In an effort to help you plan your next tour, Music Celebrations has come up with four essential considerations that, when taken into account, should help you be successful in fulfilling your touring goals.
VALUE
Value should be the #1 consideration when weighing your tour options. While we are tempted by a low price tag, it’s fair to say that all of us, at one time or another, have been the victims of “getting what we paid for” for any variety of products and/or services. Of course there are exceptions when we find great deals on products and services that do fulfill or even exceed their intended or advertised use. But by and large, these are exceptions, not the rule. We must look beyond the price tag to ascertain the product’s or service’s VALUE. “Value” can be defined as “a fair return”. In order to ascribe a “value” figure to a product or service, one must first think about the desired outcome of its purchase. Will the product and/or service give a “fair return”? What is the “return” you should be desiring from investing in a concert tour?
- The desired outcome should be a combination of all of the following:
- Participants returning more educated.
- Participants returning with a strengthened commitment to the performing arts.
- Participants returning more culturally enriched.
- Raising the profile of your ensemble throughout the community.
DESTINATION/EVENT
Inundated with “special invitations” to march, compete & perform throughout the world? With “value” in mind, selecting your next tour destination/event becomes a little easier. The trick is choosing a destination that fulfills the desired outcome and would be “sellable” to everyone involved in the decision making process (Performers, Board, Administration, etc.). The tour experience should hold prestige so that “collective determination” will overcome any financial obstacles that might present themselves down the road. This tour should include impactful educational excursions, meaningful performance opportunities, being inspired by attending a local concert, cultural development, and working with a master conductor to help elevate your musicians to “the next level”.
PUBLIC PERCEPTION
“Public perception” is often overlooked when selecting a tour destination. Whether you receive the feedback or not, the public will form an opinion regarding your selected tour. Give your community a reason to be proud of your ensemble! Accept the “exclusive invitations” which provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for your performers. Let the community romanticize about the choir traveling and singing throughout Italy, the orchestra performing in Vienna, the band performing in Paris. Give your community a sense of pride as you accept an invitation to perform in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall or Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center or represent your state marching down Constitution Avenue in the National Independence Day Parade. Your community will support your ensemble as you wisely accept such invitations and seek out such opportunities.
FUNDRAISING
Before selecting your tour, you need to first know that it can be supported with fundraising efforts. How will the public respond financially to your ensemble accepting an invitation to march down DC’s Constitution Avenue in the National Independence Day Parade vs. marching down the center street of a Theme Park? Or accepting an invitation to sing in the Kennedy Center vs. taking a ski trip to Colorado? How would your community respond to your ensemble receiving an invitation to perform in an exclusive concert series in China? The idea here is that if the public perception is positive, then the fundraising support will naturally follow. Be prepared with 4-5 special “tour themed” fundraisers to elevate the public awareness and let your community get involved. Get local newspapers and television involved. They will want to help as they see the value of your tour experience.
Music Celebrations is committed to helping you design a tour that will give you a “fair return” on your music tour. We pride ourselves on the educational and musical stimulation our tours and festivals provide. Together, we can make extraordinary things happen in the lives of your performers! We look forward to associating with you in the near future!