Informational Tour Meeting for Interested Parents and Families:

Sunday, January 22, 2023, 2:15pm in Room AH100 at BCCC

Important Forms

Online Tour Application

Handout from 1/22/23 Informational Meeting

Click here for pictures of our destinations, thanks to tour director Gerardo!

Tour Overview

• Length:  9 days
• Air Travel:  non-stop flights, TBA
• Participation in four concerts/international music festivals
• Recreation (with students in mind) including a beach day, cultural tours/sightseeing, and a farewell dinner

Package Inclusions

• Round trip airfare
• Two meals a day – usually breakfast and dinner (drinks with meals not included)
• Two tour buses, and 1 van for the instruments. 
• Bilingual tour manager and driver on each bus
• Double/triples/quads for students; Double occ. for adults (single room upgrade fee)
• Educational, cultural, musical, recreational activities and entrance fees
• Trip insurance is not included in the package; YOBC strongly recommends participants purchase trip insurance
• No deviations from the tour package can be allowed

Tour Package Cost – Preliminary package cost announced by late January 2023

Who Is Eligible?

• YOBC students who are in Symphony Orchestra, Fanfare Winds, Wind Ensemble, Philharmonia, and Ripieno are eligible.
• YOBC Alumni are invited to join the tour!
• Parents and family members.  Younger siblings accompanying parents may qualify to perform with the tour ensemble pending an audition with Mr. Loughran.
• Preference for space will go to students (over parents/siblings), and additional preference will go to ensure instrumental balance, and to early registrants.

Parent Tour Participation

• All adults participating in the tour must serve as volunteer chaperones for part of the trip
• We will take applications for 5 adults willing to function as overnight security chaperones. Tour discounts will be available for these positions. Please contact  Erica Cherry (echerry.yobc@gmail.com)

How Do I Join?

• Fill out the Online Tour Application

Paying for the Tour – Payment Schedule and Information will be published below

Fundraising:  YOBC will provide fundraising opportunities for students/parents to help pay for their trip. If you are interested in helping to plan fundraising, have ideas to share, or are interested in being the committee head for tour fundraising, please contact Erica Cherry at echerry.yobc@gmail.com 

Financial Aid:  Some student financial aid is available.  Aid will be decided upon the basis of need on the part of both the student and YOBC touring ensemble. Applications are available after you’ve registered for the tour. 

Leadership

Tour Planning Committee

You can help us make this a great tour by joining the Tour Planning Committee. The committee is comprised of parents, the tour directors (Monica and Gerardo Konig), and YOBC staff.  The committee will meet regularly during YOBC rehearsals and/or online to give input and plan the tour in areas including procedures, security & safety, tour publicity, social events, financial recordkeeping and producing a tour handbook.  Meeting times will be announced via email and posted on the YOBC website.  Please indicate on the application form if you are interested in joining the Tour Planning Committee. Tour Committee members volunteer in the following areas:

Communication

All tour information will be posted on the tour page of the YOBC website. Please check the website regularly for updated information.   Communication will be conducted via email.    Please make sure that the primary email and student email addresses you designate on the tour application are addresses that you regularly monitor.  

Required Forms

In addition to the tour application form, there are a number of forms that all tour participants will be required to complete.  All forms will be available on the tour page of the YOBC website. Most forms can be submitted electronically.  Please take care to submit all forms by their due dates.

Passports  

All tour participants must have passport/visa which is valid through 6 months after the end of the tour.   Passport application and renewal can take time. Start now to make sure you have a valid passport for the tour.

Apply for or renew passports:   http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/apply.html

COVID-19 Concerns and Vaccinations:

We understand that we live in uncertain times. The YOBC Staff and Tour Directors will be consistently evaluating safety measures and trends for all of our upcoming tours. We will communicate any changes or decisions to you via email.

• IMPORTANT: All tour participants must be fully vaccinated by tour departure. You will be asked to provide proof of vaccination as part of your required tour documents