MAGNIFICO - BCCC of CSULB on their 2014 Italy and Vatican Performance Tour with Incantato Tours

The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach Choir, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg, is going to embark on a 11-day Italy and Vatican Performance Tour proudly presented by Incantato Tours. They will depart on Saturday, May 31, 2014 and return on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 with memories that last a lifetime.

They are going to stay in wonderful hotels and are able to perform in amazing venues. If you are interested to see where they are going to perform, please have a look below. For more information and live updates as soon as their tour starts, please have a look at our Facebook page and our Incantato Tours tour blog.

1. Monday, June 2, 2014 - Mass

at Basilica di San Pietro in Vatican City at 5:00 pm

2. Monday, June 2, 2014 - Concert

Durufle Requiem with Choir and Organ Concert at Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe at 8:00 pm

3. Thursday, June 5, 2014 - Highlight Concert

Theatre Performance with piano at Teatro Flavio Vespasiano in Rieti at 6:00 pm. 

4. Saturday, June 7, 2014 - Concert

at Santa Maria Maggiore, a medieval church, in Florence at 8:00 pm.

5. Sunday, June 8, 2014 - Concert

at Basilica di San Gaudenzio in Novara co-organized by the US Consulate in Novara at 9:00 pm

Performance Overview for the 2014 SBCC Italy Performance Tour with Incantato Tours

First of all we would like to wish the SBCC travelers, singers, family and friends a great time in Italy. They arrived yesterday in Florence and their wonderful tour manager Stefania LaRosa welcomed them at the airport.

They have a 11-day performance tour ahead of them with beautiful hotels, lots of delicious food and magnificent venues. To give you a little insight in their tour please have a look at the blog entry regarding their hotels here.

Below you will find a short summary of their venues, which are hand selected and organized by Incantato Tours.

1. Friday, June 30, 2014 - Concertino
at Santa Maria Maggiore, a medieval church, in Florence at 8:00 pm.

2. Sunday, June 1, 2014 - Mass
at Sant’ Agostino, which is dedicated to Saint August, in Rieti at 11:30 am.


3. Sunday, June 1, 2014 - Highlight Concert
at Teatro Flavio Vespasiano in Rieti at 6:30 pm.

4. Monday, June 2, 2014 - Recital

at Basilica of St. Francis, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order, in Assisi at 1:00 pm

5. Thursday, June 5, 2014 - Concert

at Santa Barbara Dei Librari, a 17th century former confraternity church, in Rome at 8:30 pm

6. Friday, June 6, 2014 - Mass

at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City at 5:00 pm

For more information and live updates regarding the 2014 Santa Barbara City College Choir Tour, please have a look at our Facebook page.

Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara, Italy - Dedicated to Novara's Patron Saint and one of the venues of BCCC of CSULB on their 2014 Italy Performance Tour

For more than four centuries, the Basilica of San Gaudenzio has been testament to the civil, artistic and religious life of Novara, Piedmont, northern Italy. It also marks the highest point in the city.

The basilica is dedicated to the patron saint of Novara, Gaudenzio of Novara, considered to be the first Christian bishop of the city. Tradition states that he was born to a pagan family, and then converted to Christianity after meeting Eusebius of Vercelli.

The story of its construction, starting with a project by Pellegrino Tibaldi in 1577 and finally finished in 1690 following the destruction of the old Basilica, ordered by Emperor Charles V. The monumental cupola was designed by Alessandro Antonelli, who also designed the Mole Antonelliana in Torino, the architectural symbol of Torino.

On Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 9:00 pm the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach Choir, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg is going to perform at this magnificent basilica.

Ever wondered where Puccini learned how to compose La Bohème or Tosca?

Did you ever dream of singing at La Scala? Or would you like to play in an important orchestra or learn how to conduct it? Milan offers the opportunity to study in Italy’s largest music academy Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, which is located at Via Verdi. Yes, a street named after the famous composer.

The music college was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione.
During the past centuries, it has educated many of Italy's most important musicians and composers such as Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Bottesini or Amelita Galli-Curci.

Basilica di Saint Apollinare in Classe, Italy - One of the BCCC of CSULB venues this year

Incantato Tours is proud to announce that Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach Choir, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg, is going to perform on Monday, June 2, 2014 at Basilica of Sant' Apollinare located in Classe, a small harbor town of Ravenna located about 4 miles south of the city center.

The church was built in the sixth century by order of Bishop Ursicinus, using money from the Greek banker Iulianus Argentarius, and was originally the palatine chapel of Theodoric. The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare is dedicated to St. Apollinaris, patron saint of Ravenna.
It is an important monument of Byzantine art near Ravenna, Italy.  Like most Ravenna churches, it is known for its exceptional Byzantine mosaics. It also has elegant architecture and a fine collection of early Christian sarcophagi.
When the UNESCO inscribed eight Ravenna sites on the World Heritage List, it cited this basilica as "an outstanding example of the early Christian basilica in its purity and simplicity of its design and use of space and in the sumptuous nature of its decoration".

Hotel Overview for SBCC for their 2014 Italy Performance Tour with Incantato Tours

The Santa Barbara City College Choir is traveling to Italy under the direction of Mr. Nathan Kreitzer from May 28 to June 7, 2014. One of the highlights will be a visit to Rieti - la nostra città - known for its stunning Teatro Flavio Vespasiano Rieti, but also one of the Italian cities with Santa Barbara as its Patron Saint. 

In addition to performances in beautiful venues such as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, the travelers will experience the many flavors of Italy through artisan food tastings, unique dining experiences etc. 

If you are curious to see where the choir is going to stay, please have a look at their hotel overview below:

Their first home away from home will be NILHOTEL. The 4-star hotel was built in January 2009 and offers facilities such as meeting rooms, restaurant, American bar, high speed internet access, an internet point and the WI-FI connection in all the common areas. 
It is located in the business area of Novoli, on the North/West of Florence, nearby the new University district, the Court and Local Authorities. The hotel is well connected to the historic city center, the Congress Palace, the exhibition area of Fortezza da Basso and to Santa Maria Novella train station by public transportation.
It has 246 newly furnished guest rooms. 4 lifts available for 7 floors. All guest rooms are soundproof and equipped with safe, satellite TV, self controlling air conditioning, high speed internet connection and hairdryer.

Hotel Cavour is situated on the bank of the river Velino. Its strategic position allows to reach the Rieti's historical city center in few minutes walking along its winding streets.
Each of the 34 rooms have LCD satellite TV, mini bar, safe, direct dial phone, hair dryer, air conditioning and internet connection.  Some rooms overlook the river Velino on the historical part of the city with the ancient Roman Bridge, others look out onto Piazza Cavour, that is one of the main points of junction to reach the institutions and the commercial areas of the town. The hotel also has a restaurant with panoramic view, breakfast room and a gym. 

The 4-star H10 Roma Città Hotel is located in the Marconi neighborhood just a short distance from the district of Trastevere and features all amenities travelers enjoy including comfy beds, solarium, national and international newspaper, ice machines, laundry service and also a rooftop swimming pool.

The hotel has 181 rooms, which are equipped with flat-screen LCD TV with international channels, smart temperature control, pillow top, MP3 (audio) and PC connection, safe box and professional hair dryer.

Have a look at the hotels for the 2014 BCCC of CSULB Italy Performance Tour

Next month, in June 2014, the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University - Long Beach Choir - under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg, will be traveling to Italy on a 11-day performance tour proudly presented by Incantato Concert Tours.

Please find below a hotel overview for their homes away from home in beautiful Italy.

 From June 1 to June 3, 2014 the choir will stay at the 4-star Domus Mariae Palazzo Carpegna in Rome. The hotel is housed in a Renaissance-inspired mansion, surrounded by a seven-hectare Roman garden that overlooks the Villa Carpegna park.
The hotel offers guests 200 rooms divided between Classic Rooms, Executive Rooms and Tower Prestige Suites, ample car parking facilities and free wireless internet connection in the hotel’s public areas.
Two restaurants are located within the hotel: Le Restaurant and Il Colonnato, together with “Il Chiostro” Café & Bistro and open from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm offering a selection of light, tasty dishes for lunch, dinner or aperitifs.

Their next home away from home will be in Rieti from June 3 to June 6, 2014 at Hotel Grande Albergo Quattro Stagioni. The hotel is located inside a nineteenth-century building, situated in the historical center of Rieti between the City-hall square and that of the Prefecture, and next to the Romanic Cathedral of Saint Mary.
The hotel has 43 rooms, most of which providing views over the gardens of the Prefecture with its historical Vignola Loggia, and other rooms overlooking the City-hall building and square with the famous Dolphin Fountain.  The rooms are equipped with indipendently controlled air conditioning, minibar, flat screen LCD TV’s with satellite channels, Wi-Fi internet connection, direct-dial telephone and hairdryer. The hotel breakfast offers an extensive variety of items such as eggs, bacon, ham, cheeses, brioches, home made cakes, cereals and many more products.

In Florence they group will stay at Villa Pitiana from June 6 to June 8, 2014. It is located in the Tuscan countryside. The villa still retains the articulated architecture of a millenary history, from the foundation as a fortified farm, to the utilization as Benedectine monastery and eventually to the conversion in nobleman elegant Villa in the 19th century. Architecture, decorations and furniture maintain memory of past ages and styles. Each room is furnished in antiques. The exclusive room in the Medieval Tower, Junior suites with a view over Valdarno landscape, Superior rooms with antique furniture and Classic rooms.




The last home away from home will be 4-star hotel Michelangelo from June 8 to June 10, 2014 in Milan. The hotel is located at 33 Via Scarlati, just down the block from the central rail station. It offers over 300 rooms including singles, doubles, triples and even luxurious suites. The rooms are equipped with magnetic key card entry, satellite television, mini bar, soundproof walls, individually controlled air conditioning and direct phone lines etc.