Mr. & Mrs. Conte's Dive Into American Music Abroad
by Emmy Cohan and Kylie Moore
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Mrs. Marni Conte conducting during AMA Liberty Tour 2024
American Music Abroad (AMA) is a music performance travel program that takes American high school students on grand tours across Europe. Williamsville North Band Director, Mr. Michael Conte, and Williamsville South Band Director, Mrs. Marni Conte, regularly lead in these summer tours with students, passionately promoting the program because of the incredible opportunities it provides for youth musicians who have a love for music.
About The American Music Abroad Travel Program
AMA has a variety of ensembles, including Orchestra, concert band, jazz ensemble, theater, and choir. The program’s main goal is to foster young students' personal growth through travel and musical performance, while giving students an opportunity to explore the world.
AMA has over 350 tours that travel mostly throughout Western Europe, so students get to see the highlights of many countries and that audiences from all over the world can enjoy. According to Mrs. Conte, AMA is more than just a music program—it’s an unforgettable journey. She explains, “Traveling together helps students learn about the world around them, and the adventure creates memories they’ll carry for a lifetime.”
By combining cultural exploration with musical performance, AMA enables students to make meaningful connections and share their passion for music on a global scale.
AMA Liberty Tour 2024 travelers
The AMA tour lasts three weeks, with the first three days of the trip spent at a college in the US. AMA does this so the students who are participating in the tour can rehearse their performances in sessions. Once overseas, students spend 18 days performing in approximately four to five Western European countries.
Because multiple tours run simultaneously during the summer, each AMA tour has a different and special itinerary. However, the most visited countries in the program include Croatia, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, and Slovenia. The tours want to take the students through various countries not only because of the different performance audiences, but because of the diverse cultural experience. In addition to students from New York, students also join from states like New Jersey, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Georgia. Because of this, the tours can have anywhere from 75-150 student musicians, giving students the opportunities to make new friends from all over the country. The best part about this is, every student there has something in common, which is loving music.
Performance during AMA Tour 2024
Performance during AMA Tour 2024
Hiking adventure during AMA Tour 2024
Performances and music are the main parts of the tour, but other fun activities and exploring are done everyday in all of the countries. With only 6-7 concerts that the students perform, there is time for hiking in the Austrian Alps, visiting ancient castles, enjoying gondola rides and much more. But even more special than the activities, everyone on the tour gets to enjoy outstanding European foods such as Gelato. With the food, activities, and performing in front of people with various nationalities, there is a lot of cultural immersion.
Mr. & Mrs. Conte’s Advice to High School Students Considering Traveling with the Program
If you are a high school student now considering AMA, Mr. and Mrs. Conte have some advice to make sure you are prepared for the tour. Their first request is that students and their guardians attend one of the fall meetings in Williamsville to obtain a detailed itinerary of the 2026 tour that will be offered so that parents and/or students can ask any questions. These meetings will also talk about costs and fundraising opportunities for students.
Their biggest piece of advice? “Just Do It!” Mr. and Mrs. Conte explain how you will not regret your decision and that it’s a trip of a lifetime. Teachers of qualified students will be notified late in the summer so they can hang up AMA posters around schools with QR codes, if they are interested in the program or taking part in one of the meetings.
In order for students to be qualified for this trip, it is crucial that students can play on their instruments or voice at a NYSSMA level 4 and above, and have a recommendation from their music teacher in order to qualify.
The Overall Best Parts and Benefits of AMA
To a great extent, AMA is one of the top student music performing programs in the world. This program stands out from any other music travel groups because of its commitment to providing top quality experiences and the 45 year reputation it has of having excellent Western European tours. Mrs. Conte agrees with this when she states, “The organization's commitment to integrity and its dedication to serving the best interests of participants make it a trusted choice for those seeking a truly enriching music travel experience.” Evidently, AMA is the best music tour option because of their plan to have every student participant receive the best traveling experience.
Overall, AMA’s impact on students' learning, personal growth and passion for what they love to do is life changing. Past student participants have journaled during their travels and have written about their experiences for scholarship essays which displays that students have truly loved their tours and considered it to be a crucial part of their high school development. It’s essential that students get the opportunity to explore, and doing that with friends while pursuing a musical passion is eye-opening. American Music Abroad is AMAZING!
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