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Orvieto

The hilltop town Orvieto sits majestically high above the valley floor atop a big chunk of tufo volcanic stone, overlooking cypress-dotted Umbrian plains. The delightful and well preserved, almost traffic free historic centre is highlited by its glistening marble Gothic cathedral.

During a music vacation in Orvieto you have plenty of time to discover the many monuments and museums of this town, getting deep insights into history and art of the Etruscan, Roman and Medieval times.

Symphonic Holiday
Orvieto, 17th - 26th October 2025

Conductor: David Sofer

FELIX MENDELSSOHN, Overture 
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
LUCIANO BERIO / FRANZ SCHUBERT, 
Rendering
AARON COPLAND,
Appalachian Spring

Vacancies
We still have places for trumpet, trombone, celesta / piano, timpani, strings

Copland's Appalachian Spring has been since long on the wish list of many of our players. We have combined this popular music with Rendering by Berio. This composition is based on sketches which were created by Schubert during the last few weeks of his life in preparation for a Tenth Symphony. Berio writes about his composition:

Rendering with its dual authorship is intended as a restoration of these sketches, it is not a completion nor a reconstruction. This restoration is made along the lines of the modern restoration of frescoes that aims at reviving the old colours without however trying to disguise the damage that time has caused, often leaving inevitable empty patches in the composition (for instance as in the case of Giotto in Assisi).

In the empty places between one sketch and the next there is a kind of connective tissue which is constantly different and changing, always “pianissimo” and “distant”, intermingled with reminiscences of late Schubert and crossed by polyphonic textures based on fragments of the same sketches. This musical “cement” comments on the discontinuities and the gaps that exist between one sketch and another and is always announced by the sound of a celesta, and must be performed “quasi senza suono” and without expression.

You can listen here to a recording of Rendering.

SCHEDULE

17th October 2025
Arrival of the participants in Orvieto and welcome dinner

ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS,
rehearsals (sectionals and tutti) will be in the morning until lunch and in the evening after an early dinner. Three sectionals with the coaches on 19th, 20th and 21st October.

In the afternoons you can explore Orvieto or make sightseeing trips. Two guided tours in Orvieto will be arranged for the group.

22nd October 2025
On this day we go on an excursion by bus.

25th October 2025
Final concert. In the evening we will have our farewell dinner.

26th October 2025
Departure

ORCHESTRA
Mendelssohn: 2 2 2 2 — 2 2 0 1[oph] — tmp — str
Berio / Schubert: 2 2 2 2 — 2 2 3 0 — tmp — cel — str
Copland: 2[1.2/pic] 2 2 2 — 2 2 2 0 — tmp+2 — hp — pf — str

TEAM
Conductor: David Sofer
Coach violin: Lorenzo Fabiani (to be confirmed)
Coach viola: n.n.
Coach cello: Adriano Ancarani
Wind sectionals with David Sofer

GENERAL INFORMATION / FAQ
Please do also read our general information with frequently asked questions on Symphonic Holidays.

ACCOMMODATION
The participants will be accommodated in various apartments in the historic centre of Orvieto. Single or double rooms

MEALS
We will take our meals (lunch and dinner) together in various restaurants.

TRAVEL
By train several connections throughout the day from Florence (ca. 2h 20min) or Rome Central (ca. 1h 20min). Nearest airports Perugia, Rome and Florence. From Rome airport several train services throughout the day with change in Rome (ca. 2h 30min). We are happy to help you with organizing your trip!

PRICE
1.365,- € including
- accommodation
- lunch and dinner, except two dinners
- bus transfers on the excursion
995,- € without accommodation

Students: 885,- €. The reduced fee for students is limited to the number of five places on this Symphonic Holiday.

Supplement for single room: 370,- €

BOOKING
If you wish to book this Symphonic Holiday, kindly use the booking form or send us an e.mail (mail@dacapo-travel.eu, writing in English, German, French or Italian). Your booking is binding as soon as we have confirmed it.

A non-refundable deposit of 150,- € is payable on confirmation that a booking has been accepted. The balance of the price is to be paid by 17th July 2025

Minimum group size 40 participants. We might decide to cancel a programme if at any time up to three month before there were insufficient bookings. We would refund everything you had paid to us. We do not refund your travel expenses if you had booked your trip (for example flights or trains) prior to our confirmation of the programme.

Tutti rehearsals will take place in the Sala Expo of Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo. The concert will be given in the Teatro Mancinelli.