Blog

Welcome to ACFEA’s journal! Read along as we share stories from the road, from the alto section, or from our desk. We’ll also look back on shining moments from our group’s tours.

Cultivating Connection Through Repertoire

As a touring ensemble, you have a unique opportunity to use music to connect with a larger world. Amanda Bauman, Senior Tour Manager, suggests ways of choosing repertoire to help you connect in the most meaningful way. *** If you ask someone to tell you about an experience they had

Read More »

Celebrating All That Connects Us

The Chorus America conference is one of our most favorite events of the year. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to connect with you there — especially this year, when connection of all kinds is precisely what we’re missing! And we’d love to stay in touch! In lieu of dropping

Read More »

Favorite Books for Wanderlust

We love how books take us on adventures, either to a place we know well or one we haven’t visited. Some of these books are bonafide travel books, some are written by native authors, still others are novels with a very strong setting — but they all take us somewhere.

Read More »

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Thoughts

Like you, we have been following the Coronavirus news very carefully. We understand this is an uncertain time for many people around the world, and that it will have a great impact on our lives, our communities, and our music family at large. Unfortunately, due to special circumstances, that impact

Read More »

Meet the Courier: Raffaella

Hello! My name is Raffaella, I am a graduate of the University of Bologna, a licensed tour manager, a licensed tour guide and I love my job. In 2005 I started working with ACFEA and we have stayed together ever since. What do you do when you’re not leading an

Read More »

Understanding the State Department’s Travel Advisories

Safety is a top priority for anyone planning any trip anywhere. But what’s the best way to gauge the general safety of somewhere you might not know much about?   The US State Department issues Travel Advisories for each country of the world to help keep Americans informed about situations abroad. They

Read More »

Meet Your Courier: Dragana

Say Zdravo to Dragana!     Where are you from?I was born in Serbia and brought up in Athens, Greece.   What do you do when you’re not organizing concerts for ACFEA?In addition to my work for ACFEA, I’m the manager of our family business, where I also work with

Read More »

“How can I help heal my country through choral music?”

For this church youth choir, connecting civil rights history to current events happened through sharing music, and taking the time to listen and learn.     During the summer of 2018, the All Saints Trouvères from All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California embarked upon an incredibly challenging, illuminating, and

Read More »

10 Ways to Calm Fears For Your Touring Group

Maintaining health and safety on tours has always been a chief priority for tour planners.  But as global travel worries grow, so does the need to reassure tour participants and their families of their relative safety on tour. Here are ten ways Tacoma Youth Chorus Managing Director Martha Leonhardt calms fears for

Read More »

“Their hearts and minds were changed”

Stratus Chamber Orchestra’s immersive concert brought musicians and audience together in ways that neither may have anticipated — and left them with a new understanding of how a classical music concert could make them feel.      While on tour to the Czech Republic in 2017, the Stratus Chamber Orchestra,

Read More »