One director, upon returning home from an MCI concert tour said, “We’ve been home a week now and we’re still on such a high. I can’t believe it. As we were leaving, one of the parents turned around and said, ‘Oh, let’s plan the next one!’” It’s always a great idea to harness ‘the high’ of a great concert tour by channeling such positive energy into one or preferably several of the following activities: Solicit feedback from participants so you’ll know how the concert tour was perceived by the group, and to find out what they thought worked well and didn’t work so well. This will help you successfully plan the next one. Celebrate! Nothing like a good post-tour party or meeting to remember, savor, and share your individual and collective experiences. Share it all! The photos, videos, journal entries, internet posts, emails, tweets, etc. Talk about it! Write about it! Just as you circulated information prior to your tour, continue to do so after the tour. And remember to compose a post-tour press release to report on your experiences. This is a good way to come full circle and to thank your supporters and the community for their support. On the topic of gratitude, be sure to thank donors, chaperones, parents, supporters, administration (if apropos), and the community. Invite them to the post-tour celebration. Perform (impromptu!) something from your concert tour. Tell your tour operator about your concert tour. (What were the highlights? What were your frustrations? What advice might you have for other directors and groups? It takes a person with passion and dedication to put the effort needed in to moving a large group of musicians from Point A to Point B successfully – they’ll assuredly feel rewarded by your feedback! Remember it’s never too soon to think about your next concert tour! The glory of the hour is a perfect backdrop for dreaming… discussing… and planning the next concert tour!
Go here to go back to How To Plan a Concert Tour Step 6.
This is the last in our series on How To Plan A Concert Tour. We hope you enjoyed reading it, and perhaps your learned a few new ideas!