singers wish to visit in celebration of centuries of the finest choral tradition. We look to have approximately 3-5 choirs participate and to involve an Austrian choir in our rehearsals and gala concerts. There is opportunity for workshops and clinics, attending concerts as well as touring focused on the magnificent musical history of this land. This will complement the concerts we are staging in inspiring venues.

My role is to provide artistic direction for the combined choir concert, working with you and the other directors to select the combined choir repertoire for us all to conduct.

I look forward to working with you as we plan this inaugural Voices United Festival.

Ian Loeppky
Artistic Director & Conductor



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Join Karen Kennedy's Greece Choir Festival, Sing in Athens, Escape the winter, Celebrate New Year 2017 - It's affordable!

Dear friends

Greece opens its hospitable arms and welcomes us to Athens for the 2016/17 New Year’s International Choral Festival.

Athens remains an ideal location for walking amongst the very foundations of our civilization, escaping the Northern Winter and being immersed in a Mediterranean culture of eating, performance and ancient traditions.

We will

  • tour the Acropolis,
  • visit the breathtaking new Acropolis Museum
  • have a day on the Greek Islands
  • immerse ourselves in the rhythms of Plaka
  • experience the wonder of Corinth and
  • explore the other remarkable features of Athens.


In between we will rehearse 30 minutes of combined repertoire and perform as individual choirs (for those who wish it) exchanging with local Greek performers before bringing this all together in a splendid gala festival concert.

We depart Monday, December 26, 2016 and return Monday, January 2, 2017 (with options for those who wish to stay longer).

KIconcerts: download prospectus

Join us as we celebrate the dawn of 2017 with our new Greek friends through the unique comradery singing offers us.

Karen Kennedy


Friday, August 14, 2015

Welcome back to a new year of singing - here and overseas

KIconcerts Custom Tour DestinationsWelcome back to a new singing year! We hope you have had a great summer. Ours was exhilarating and full of amazing performances in both hemispheres, across 3 continents and in numerous time zones.

We wish to take a moment to remind you of exceptional destinations, 2016 performance events and to introduce you to our 2017/18 line up. We look forward to being of service to you when you plan to perform internationally. Feel free to find out more about KI from your peers here.

KI stages great custom tours across Europe, in China & India, Central & South America, Australia & New Zealand as well as throughout the UK & Ireland in addition to our exciting festival offerings.

KIconcerts Choir Festivals2016
Wyatt – Hungary/Austria (May)
Sharkova – Ireland (June)
Dilworth – Austria (June/July)
Hella Johnson – Italy (fully subscribed)
Galvan – Ireland (July)
Kennedy – Greece (New Year 2016/17)

2017
Loeppky – Austria (May)
Peters – Austria (June, young men's/women’s/mixed choirs)
Stroope – Spain (June)
Dickson – Italy (June)
Leck – Ireland (June, Children’s Choirs)
Buchanan – Passion of Italy (July)
Dilworth – UK/France (July, Spirituals/Gospel)

2018
Hella Johnson – Sydney Opera House (July)

Contact us for information on any of the custom tour destinations or festivals so we can quote on your next tour for you.

Summer greetings



Monday, June 8, 2015

Ireland just became more affordable - 2016 Ireland Choir Festival with Elena Sharkova

Dear Friends

Happy summer to you all! I hope that vacation plans are on your calendars and alarm clocks can be silenced for a few weeks :-)

Shall we plan next summer?

With the stabilizing of the US dollar at .90 to the Euro, KIconcerts is passing on further reductions for my festival in Ireland next year.

The price for both the 8 and 9 day programs has now dropped another $200 per person. This includes the combined and individual performance opportunities, travel insurance, group tips, two fine meals a day, charter coaches and fine tour managers, all the sightseeing and good hotel accommodation (wow— say all that five times fast!). It also includes the airfare (based on fares from NY – count on aprox $200 for West Coast add on fares) and one complimentary package for every 20 travelers (non singers and singers alike).

KIconcerts will lock in these prices even if the exchange rates change!

I wonder if there is ever going to be a cheaper time to travel to Europe. Really — let’s go!

I hope this helps you to consider joining me and other fine young singers (including Cantabile Youth Singers that I direct) in the West of Ireland and then Dublin - places steeped in great history, culture and whimsy.

Please be in touch if this is something you think might be achievable for you and even some of your singers if your full choir cannot travel internationally next year.

Best wishes for a great summer,

Elena Sharkova

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Ireland just became more affordable - 2016 Ireland Choir Festival with Janet Galván

Dear Friends

With the stabilizing of the US dollar at .90 to the Euro, KIconcerts is passing on further reductions for my festival in Ireland next year.

The price for the 9 day program has now dropped another $200 per person. The cost includes the combined and individual performance opportunities, travel insurance, group tips, two fine meals a day, charter coaches and fine tour managers, all the sightseeing and good hotel accommodation. It also includes the airfare (based on fares from NY) and one complimentary package for every 20 travelers (non singers and singers alike).

KIconcerts will lock this exchange rate in for ensembles registering now!

I wonder if there is ever going to be a cheaper time to travel to Europe. I hope this helps you to consider joining me and other fine singers (including two choirs from Australia!) in Ireland, a land steeped in history, culture and whimsy. It is also of note that this festival treads a familiar path to Dublin but ends in Belfast – a beautiful city for decades shut off to visitors and the sounds of international choirs.

Please be in touch if this is something you think might be achievable for you and even some of your singers if your full choir cannot travel internationally next year.

Best wishes for a great summer

Dr. Janet Galván


Friday, May 29, 2015

A kaleidoscope of talent, destinations, people and venue

Happy Summer from KIconcerts
We wish you a happy and healthy summer while we welcome back many of our ensembles and prepare the rest for their travel over the next 6 weeks.

So far this summer: Penn State and Concordia Irvine Universities in Australia, North Alabama in Italy, Centenary in Central Europe and Herndon Ecumenical Choir in Ireland. Last week we had Council Rock South’s Orchestra in Athens and Joan Conlon’s Monteverdi Honor Choir in Rome.
Penn State Choir and Concordia Handbells in Australia, Joan Catoni Conlon in Rome
Henry Leck leads the 2015 Passion of Italy Festival, Rollo Dilworth - Notes of Joy in Dublin and Belfast, Karen Kennedy heads a festival of American, Austrian and German choirs in Vienna and Salzburg, while Anna Hamre heads to Greece to lead our summer festival there.
Henry Leck, Karen Kennedy, Anna Hamre, Rollo Dilworth
Our custom tours continue with school, college and community ensembles from California to New York performing in Italy, Germany, France, the Milan Expo, Austria, Greece, Spain and Peru.
KI in France, Italy, Peru, Czech Republic

I am on the road throughout this period visiting with groups across Europe having just returned from overseeing the Australian tours. Lance and Tanya are in the office throughout the summer working on your 2016 and 2017 concert touring plans.

In addition to the custom tours we have these amazing festival leaders programming festivals around the world in 16 and 17: Z Randall Stroope, Craig Hella Johnson, Simon Carrington, Janet Galván, Rollo Dilworth, Henry Leck, Elena Sharkova, Larry Wyatt, Frank Ticheli and John Dickson.

Oliver Scofield
Executive Chairman

Destinations | Band Festivals | Choir Festivals | Contact KI


Monday, May 4, 2015

Henry Leck becomes KI’s first Distinguished Music Advisor


Dear friends

With great pleasure, KIconcerts announces that Henry Leck has become our first Distinguished Music Advisor.

Henry Leck - A Week in KIconcerts World of MusicThis appointment complements a distinguished career of teaching at Butler University, building the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, leading festivals around the globe, adjudicating, mentoring and simply bringing wisdom, talent and joy to every choral setting of which he is a part.

We are honored to welcome Henry Leck in this new capacity which will see him:
•  Continue to lead summer festivals for KI
   o 2016 in the South of France
   o 2017 in Ireland
•  Provide advice to Directors with whom KI is in contact
•  Develop and advise on new choral projects staged across the world 
•  Encourage new talent and exchange opportunities in five continents.

We look forward to discussing new touring initiatives with you now that Henry has graciously agreed to be a resource in this new capacity.

Welcome Henry!!!

Oliver Scofield & Michael Clohesy


Friday, May 1, 2015

Sydney, Australia - 2 opportunities to see The Pennsylvania State University Concert Choir

This great American choir, directed by Christopher Kiver, is performing twice only in Sydney. Their talented singers invite you to join two exciting evenings of exhilarating choral music.
With Sydney’s own Joubert Singers directed by Rachelle Elliott
Villa Maria Catholic Church, 3 Mary Street, Hunters Hill
$20 or ($30 for two tickets) – JoubertSingers@gmail.com

With the Chapel Choir of St. Andrew’s College directed by Sarah Penicka-Smith
Kinross Mackie Chapel, St. Andrew’s College, 19 Carillion Ave, Newtown

Program selected from the works of composers such as Dan Walker, J.S Bach, Henry Purcell, Béla Bartók and Matthew Orlovich (in the presence of the composer Matthew Orlovich on 14 May)

The Pennsylvania State University Concert Choir has toured Europe, performing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Great Britain. Within the US, they have performed extensively within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, New England, Louisiana, and the Southwest.

Performing music from the Renaissance through to the present, recent performances of major choral works has included Symphony no.2 in C minor, “Resurrection” by Mahler, "Ein deutsches Requiem" by Brahms, Symphony no. 9 in D minor by Beethoven, Verdi's "Requiem," and Poulenc’s “Gloria.” The Concert Choir comprises undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of academic disciplines and is directed by Christopher Kiver.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Concordia University Irvine Handbells - 3 free performances in Australia


Concordia University Irvine Handbells
– one of America’s finest!!!

3 FREE performances only in Australia.

BRISBANE - 3pm, 9 May
All Hallows’ School, Ann St, Brisbane
With the All Hallows’ Handbell Ensemble & The Brisbane Bells

SYDNEY - 12.30pm, 13 May
St Andrew’s Cathedral, George St, Sydney
With Sydney’s Kevinwood Bells with guest soprano, Christine Smith
Concert as part of the “YOUNG Music” lunchtime recital series donations invited

BAROSSA VALLEY - 2pm, 16 May
St Petri Lutheran Church, Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley

You are invited to join in the excitement of their first Australian tour! Further information/seat reservation requests – info@KIconcerts.com


The handbell program at Concordia University, a Lutheran university in Sthn California, includes up to 50 ringers annually in five ensembles. Concert Handbells is the most select ensemble which performs in concerts, tours, festivals, and special events. Spirit Bells is also an auditioned ensemble performing in similar events. Resound! is a small ensemble selected from the tour groups. These groups have performed in 34 states and provinces throughout North America as well as in ten nations of Europe and Asia. The ensembles perform on five octaves of Schulmerich and five octaves of Malmark handbells as well as six octaves of Malmark Choirchimes and five octaves of Schulmerich Handchimes.


Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A new world of music destinations

KIconcerts: A New World of Music Destinations
March is busy at KI. I am on tour this spring break with ensembles in England, Hungary, Austria and France. I have also just been in Croatia to look at exceptional venues in Dubrovnik, Mostar, Split and Zagreb. Our Italy tours begin in May and continue through to July.

We are also preparing tours in India, China, Australia, Greece, Turkey as well as Ireland, Estonia and New Zealand for 2015/16.

I am traveling with these ensembles while our Tour Managers get to know our Directors, to check that hotels, restaurants and buses are keeping to the KI standards and of course to ensure the venues are welcoming, audiences plentiful and concert arrangements worthy of their hard work and talent.

While on the road I am in constant touch with Tanya and Lance as they develop your tour proposals. With oil prices down and the US dollar up there hasn’t been a better time to plan an international tour.

Join us in KI’s world of music.

Sincerely
Oliver Scofield


Thursday, March 5, 2015

A KI week of concerts across 4 countries in 3 minutes – launched and lauded at ACDA

Share in an intense week of KIconcerts performances staged around the world in June last year.

We feature some of the individual and festival concerts presented that week capturing the passion, talent, grandeur, drama, fun and musicality you bring to these unique international performance events.
A Week in KIconerts' World of Music video
We look forward to creating a musical adventure for you as rich and varied as these we present here. Join us for your week in KIconcerts world of music!

Oliver Scofield
Executive Chairman



Monday, February 23, 2015

Ireland Choir Festival with Elena Sharkova, June 2016, more affordable than ever

I hope my note finds you doing well.

Will you be attending the National ACDA Convention this month? I am hoping to meet with directors and choirs interested in touring to Ireland with me in 2016.

As you may have seen the Euro is dropping and KIconcerts is passing all of these benefits on immediately. This means that the price for the festival is already $200 cheaper per person than it was when the festival was announced 6 months ago!

If you are coming to Salt Lake City and wish to discuss the festival, please know you are invited as our guest to a dinner I am co-hosting with KIconcerts on Wednesday, February 26.

In case you are not attending the convention this time, please feel free to email me or the great team at KI back with any questions or requests for further information.

I am delighted to be conducting the Middle School/Junior High Girls Honor Choir this year for ACDA and equally so to be leading a festival in Ireland – a country of unique culture and history, spirited musical traditions, and, of course, magic!

Please, let us know if you are considering joining us in Ireland and, if you are in SLC, for dinner on the 25th.

Warm wishes,
Elena Sharkova
KIconcerts Ireland Choir Festival with Elena Sharkova, June 2016



Thursday, February 19, 2015

July 2016 Janet Galván Ireland Festival more affordable than ever

I look forward to seeing those of you interested in our Ireland Festival at ACDA later this month and am happy to be in email contact with any not going to SLC and who wish to discuss the festival.

KIconcerts has announced they are passing on all the savings from the strengthening of the Euro making most packages around $200 cheaper than when quoted last year. This is an exciting development which I hope enable you to think about your choir or a smaller group of singers joining us for this incredible musical, cultural, and personal experience in Ireland - the Emerald Isle. If you cannot bring your entire choir, a small group of singers might enjoy the experience with the massed choir.

Ireland is full of stunning landscapes, inspirational locations, rich history, and magical warmth. Ireland’s music and dance have become beloved throughout the world. We will experience the culture that inspired this great art. The best part of the tour, of course, is making music in carefully selected venues for Irish audiences. Having toured Ireland with the Ithaca College Women’s Chorale, I can assure you that the audiences are warm, welcoming, and friendly, and singers in this environment perform with a tangible heightened excitement and energy.

Your choir will join other superb choirs for the festival performances and will have the opportunity to perform as individual choirs in astounding venues.

I would be honored to have you join me, and I look forward to the possibility of collaborating with you and your singers.

Ádh mór agus gach dea-ghuí
(May the road rise to meet you)

Dr. Janet Galván
KIconcerts Ireland Choir Festival 2016 with Janet Galvan


Thursday, February 12, 2015

Craig Hella Johnson 2016 Passion of Italy Choir Festival – benefits from lower Euro means lower prices!

Dear friends,

I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible at ACDA in Salt Lake City.

It will be a pleasure to answer any questions you might have about the Passion of Italy festival I am leading in Rome and Florence in the summer of 2016.

Our friends at KIconcerts have already passed on $200 of savings from the price of the festival after it was launched mid last year. More savings will flow through if the Euro continues to drop in value or the fuel surcharges start to come down. They will be able to talk more about this at booth 1001.

I am excited to lead this festival and am looking to create an extraordinary shared singing experience that builds musical and personal connections. I am shaping a program that will be a diverse collection of pieces well suited to the participating choirs. Shaping a program that fits the time, location and context is one my favorite parts of the process!

I invite you to share the power of Rome and the culture of Florence, cities that both resonate with the music we love, through our combined choir and individual choir concerts.

If you are not coming to SLC then please feel free to follow this up with KIconcerts or me directly.

Sincerely
Craig Hella Johnson
KIconcerts: Craig Hella Johnson 2016 Italy choir festival

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Festival Riviera 2016 price drops as USD appreciates – more details at ACDA booth 1001

I’d be pleased to meet folk at ACDA who might be considering joining our festival in Nice on the Riviera in June 2016.

I know that our friends from KIconcerts will be announcing price reductions of up to $200 in the festival pricing at ACDA as they pass on the benefits of the recently appreciating US dollar.

You can make a time to meet with me at KIconcerts’ booth 1001 or by reply email. You would also be welcome as our guest at a dinner I am co-hosting with colleagues and KI on Friday 27 February at 6pm to discuss the festival.

I am looking forward to seeing those of you able to be in Salt Lake City for this year’s ACDA conference.

Regards

Henry Leck



Thursday, January 15, 2015

2016 Austrian Festival price drops as USD appreciates – more details at ACDA booth 1001


Dear Friend

Due to the strengthening of the US dollar and the decline of the Euro, our 2016 Austria festival is now $200 cheaper than when it was launched summer 2014.

The other great news is that there is no expectation of increased fuel surcharges being applied by the airlines for the foreseeable future.

This is a great time to inquire about joining us.

I would be happy to meet at ACDA in SLC to talk further about your possible participation next year.

Rollo Dilworth

Monday, January 12, 2015

2016 Ticheli Festival in Spain - 5% reductions as US$ strengthens


Frank Ticheli
USD appreciates - Ticheli 2016 Spain festival now $200 cheaper than when it was launched summer 2014.

The other great news is that there is no expectation of increased fuel surcharges being applied by the airlines for the foreseeable future.

This is a great time to inquire about this wonderful festival with one of America’s most talented and beloved composers. Frank is in touch with musicians and composers in Spain and they will feature in the festival alongside some superb North American bands.

Join us for this unique musical festival – there has never been a better time to plan your international performance tour!

Festival details | Contact KI | Facebook


Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Touring internationally gets cheaper as US$ increases in value

We wanted to start 2015 off with some great news.

We’re passing on all savings that flow from the US Dollar strengthening – especially against the Euro.

There are great reductions on our 2016 band and choir festivals and custom tours which we’d priced out in the summer before the dollar increased in value.

We’re also watching the fuel surcharges applied by airlines. So far there have been no savings announced by the airlines to match the drop in oil prices. If there is any movement here too then we will pass this on immediately to all of our clients as well. At least there doesn’t appear to be the threat of any increase in fuel surcharges on the horizon for the first time in years.

There couldn’t be a better time to ask about international concert tour pricing!