Spezzati Ltd has been formed by three recent Oxford graduates to provide music tours to Oxford college choirs. Using our combined 18 years of Oxford music experience we take the stress out of organising your choir tour, while allowing you to shape your choir's tour in the way you want. Our experience in organising tours in the past allows us to keep your costs down, and we provide full European choir tour solutions, including transport, accommodation and concerts. We have a policy of working closely with choir representatives, thereby ensuring that we organise the tour that best suits you. Below we have suggested three sample tour destinations which we hope you will find appealing. The examples shown can be changed to give the tour that best suits your choir, so please do not restrict your thoughts to just these options. Each Spezzati tour is fully customisable and we are able to vary destinations, tour lengths, concert and rehearsal schedule and social activities according to your requirements. If you would like to discuss our services further then please do not hesitate to email enquiries@spezzati.com. About the founders Nick Mumby was an undergraduate at Exeter College, where he was an Academical Clerk, singing in the College's choir from 1999 to 2005. As well as singing with all the major Oxford choirs and playing as a concert pianist, Nick is an accomplished conductor, having held numerous positions in Oxford and London. Nick was Principal Conductor of the Oxford Millennium Orchestra from 2000 to 2005 and has also conducted Cantores Exonienses, the Keble College Orchestra, the Oxford Bach Choir and the Oxford Millennium Opera Company. He held the positions of Master of the Music at Pusey House and Assistant Director of Music at St Michael at the Northgate, and he has recently been appointed as Organ Scholar of St Mary's Church in Battersea. Under Nick's baton, the Oxford Millennium Orchestra held four highly successful summer concert tours to France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Nick's principal responsibilities within Spezzati are to organise suitable venues for tour concerts and to liaise with you to ensure that your Spezzati tour lives up to your choir's musical expectations. John Murphy studied at Exeter, Oriel and St Hugh's Colleges and, after having gained experience as a management consultant, now works for the University as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. John held the position of Treasurer of the Oxford Millennium Orchestra from 2001 to 2006 and was responsible for running the finances of tours to France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Spain. John's principal responsibility for Spezzati is to organise tour finances, including booking flights and accommodation. Ned Morrell was an undergraduate at Pembroke College and is a cellist and pianist. Ned played cello principally for the Oxford Millennium Orchestra, which he joined in 2000. Ned continues to be a committee member of the Oxford Millennium Orchestra and has played a leading role in the organisation of tours to France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ned is chiefly responsible is for tour logistics, including itineraries and transport while on tour. Sample tour: 4 nights in Warsaw Estimated cost per head: £150 First impressions of Warsaw are all too often negative with gleaming new office buildings and hotels sitting uncomfortably among the grey, Communist-era apartment blocks. With a bit of exploring, however, you'll find much more: north of the modern centre are stunning Baroque palaces and the meticulously reconstructed Old Town; to the south are two of central Europe's finest urban parks; and east of the centre lie reminders of the rich Jewish heritage extinguished by the Nazis. As compelling as the city's past, however, is Warsaw's vibrant bar, club and restaurant scene. Sample tour: 6 nights in Barcelona Estimated cost per head: £250 The hosting of the 1992 Olympic Games elevated Barcelona to the top tier of the world's tourist cities. A true jewel in the sun, Barcelona has perhaps the most wide-ranging architecture of anywhere on Earth, with works from Roman times co-existing with the medieval Barri Gotic, the bizarre constructions of Antoni Gaudi and modern buildings such as the Torre Agbar. No first visit to the city is complete without a trip to Gaudi's unfinished church of the Sagrada Familia, which is now in its 125th year of construction and remains decades away from completion. The capital of proud Catalonia, Barcelona's cultural assets put many national capitals to shame and these include world-class museums, opera houses, sporting venues and parks. In the vicinity of Barcelona lie the coastal resort of Sitges and the fortified town of Girona, and Figueres, home to the Dali museum. Sample tour: 10 nights in the Rhine Valley Estimated cost per head: £350 For a longer tour, why not visit the Rhine Valley? Passing six countries from mountains to sea, the Rhine is western Europe's major river. The German stretch is particularly attractive. We start our twin tour in the upper Rhine at the beautiful city of Heidelberg, Cambridge's twin and home to Germany's oldest university, a fine castle, and an impressive domed church right at the marketplace. Heidelberg is within easy reach of Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Strasbourg, each with much to see and do. For the second part of the tour we move to Bonn, Oxford's twin and the former capital of West Germany. Bonn has a rich cultural heritage of its own – Beethoven was born here – and it's a short trip down the middle Rhine to Cologne, a huge university town boasting Europe's largest Gothic cathedral, a truly stunning concert venue. Please note that each sample tour carries an estimated cost per head based on a choir of 24 with 2 organ scholars, including flights, accommodation, first night drinks, last night meal and all concert fees.