Looking back over the past 40+ years that I've spent in the field of music education, I am comfortable in saying that one of the most effective educational activities that I have experienced is touring.

Since the 1990’s, touring has been an integral part of the Youth Symphony experience – except
for the youngest, all of our auditioned groups tour. Ranging from 1-day local tours to 20-day international
tours, musicians in CSYSA are involved in sharing their music with others. I believe it is essential that we, as musicians and humans, share our talents with others. At the same time, we gain so much by learning about other people, their community, culture, customs, history and language. A critical part of all of our tours is spending time with other musicians, sharing meals together, performing for each other, and growing as individuals and a team. I have so many wonderful memories of our musicians interacting with others - spending 3 days with a youth orchestra in Madrid, seeing the gleam in the eyes of an 18-year-old orphan conducting our Youth Symphony in Budapest, living with a Japanese family, living with Colorado farmers and ranchers, watching as students at the Colorado Springs School for the Deaf and Blind interact with our musicians, and local school students hearing people their age making music. When planning international tours, I look for diverse musical and cultural experiences. I have observed that most people interested in international travel will have an opportunity to visit Western Europe, so I look for destinations that are less common. Of course, a primary focus of our tours is musical excellence, so our tours include exceptional venues and cultural exchanges.

For our young musicians, our tours can be life changing. I invite you to consider sharing a rare musical
adventure - join us as a companion traveler on our next journey. You will be inspired - and changed.

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Gary Nicholson

CSYSA Founder, Musical Director, and Youth Symphony Conductor