Music in the Big Apple – 4 Days

Upon arrival in New York City, you’ll take an orientation walk in midtown with visits or stops in Times Square, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue and more.

Next you’ll take an exclusive tour of the Lincoln Center Campus. You’ll see Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, which have been showcased in movies like Black Swan, Moonstruck, and Ghostbusters. Go behind the scenes at venues where a spectacular range of artists have performed, including Luciano Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonard Bernstein, Renée Fleming, and Bruce Springsteen.

You’ll have dinner.

This morning you’ll experience the magic of Carnegie Hall with a guided tour. Enjoy an insider’s view as a docent shares the story of the Hall’s construction and the legacy of the great artists who have performed here

Next, you’ll take a stroll through Central Park. You’ll see the Imagine Memorial to John Lennon at Strawberry Fields, the Bethesda Fountain, the Boathouse, the Mall, Sheep Meadow and the Wollman Ice Rink.

You’ll head down Fifth Avenue to see some of the famous stores and boutiques. You’ll see Apple’s flagship store and the Plaza Hotel (featured in “Home Alone”) and then down Fifth Avenue past Tiffany’s and more.

This afternoon you’ll have free time to shop and explore at Rockefeller Center, a national historic landmark in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.

As the sun sets, you’ll head up to the 70th floor observatory at the Top of the Rock where you’ll enjoy a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline.

You’ll have dinner.

After some free time to explore the city, you’ll enjoy a concert performed by the New York Philharmonic.

This morning you’ll depart on the Ferry for Ellis Island where you’ll have fantastic views of the Statue of Liberty and a chance to visit the Immigration Museum. Ellis Island served as the main port of entry for European immigrants arriving in the US between 1892 and 1924. Today over 100 million Americans can trace their lineage to a relative that passed through Ellis Island on their way to America.

From here you’ll walk up through the financial district past the famous Charging Bull, past Trinity Church and the New York Stock Exchange and then up to the World Trade Center.

Next up is Brookfield Place, originally known as the World Financial Center, a complex of office buildings located across West Street from the World Trade Center in Battery Park City. The lower levels of this office complex have amazing views of the Hudson with shops and eateries. It is home to Le District, a gourmet French market with take out and eat in options. Above it you’ll find the Hudson Eats food court with numerous reasonably priced eateries.

You next stop is the 9/11 Memorial located in the footprint of the former Twin Towers. The memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood.

After exploring Chinatown and Little Italy, you’ll enjoy dinner tonight with the cast and orchestra of a Broadway show! They will join you for dinner and converse with everyone in small groups so you can get to know them and hear their stories. *There will be one cast member for every ten people at dinner.

This evening you’ll see a Broadway show.

This morning you’ll see the firsthand dedication it takes to have a career as a professional musician in a performance of From the Band Room to Broadway. With innovative programming and virtuosic playing, the show combines memories of the high school practice room with stories of life in a Broadway orchestra pit, in a Hollywood recording studio, and on the road touring the world. After the show, your group will participate in an intimate Q&A with the performers. This will be followed by a clinic with a Broadway music director. You will work on a piece as though you were preparing for an actual Broadway show! 

Next, you will visit the Chelsea Market. This gourmet food market was built inside the former Nabisco factory in Chelsea and is now home to the Food Network and many gourmet food vendors.

This afternoon you’ll visit the High Line Park. You will enter the park in the Meatpacking District, one of New York’s trendiest neighborhoods. Then you’ll see fantastic views of lower Manhattan and the Hudson River from this modern urban park. It has been built on an unused, elevated railway track between Chelsea and Penn Station. You will also get the opportunity to visit Little Island, located in Hudson River Park, where you can experience nature and art in a unique urban oasis on the Hudson River. 

Your New York City trip will end with a walk through the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and SoHo. Greenwich Village is home to the world’s largest private university, NYU. You’ll see Washington Square Park at the center of NYU and also have a chance to explore the area. SoHo is known for its chic art galleries and interesting boutiques.

Your New York City adventures ends here as you depart for the trip home.