Well before Humphrey Bogart’s character asked Sam to “play it again” in Casablanca, the Moroccan city along with Tangier, Fes, and Marrakech were famous for their ports, souks, jewelry, and spices. Now, they host major international music festivals, the perfect performance opportunities for groups hoping to see Morocco’s gorgeous mountains, beaches and history.
Classical Movements started traveling to the Middle East in 1994, beginning with its brochure program under Blue Heart Tours. The company has organized 50 different trips with individualized itineraries to the region, most recently for the College of William and Mary, who toured Morocco and had concerts in three cities. Other recent tours have been arranged for the Collegiate Chorale, Yale Symphony Orchestra, Yale Alumni Chorus, George Washington University, Yale Glee Club and the Yale Institute of Music (among others). Classical Movements also works closely with Middle Eastern musicians: in 2003, it arranged the historical tour of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to the United States.