In July and August 2026, YOBC students can join a 10-day concert tour to France. In addition to performing at 4 international concert venues, students and families will take part in sight-seeing, guided tours, and other activities. International touring provides students with unforgettable educational and cultural experiences as well as life-long friendships and memories! This information is intended to give you a general idea of what to expect on our 2026 France tour. Once concert venues are confirmed, further sightseeing and cultural aspects of the tour itinerary will be finalized.

Currently the 2026 tour is at capacity. By completing the tour application form you will be put on a waitlist for the tour. There is a possibility that spots may open up. Upon submission of the form, we will contact you to confirm your place on the waitlist.

The deadline to withdraw from the tour without financial penalty is September 25, 2025.

Tour Itinerary – updated March 26, 2026

Handout from September 28 Meeting

Please see below for tour forms due April 15th!

Tour soiree – reception sign up genius

YOBC Concert Weekend – Fundraising Opportunities

Tour Overview

• Tour dates are July 27th, 2026 – August 6th, 2026.
• Air Travel:  we will be traveling non-stop from JFK to Milan Malpensa. AA0198 Departure from JFK at 18:59. AA0199 return from Milan Malpensa at 11:10am
• Participation in four concerts/international music festivals
• Recreation (with students in mind) including a beach day, cultural tours/sightseeing, and a farewell dinner

Current Tour Forms

Passport Form – due ASAP but no later than December 15, 2025. Fill out a separate form for each traveler.
If anyone in your travel group has a passport from a country other than the United States, email Erica Stockton directly at estockton@yobc.org

Fill out the form here and then mail 3 copies of the passport to:
    Theresa Davis
    227 Harrisburg School Road
    Quakertown, PA 18951

Dietary Needs Form – Due April 15, 2026
This form is required for all persons traveling with the tour group.
Please complete a separate form for each family member traveling with the tour

Tour Health Form and Release – Due April 15, 2026
Tour Health Form and Release is required for ALL students traveling with the tour group
Parents/Guardians and/or other travelers may submit this form if you would like the medical personnel on tour to have access to this information

Instrument Registry Form – Due April 15, 2026
All students who are bringing their instrument on tour need to fill out this form. Cellists and bass players do NOT need to fill out this form, as we will rent those instruments for you.

Tour T-Shirt Form – Due April 30, 2026
All tour participants and required to wear the tour t-shirt on our airport travel days (July 27 and August 6). Please place your order through this t-shirt form. At the tour soiree on April 24th we will have sample shirts so you can see the sizes.  Tour T-Shirts will be Carolina Blue (light blue), and will have a big tour logo on the back and a small logo on the front. 

Background Clearances needed for all adult tour participants:

All adults traveling on the tour need to have a PA Criminal History Clearance and a PA Child Abuse Clearance, dated within the last 5 years. If you have already have these clearances, please email them to Erica at estockton@yobc.org

If you do not have clearances, please use the links below to obtain them. They are easy to apply for, and free of charge as long as you select that you need them for volunteer purposes.

PA Child Abuse History Clearance:  Click here

PA Criminal History Record Check: Click here

If you have already submitted clearances to YOBC for liaison or Board service purposes, you do not need to resubmit them.

Tour Rehearsal Dates

Please mark the following Tour Rehearsal dates on your calendar. All rehearsals will be at BCCC. Music will be available to download in January.

Friday April 24, 2026 – Tour Soiree/First rehearsal: 5:00 – 9:15pm

Sunday May 17, 2026 – Tour Rehearsal and Parent Meeting, 1:00 – 5:15 (parent meeting will not be the whole time, likely will start 1:15)

Sunday June 14, 2026 – Tour Rehearsal 1:00- approx 4:30. Parent/Student Joint Meeting (Code of conduct) 4:30 – 5:15

Departure Week: Chaperone and Security Team Meetings TBA

Friday July 24, 2026: Rehearsal 5:45 – 10:00

Saturday July 25, 2026: Rehearsal 5:45 – 10:00

Sunday July 26, 2026: Rehearsal 1:00 – 3:30pm, Bon Voyage concert 4pm (at BCCC)

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

YOBC Student Musicians and alumni: $3,800
Adults/family members/non-musicians: $4,400

 
Who Is Eligible?

• YOBC students who are in Symphony Orchestra, Concert Winds, Wind Ensemble, Philharmonia, and Ripieno for the 25-26 season 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. Grand
• 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 Stockton (estockton@yobc.org)

Paying for the Tour

Limited Financial Aid is available for students with demonstrated need. Aid will be decided upon the basis of need on the part of both the student and YOBC touring ensemble. A financial aid request form will be made available when the tour applications open.

Tour Payments can be made in installments according to the schedule below. Please make tour payments by check, written to “YOBC” with the the student/family name and ‘tour payment’ written on the memo line. Checks should be mailed to the following address: YOBC Tour c/o Jeremy Cramer, 127 N. Bellevue Avenue, Langhorne PA 19047

Installment Payment Schedule:

• The 4-installment payment schedule is below. Payments should be made by check payable to “YOBC”
  • First Installment: April 30, 2025 ($1,000/pp, refundable)
  • Second Installment: July 15, 2025 ($1,000/pp, refundable)
  • Third Installment: October 15, 2025 ($1,000/pp)
  • Fourth Installment: January 15, 2026 (Remaining costs due)

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 Stockton at estockton@yobc.org 

Click this link to access the Tour Fundraising Sign-Up Genius

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.  
 

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.