Name: Havana Jazz Festival for Musicians and Music Lovers
Start: 2020-01-11T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2020-01-18T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Havana, Cuba

Morningside Music Tours

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17 reviews

Jan 11 - 18, 2020

Group size: 5 - 11

Havana Jazz Festival for Musicians and Music Lovers

Havana, Cuba

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Morningside Music Tours

Email address verified
Facebook verified

17 reviews

Jan 11 - 18, 2020

Group size: 5 - 11

Take this once in a lifetime, trip and explore Cuba's rich musical heritage by meeting and working with some of the country's best musicians. In addition to taking in incredible live music at the weeklong Havana Jazz Festival, you will be in for an intense musical experience by collaborating with Cuban musicians with daily private lessons, workshops, masterclasses, ensemble sessions and a final performance. You can join the trip as a non-musician as there will be other activities to do while music lessons are happening. Our trip falls in the category of 'Support of the Cuban People' under OFAC/US Treasury guidelines. . We will interact with incredible, dedicated Cuban musicians who love to share their knowledge.. We will be supporting these musicians thru an independently owned music school by bringing much needed musical supplies to the local musicians. We will also be supporting and interacting with the Cuban people in numerous other ways by visiting art galleries, markets, taking dance lessons and getting historical tours from our local guides. We will also take a day trip to the lush Viñales Valley and visit a tobacco plantation as well as the national park. The whole week you will be learning about Cuba's fascinating history.

Music Lessons
Daily lessons and ensembles with professional Cuban musicians
Lodging
Lodging will be single or double rooms at casa particulares (comparable to 4 star hotel)
Concert Tickets
Nightly excursions to jazz festival events
Walking Tour
Guided educational walking tour of Old Havana
Classic Car Tour
Classic car city tour with educational stops at historic monuments
All meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Ground Tansportation
All ground transportation in air conditioned 26 seat bus with bilingual guide
Bring along a friend
options for spouses, friends and non-musicians include support of the Cuban people activities such as guided museum visits, history tours, dance classes, cooking classes, and private art galleries.
Day Trip
The Viñales Valley has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the outstanding karst landscape and traditional agriculture as well as vernacular architecture, crafts and music.

Day 1
Day 1
Get settled in
After getting picked up from airport we will get checked into our lodgings and have a little time to relax before dinner. After dinner we will visit the famed jazz club La Zorra y El Cuevo.
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Day 2
Day 2
Here we go!
After breakfast we will meet up with our teachers for 3 hrs. at a private music school and start to learn about Cuban music. Ensemble sessions will follow the lessons. Activity for non-musicians will be a cooking class, starting with a trip to the open market for ingredients.. Our after lunch activity will be visiting privately owned art galleries. After dinner we will go to hear local talent at Jazz Cafe.
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Day 3
Day 3
Old Havana
We will start with 3 hrs. of morning music with faculty. Non-musicians will have a dance class. After lunch we will have a guided walking tour of Old Havana to learn about the rich culture and history. After dinner we will attend the Havana Jazz Festival.
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Day 4
Day 4
Percussion!
Our amazing faculty will give everyone a crash course on Cuban rhythms and percussion instruments with a separate class for advanced students.

After lunch we will visit a privately owned art gallery and meet the artist. Then there will be time for shopping in an open market with amazing handmade arts and crafts. After dinner we will attend a jazz festival event.
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Day 5
Day 5
Classic Car Tour
We will have our usual morning music lessons. Non-musicians will have time for shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropista).

After lunch we will take a classic car tour with our guide, stopping at important historical sites in Havana. After dinner we will attend the jazz festival.
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Day 6
Day 6
Time to jam!
After a short rehearsal we will set up for a jam session/performance with our faculty members that is open to the public. Performance will be after lunch. After dinner we will attend the jazz festival.
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Day 7
Day 7
Day trip to Vinales
Just a couple hours outside of Havana, the Vinales valley is a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Center. We will visit the park as well as a private tobacco plantation. Option of attending another concert upon arrival back in Havana.
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Day 8
Day 8
Time to say goodbye!
After breakfast we will hit the open market for shopping and lunch before we have to head to the airport and say nos vemos to our friends.
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Day 1

Get settled in

After getting picked up from airport we will get checked into our lodgings and have a little time to relax before dinner. After dinner we will visit the famed jazz club La Zorra y El Cuevo.

Morningside Music Tours

17 reviews

Multi-instrumentalist Dan Fox started Morningside Music Studio in 2007 in Arlington, MA as a music school specializing in ensembles for adults. After bringing groups of students to summer workshops abroad in Genoa, Italy and Mallorca, Spain, it was clear that the combination of an immersive musical environment plus signature destinations made for a rich and fruitful creative experience! Morningside Music Tours provides the opportunity for musicians to learn new skills, perform in an exciting environment, and learn from the best.

Awesome authentic Brazilian music experience! Thanks to Dan, Mila and Guilherme for making it come together. Samba school, Roda de Samba, Choro - all amazing and great learning experiences. Great music at the Bottle Bar close to the hotel. If possible would be nice to know in advance who will be there and book the main area so everyone could have a great seat (or just get there earlier). For performance night, would be good to have a roof over the stage to avoid cancellation, although the venue was a beautiful comfortable place with good food and good acoustics! The hotel was perfect for what we were doing. The location was also perfect in my opinion. Perhaps some improvements could be made with daily sessions. Ensemble practices felt a bit rushed. I think a minimum of 2-1/2 hours would be good. Improvements could be made in the setup - sound system etc., possible a little larger space for the size group we had. Would be nice to get a little more one-one instruction on drums, at least 2 lessons would be good (but a lot to fit in). Lots of nit-picking above to help with future planning. Overall a really great trip and no complaints at all!!

By Mike C for The Brazilian Music Experience 2023 on Sep 22, 2023

This was a wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in Brazilian music, in the company of people who love it as much as I do. Everything was extremely well organised - transport, accommodation, meals and tuition. The music program was very valuable. The organisers were knowledgeable and caring, and were responsive to my particular needs.

By Shelley D for The Brazilian Music Experience 2023 on Sep 15, 2023

Thanks, Shelley! it was a pleasure to meet you and hear your great singing.

By Morningside Music Tours on Sep 15, 2023

Morningside’s trip to New Orleans was a perfect introduction to a city I had always wanted to visit, and the “total immersion” into NOLA’s famous music scene has had a long-lasting effect on me.* So much music was packed into this short Friday-through-Monday trip, yet the pace felt energizing rather than exhausting. Dan guided us to clubs with bands that are an integral part of the New Orleans music scene and that reflect the city’s jazz traditions. Some of the musicians from these bands were part of our jam sessions in the studio by day. And then there’s the food. What should I write about the food? Well, what’s there to say ?? ? - except that it’s New Orleans! and thus, we had great meals. This is one terrific trip. *Now I’m bugging Dan to start a trad jazz ensemble at Morningside Studios - see what can happen?

By MICHAEL B for New Orleans Music Experience on Sep 07, 2023

Great to have you along, Michael, and glad I could help fulfill your desire to make it to NOLA!

By Morningside Music Tours on Sep 07, 2023

As musicians with a lifetime interest in playing jazz music, it was absurd that we had never visited New Orleans. Dan organized an excellent line up of music venues and restaurants and also organized two playing sessions with local musicians. The accommodations he found for us were perfect. New Orleans is a city of musicians. We came home inspired and appreciative.

By Valerie W for New Orleans Music Experience on Sep 06, 2023

It was great to have you all along and get to know you better. Glad you enjoyed the experience!

By Morningside Music Tours on Sep 07, 2023

I recently returned home from a trip to Brazil with Morningside Music Tours. Our host from US was Dan Fox and in Brazil was Mila Schiavo. It was billed as a trip that would be an immersion in the Brazilian culture and musical studies with master teachers. It was all of that and more! Master Percussionist Mila Schiavo set up classes with other Master musicians and related activities with the locals, that have to be experienced to be believed. We spent an evening with at a top Samba School as they begin to prepare for Carnival 2024. We went to night clubs where Jobim, Joao Gilberto, etc. got their start. The class teachers are high level professional musicians and professors, who give excellent instruction and are beautiful people. To be able to go out in the evening after a day of classes, to hear this same music being performed in night clubs and large neighborhood gatherings, with everyone singing along and dancing is surreal! It was magical and soul inspiring! We were also given the opportunity to perform, in a beautiful, supportive atmosphere. Importantly, the organization provided by Mila Schiavo and Dan Fox was top notch! I always felt safe and knew what to expect. The other students were wonderful, talented people, that became dear friends. I’m inspired to study, sing, play, and travel back to Brazil again and again…..

By Kathleen K for The Brazilian Music Experience 2023 on Sep 06, 2023

Thanks, Kathleen. I loved the positive attitude, open-mindedness, appreciation, and knowledge of Brazilian music that you brought along. It was great to get to know you better and I hope you can join another trip sometime.

By Morningside Music Tours on Sep 06, 2023

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