Touring empowers students with musical, social, and cultural opportunities that will shape their lives for years to come.

PYSO Philharmonic Tour - Summer 2024
We are excited to announce that PYSO Philharmonic will be going on Tour to Cremona, Italy in summer 2024, with stops in Milan, Verona, Venice, and Cremona! Eligible members will include 2023/24 Philharmonic musicians and 2023/24 Sinfonia musicians (pending space and instrumentation).
Tour Dates: June 30 to July 7, 2024
We have the opportunity to:
  • Walk in the footsteps of Italy’s greatest Composers, including Puccini, Vivaldi, Verdi, and Rossini!
  • Have the exclusive experience of performing in the prestigious Cremona Orchestra Festival
  • Experience the Violin and String Instrument roots of Cremona, the city considered the birthplace of string instruments.
  • Visit traditional Luthier workshops and see original instruments made by the great string- instrument craftsmen; Amati, Stradivari, Bergonzi, Guarneri and Ruggeri
  • Experience the thrill of performing to incredibly large, appreciative Italian audiences
  • Experience a shared/exchange musical opportunity with a local Italian Youth Orchestra.
  • Experience the charm and breath-taking beauty of Cremona
  • Have unparalleled cultural opportunities and memories that will last a lifetime

This tour is arranged by Music Celebrations International.

Please keep in mind that this tour will be for musicians enrolled in Philharmonic for our 23-24 season and all current students will need to re-audition and be accepted into this ensemble to be eligible to go on this tour. 

Retreats/Tours are expected and encouraged for all our students, but not mandatory.
DAY ONE: SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2024
  • Depart from LAX via scheduled air service to Milan, Italy. Your transatlantic flight will include meal services and in-flight entertainment
DAY TWO: MONDAY, JULY 1, 2024 | MILAN
  • Arrive in Milan
  • Collect your checked luggage and meet your full-time MCI Tour Managers (1 full-time Tour Manager, per motorcoach), who will remain with you for the entire duration of your time in Italy
  • Board your awaiting privately chartered motorcoach and enjoy an orientation tour of Milan
  • Late afternoon hotel check-in with free-time to freshen up and relax
  • Evening Welcome Dinner included and overnight
DAY THREE: TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024 | MILAN
  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel
  • Morning guided tour of Milan includes entrances to La Scala, the best-known opera house in the world and the Duomo, the largest Gothic cathedral in all of Italy
  • Lunch, on own
  • Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra afternoon exchange/shared musical experience with the Youth Orchestra of the Milan “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory of Music
  • Enjoy some late afternoon free-time for shopping within the Quadrilatero d’Oro – the world’s most famous shopping district
  • Evening dinner included and overnight
DAY FOUR: WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2024 | VERONA/VENICE
  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel, followed by check-out
  • Mid-to-late morning transfer to Venice via a visit and PYSO concert in Verona
  • Guided tour in Verona (of Romeo and Juliet fame) that includes the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House) with its famous balcony in the inner courtyard. Also see the Arena, a Roman Amphitheater built in the 1st century that is still used
  • Lunch, on own
  • Enjoy some free-time at leisure for shopping in Verona or additional Verona sightseeing with your Tour Managers
  • Dinner included in a local Verona restaurant
  • Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra evening formal concert performance in the Teatro Camploy in Verona
  • Continue on to the Venice-area with hotel check-in and overnight
DAY FIVE: THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024 | VENICE
  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel
  • Transfer to the main island of San Marco via public boat. A morning guided walking tour includes St. Mark’s Square, with entrance to the incredibly rich Basilica of St. Mark and the Doge’s Palace where the powerful and prosperous dukes of Venice ruled their far-flung empire at its height during the 15th century
  • Lunch, on own
  • Enjoy some afternoon free-time for shopping on San Marco Island or additional sightseeing if you wish, with your Tour Managers
  • Evening dinner included and overnight
DAY SIX: FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024 | CREMONA
  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel, followed by check-out
  • Morning transfer to Cremona
  • Lunch, on own
  • Orientation tour of Cremona includes seeing the Duomo (Cathedral), Town Hall, the Stradivari tomb, and the Stradivari house. Also visit and tour the famous Museo del violin (Violin Museum). This museum unlike any other in the world – dedicated to Cremona’s sovereign musical instrument: the violin. You will experience an insight into the origin and history of the violin, the method of construction, the most important families of Cremonese violin makers, the impressive and lasting dissemination of the Cremonese violin in the world. The museum hosts a beautiful collection with various string instruments made by the most renowned violin makers of all centuries: Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari, together with other antique instruments collected by the Friends of Stradivari Foundation and a collection of 700 items, tools and drawings coming from the workshop of Antonio Stradivari of great historical and artistic relevance
  • Next, enjoy a visit to a local Cremona Luthier Shop to see the special tools, techniques, and methods used for hand-making prized string instruments, that the town of Cremona is so famous for
  • Afternoon hotel check-in
  • Evening dinner included and overnight
DAY SEVEN: SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2024 | BUSSETO/ CREMONA
  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel
  • Morning excursion to Busseto, which has ancient roots that date back to the 10th century. Visits include the Teatro Verdi Opera House – the very first music venue in Italy to use Verdi’s name, Verdi’s birthplace, and Casa Barezzi (former home of Antonio Barezzi – a well-known Italian entrepreneur and patron of the arts, the father-in-law of Giuseppe Verdi – discoverer and financier of his talent)
  • Lunch, on own and return to Cremona with some free-time at leisure for shopping
  • PYSO afternoon festival sound-check*
  • Evening Farewell Dinner included
  • Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra evening concert performance in the Cremona Orchestra Festival
  • Overnight at the hotel

DAY EIGHT: SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2024 | DEPART FOR HOME

  • Full buffet breakfast included at the hotel (or to-go breakfast, depending on your flight time), followed by check-out
  • Transfer to either the Milan Airport or to the Venice Airport for your return flight to Los Angeles. Your transatlantic flight will include meal services and in-flight entertainment
  • Arrive home to Los Angeles, California (LAX), the same day as your departure from Italy
Download Sample Itinerary
More Information