Travel Q&A's

Questions & Answers for the San Marino Chamber Choir Tour:

What should everyone carry at all times, real passport or a photo copy?

Ideally, your passport should be on your person at all times. Please be “street-smart” and don’t wave it around for all to see. Photocopies of the passport should be packed in your suitcase, available in your e-mail and also your parents should have a copy too AND your school plus Incantato should have a copy as well.

Is the tap water safe to drink?

The tab water is potable in many areas, although many travellers do choose to buy bottled water instead because they are unaccustomed to the taste or constitution of Spanish water.

Do you have recommendations or suggestions on the type of power adapter needed and what wattage?

Electricity in Spain, as in the rest of Europe, comes out of the wall socket at 220 volts alternating at a 50 cycles per second. In the US, electricity comes out of the wall socket at 110 volts, alternating at 60 cycles per second. Not only the voltages and frequencies, but the sockets themselves are different. Adapters and converters may be found at Target, Walmart and radio shack etc.

What is the average meal cost? How much money should students bring?

As long as the students are wise about their choices, meals can easily be 15 Euro or less. They don’t have to go to sit down restaurants to get decent food. But when they do want to sit down, they should check the menu outside to see if they have a “menu special”- you can get an entrée, dessert and a drink for a set price.

What is the weight limit for check-in baggage?

1 suitcase weighing 44lbs.

Check the Lufthansa website.

What the size limit and number of items is for carry on?

You may have 1 carry-on bag – it must be able to fit either under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin. We recommend a backpack.

What are the airline carryon container regulations?

No containers holding more that 3ozs of liquid or (100g for toothpaste) is allowed in the carryon luggage. They also must be in a plastic zip-lock bag.

What has the best exchange rate, using a debit card to pull money out or exchanging US currency?

By far the best way is to use your debit card. Most banks only charge around $2 per withdraw and they also take care of the exchange rate for you. You do need a 4 digit pin and also let your bank know that you are travelling abroad. DO NOT BRING TRAVELLERS' CHEQUES!

What is the approximate exchange rate right now?

It’s about $1.37 to 1 EUR.

What happens if someone gets injured while in tour? Medical care and cost wise? Do they need a medical consent form for treatment?

We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance. You find a link to our recommended partner on this blog.

If needed, is there laundry service?

It’s really expensive to do laundry overseas as it is dry-cleaning only. There are no irons in the hotel room.

Fun Facts about Madrid

• Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous in the European Union after Paris and London.
• Its sister city in the USA is New York City.
• Madrid is home to Real Madrid, who plays in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid is one of the most prestigious soccer clubs in the world, having won a record 9 European Soccer Cups.
• The city bid to host the 1972 Summer Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the 2016 Summer Olympics, which were lost to Munich, London, and Rio de Janeiro respectively.
• Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Spain, Las Ventas, established in 1929. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world centre of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000.
• The Auditorio Nacional de Música is the main venue for classical music concerts in Madrid, is home to the Spanish National Orchestra, the Chamartín Symphony Orchestra and the venue for the symphonic concerts of the Community of Madrid Orchestra and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.
• The Royal Botanic Garden or Real Jardin Botanico was an 18th century creation. It was used as a base for the plant species being collected across the globe. There is an important research facility that started life as a base to develop herbal remedies and to house the species collected from the new-world trips, today it is dedicated to maintaining Europe’s ecosystem.

Fun Facts about Barcelona

• Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain.
• The city is twinned with Boston, USA.
• In 2007 Barcelona's City Council started the Bicing service, a bicycle service understood as a public transport. Once the user has their user card, they can take a bicycle from any of the 100 stations spread around the city, use it, and then leave it at another station.
• The Port Vell area houses Europe's largest aquarium, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks contained in 22 basins filled with 6 million litres of sea water.
• Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the successful 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches during the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
• Barcelona has many venues for live music and theatre, including the world-renowned Gran Teatre del Liceu opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Teatre Lliure and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall. Barcelona also is home to the Barcelona and Catalonia National Symphonic Orchestra, the largest symphonic orchestra in Catalonia.
• Snowfalls and night frosts occur almost every year. Snowfalls seldom cause any disruption to traffic. Nonetheless, the city has experienced its share of heavy snowfalls, as for example at Christmas 1962, when a true blizzard affected the city.

San Marino Chamber Singer's Bio

SAN MARINO CHAMBER SINGERS

Los Cantores de Cámara de San Marino

Los Cantores de Cámara de San Marino, los “San Marino Chamber Singers” ó “SMCS”, es el coro más prestigioso dentro de los conjuntos vocales de la institución educativa “San Marino High School”, en la ciudad de San Marino, condado de Los Ángeles, California.

Fundado en el año 2001, este coro colegial ha sido muy aclamado e invitado a participar en muchos festivales de coro por toda California donde ha recibido innumerables premios y altos honores. A la vez, los “Cantores de Cámara de San Marino” o “SMCS” han participado en muchos certámenes de coro regionales y nacionales y realizado conciertos en el extranjero.

En el año 2002 los “SMCS” cantaron el Himno Nacional estadounidense en el Estadio Dodgers de Los Ángeles como acto de apertura del partido de béisbol de los Dodgers. Ese mismo año dieron una gira por San Francisco donde obtuvieron el galardón más alto en el Festival de Coro “Heritage Choir Festival”.

En la primavera de 2004, los “SMCS” fueron invitados a participar en la Misa de Semana Santa en la Basílica de San Pedro en Roma. Además del concierto en el Vaticano, actuaron en numerosos lugares en Venecia, Florencia y Roma. En primavera del año 2005, los “SMCS” fueron de gira por Boston y Nueva York.

En febrero de 2006, los “SMCS” cantaron el Requiem de Gabriel Faure en la famosa Sala de Conciertos del Carnegie Hall de Nueva York bajo dirección de la Dra. Anna Hamre y acompañados por la Orquesta de Cámara de Nueva Inglaterra.

En marzo de 2006, los “SMCS” obtuvieron el Primer Premio en el Certamen de Coros del “Golden State”. Dos meses después, los “SMCS” fueron galardonados con un nuevo Primer Premio en el “Certamen de A Capella de Verdugo Hills”.

En el año 2007, los “SMCS” fueron invitados a dar un concierto en la Convención Nacional de 2007 de la Asociación de Directores Americanos de Coro”, en Miami, Florida. Éste es el honor más alto que un coro colegial o universitario puede recibir en los Estados Unidos. El conjunto fue acogido calurosamente tras cada una de sus tres interpretaciones musicales en la mencionada convención.

En el año 2007, los “SMCS” completaron una exitosa gira por Austria, la República Checa y Hungría, en donde cantaron en la Catedral de San Esteban de Budapest con el aforo completo y gran éxito entre el público asistente.

En el año 2008, el conjunto hizo una gira por Japón y Taiwán, donde cantaron en La Sala de Concierto Dai-Ichi Semei en Tokio, Japón y en La Sala de Concierto Chung-Hsing en Tai-Chung, Taiwán.

Los “San Marino Chambers Singers” actuaron en el año 2009 en Perú, y recibieron en Estados Unidos el galardón NME.

Para el año 2010, este ya prestigioso conjunto espera con ilusión su participación en el “XXIV Encuentro Internacional Ciudad de Torrevieja”, dentro de su gira por la geografía española.

San Marino's Performing Repertoire

TOUR 2010

“SIN LIMITACIONES, SIN EXPECTATIVAS”

Cantores de Cámara de San Marino, de San Marino, California, EEUU:

Un conjunto coral de escuela secundaria que está deseando compartir su amor por la música con la población española.

Director: M. Howard Cheung

Acompañante: Andrew Lu

REPERTORIO:

A Set of Reincarnations - Mary Hynes, Anthony O Daly, y The Coolin
de Samuel Barber

O Magnum Mysterium
de Morten Lauridsen

Ave Maria
de Franz Biebl

Bogoroditse Devo
de Sergei Rachmaninoff

Flight of the Bumble Bee
de Rimsky Korsakov, arranged by Hong-Nian Yong

Make Our Garden Grow
de Leonard Bernstein

Sanctu from Mass
de Frank Martin

Come to me, my love
de Norman Dello Joio

Feller from Fortune
de Harry Somers

May we present your director, Howard Cheung! (in Spanish)

CANTORES DE CÁMARA DE SAN MARINO - SMCS

TOUR 2010

“SIN LIMITACIONES, SIN EXPECTATIVAS”

Cantores de Cámara de San Marino, de San Marino, California, EEUU:

Un conjunto coral de escuela secundaria que está deseando compartir su amor por la música con la población española.

Director: M. Howard Cheung

Howard Cheung ciudadano estadounidense de origen taiwanés, es un artista multidisciplinario y autodidacta

es Diplomado en Música y también en Psicología , y recibió su Licenciatura en Piano por la Universidad Estatal de Fresno (EEUU).

Como pianista, ha dado conciertos en Israel y Taiwan.

Como Director de formaciones corales, ha sido el creador de los premiados Programas Corales tanto en la Escuela Secundaria Huntington (2002) como en la Escuela Secundaria San Marino (2004).

En la actualidad M. Cheung es profesor a tiempo parcial en la Escuela Secundaria de San Marino.

En su tiempo libre el Sr. Cheung disfruta con el cine y la Inmobiliaria

Yummy Spain

Incantato Impressions: Valencia

"Four Chords" - the SMCC Barbershop Quartet

Your finale home away from home: Eurostars Lex Barcelona

The Eurostars Lex is a new 4 star boutique hotel with modern interior settings and large comfortable rooms in a completely restored building.
The hotel is located close to Barcelona's new Judicial City, very near to the new facilities of Fira de Barcelona and the shopping arcade Gran Via 2. It also has excellent links with the airport and Barcelona downtown which makes it the perfect location for your group's last two tour nights in Spain. Eurostars Lex's rooms are decorated in a contemporary style and are fully equipped for client's best comfort. The hotel completes its facilities with 2 meeting rooms, breakfast room, bar-cafeteria and a modern gym.

SMCC Spain Flight Schedule

Flight to Spain:

April 2, 2010 LH 453 LAX to MUC(Munich) departs 9:15 PM and arrives 5:35 PM on April 3

continue on LH 4428 MUC to MAD(rid) departs 7:05 PM and arrives 9:40 PM

Return flights to the USA:

April 12, 2010 LH 4475 BCN (Barcelona) to MUC departs at 12:00 noon and arrives at 2:00 PM

continue on LH 452 MUC to LAX departs at 3:35 PM and arrives at 6:50 PM

Your first home away from home: Eurostars Gran Madrid

We sure hope you are all looking forward to 2010 Spain Performance Tour of the San Marino Chamber Choir and an important element of every journey abroad is to stay comfortable and in nice hotels. Incantato Tours takes great pride in providing you with accommodation that provide a home away from home atmosphere and we pre-inspect all hotels our groups stay in. In Madrid, Mr. Cheung particularly liked the Eurostar Gran Madrid e voilà, this is where you will be staying. Have a look at the website here: www.eurostarsgranmadrid.com
The Gran Madrid is a very modern four star hotels with lots of ammenities and is ideally located for your late arrival on April 3, close enough to the airport to not have to travel more than 15 minutes, but far enough to not be bothered by the noise. It is in a residential area and in close proximity to the city center. A welcome buffet with Spanish specialties will be served in the funky restaurant upon arrival.

Happy New Year from Incantato Tours

We hope the new year started well and sure look forward to hearing your wonderful choir in Spain soon. Happy new year from all of us at Incantato Tours and especially your concert manager Katia.

Travel Insurance

Incantato Tours strongly recommends getting travel insurance for your upcoming journey. Not only are you covered medically should anything happen when traveling, but with TravelGuard's policies, you also protect your investment should you have to cancel or interrupt the trip. Last not least, there is also coverage for delayed and lost luggage etc.
Here is a direct line to purchase travel insurance online and can you do so with your credit cards and also select the option that is best for you.

Incantato Impressions: Barcelona dances

What a special moment we witnessed on a Sunday night in beautiful Barcelona. 

Cuenca by night

Incantato Insider Spain: The Boqueria Market at Las Ramblas in Barcelona

This market is a must-see and a must-taste. Obviously we will take the members of the SMCC Tour here in April. Get your taste buds ready for a wonderful yummy experience: