Dr. W. Craig Turner, President of Catawba College and Annette Turner, the College's First Lady, enthusiastically invite all students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Catawba to join them and the Catawba Singers on a tour to France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Tour will leave Charlotte on the evening following Commencement, May 14, and will return on May 25, 2011.
With a broad smile on his face, Dr. Turner announced this tour to college leaders, stating the reasons he knows this to be a unique and wonderful experience for the Catawba community. He said: "This tour will be a wonderful opportunity for alumni, friends and students of the college to travel together to some of the most beautiful and historic places in the world. This tour will provide an opportunity for those who love to sing and for those who want to travel with people they know."
The tour will include stops in Paris, Normandy and Metz in France; Lucerne and the beautiful town of Kitzbuhel in the astoundingly beautiful lake district of Switzerland; Salzburg, Austria; Munich, Dachau, and the Medieval city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. There are alternative accommodations for alumni and friends of Catawba College with close proximity to the students who will be on the tour. The land travel includes extremely comfortable tour coaches, and the tour is hosted by Don Grigg, a brilliant musician and travel expert who now resides in France. He is Canadian by birth and was educated in the United States. Listening to Don's insightful introductions to each stop is worth the price of the tour itself.
During the tour, the Catawba group will visit the American Cemetery in Normandy, and will hear the Singers in venues like the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. While in Salzburg, the city of Mozart, the Catawba Singers will be featured during the Solemn Mass in the Cathedral where Mozart served as organist. Throughout the tour, guests of the college will be invited to learn more about the cathedrals, the cities, the organs and their music from Professor Paul E. Oakley, Catawba's Artist-in-Residence in Music, Associate Professor of Music and College Organist. The tour program will feature music from each of the countries included in the tour and a wonderful array of American music to share with the European audiences.
There will be an opportunity for those who are not in the Catawba Singers to join them in singing during part of the program. All travelers who are interested in singing while on the tour will receive music and a rehearsal CD in time to practice and prepare for the trip. There will be one rehearsal on campus on Friday, May 13th before the college's Baccalaureate service.
The tour, coordinated by Midwest American Music Tours of Lincoln, Nebraska, includes round-trip jet transportation from Charlotte; all land transportation and transfers; hotels with breakfasts and many evening dinners; all taxes and tips for hotel/restaurant services; performance and concert management; driver and escort tips; services of a professional European escort on the tours; and admissions to various venues. The costs for participation in this tour are: $2,998 for students; $3,395 for four-person occupancy; $3,995 for double occupancy; and $4,295 for single occupancy. Tour price is inclusive except for air tax (to be determined closer to departure time), passport fees, lunches and approximately four independent dinners.
A $1,500 deposit is required by February 15 and will hold your space on the tour. Final payment is due April 1. Students should make their tour reservations and deposits through Rose Ann Pannell in the College Music Department — contact her at rpannell@catawba.edu or by phone at (704) 637-4345. Alumni and Friends of the College should make their tour reservations and deposits through Linda Hamilton in the College President's Office – contact her at lhamilto@catawba.edu or by phone at (704) 637-4414.
Tonia Black-Gold, Catawba's communications officer, will be blogging about the students' experiences while on the tour at https://catawba.educatawbasingers.blogspot.com.
RELATED CONTENT:
BLOG: The Catawba Singers Take on Europe
VIDEO: European Concert Tour Highlights
PHOTOS: European Summer Concert Tour
