While a concert tour requires effective planning and lots of hard work, after the decision making, the fundraising, the rehearsing, and confirmation that every item on your checklist is complete, you’ll find that such a life-changing endeavor is well worth it! One experienced director put it well: “All I can say is that it’s worth it! A week before you go when things are especially hectic… all that last minute stuff… when you’re going crazy… Well, that’s when I’ve asked myself why I’m touring! Then we arrive. Then we perform. The music! And we do and see such wonderful things… I’m reminded again why I do it, why it’s worth it, and why I’ll do it again!” Another director said, “Audience. Atmosphere. A certain kind of exhilaration. That’s why we tour.”
A Concert Tour Provides Growth
Consider some key benefits to going on a concert tour:
- A concert tour provides a wonderful opportunity for positive personal growth and collective experiences in several arenas: educational, artistic/musical, cultural, social, and even spiritual, just to name a few.
- A concert tour promotes growth in a program. It elevates and expands your group (Yes, quality and quantity!), provides vision, helps to establish definable, attainable purposes and goals, and makes your ensemble relevant.
- A concert tour raises your performance level; it enhances the profile of your ensemble locally, regionally, and even beyond!
- A concert tour is fun! It knits musical groups together in very special ways.
- A concert tour establishes and grows a rich musical tradition in your program, community, region, and state.
- A concert tour changes lives and the world for the better—for music is the language of the soul. Another director aptly reported, “It’s not just performing! Touring is communicating in the ultimate universal language: MUSIC!”