NEW ORLEANS

Influences from Spain, France, and West Africa are embedded in the music, cuisine, and style of New Orleans. It’s a city where you’ll hear French and Vietnamese spoken with English, where you’ll see spicy shrimp gumbo and jambalaya served with elegant French cakes and pastries, and where you’ll see Creole cottages beside Spanish and French-colonial architecture.

Music is the true lifeblood of New Orleans, which makes it the ideal destination for a concert tour. The birthplace of jazz, New Orleans Gospel, and the spiritual home of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Buddy Bolden, the city’s music credentials are awe-inspiring.  Its French quarter is home to a United States National Park of Jazz Music, which offers a visitor center, concert venue, and a full calendar of musical events. It’s hard to put the character of New Orleans into words until you’ve walked through it on a sultry summer evening and heard the gentle song of a blues trumpet.

But, there’s more to the city’s musical legacy than just jazz.  The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, for example, is the first musician-owned orchestra in the United States. The LPO typically puts on more than 30 concerts per year, playing in the acoustically perfect 19th and 20th century concert halls around the city. Opera also has a long history here, dating back to 1796. More than six different ensemble groups continue the tradition today, putting on frequent shows throughout the year.