Webinar recording: Touring with your music group

In this recording of our webinar (original event 11 February 2025), we partnered with our corporate member Rayburn Tours to talk about how to organise a tour with your music group.

Whether it be performing in cathedrals or embracing local culture, concert tours present choirs, bands and orchestras with fantastic opportunities to develop and perform to international audiences. But for many volunteer committee members the practical and logistical aspects of organising the experience may seem overwhelming and confusing! We brought together a range of advice and experience via our speakers.

The speakers for this event were:

• Ian Colman, Musical Director of Taverham Brass Band. Ian has been part of Taverham Band since 1978 and has served as the musical director for 33 years. The band currently has up to 37 musicians, but this number can go as high as 50, all with a varying level of musical experience. Ian is committed to providing entertainment and tends to select a repertoire of popular music that everyone enjoys.
• Hellen Wallace and Morag Campbell, Chair and Secretary of Crieff Choral. The choir is made up of approximately 50 singers and primarily performs choral music, including classical and adaptations of folk music from across Scotland and Europe. Hellen and Morag helped plan their recent concert tour, demonstrating how with careful planning, close liaison with your tour operator (they worked with Rayburn Tours), allowing plenty of time to plan and being flexible with the objectives of your tour will allow the space for you to create a perfect tour.
• Diane Beal, manager of Generation Groove. Formed in 2002, it started with six musicians who wanted to play their instruments together. Within weeks the band grew to 30 musicians and has continued to see generations of families join over the years. Diane is committed to giving everyone a chance to learn, with each band a different level of musical expertise. The band now tours every 2 years, with their most recent tour to Belgium, where they had the incredible opportunity to perform at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.
• Hilary Osborn and Sue Mason, founding member and Musical Director, and Secretary of Stannington Choir. Since the pandemic, Stannington Choir has grown from 30 members to over 50, attracting a younger audience. Both Sue and Hilary feel that touring has helped consolidate the choir and its new growth, encouraging closeness among the group and inspiring others to join the choir after the success of the tour. Hilary and Sue also reflected on their concert tour to Tuscany and how it has impacted the future of the choir.

The views represented by the speakers in this webinar are their own, and do not represent the views of Making Music.

Useful links:

• Find out more about Rayburn Tours
• Read our guidance on running your own tour
• Read member case study on organising a tour - Birmingham Festival Choral Society

If you have any questions about this event topic, please contact info@makingmusic.org.uk

We hope you find this Making Music resource useful. If you have any comments or suggestions about the guidance please contact us. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the content of this guidance is accurate and up to date, Making Music do not warrant, nor accept any liability or responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of the content, or for any loss which may arise from reliance on the information contained in it.