Choir Group Travel: Voices Unite! California Coastal Choral Festival

Music Contact International is pleased to announce a new addition to our choir group travel offerings in 2025 with the inaugural Voices Unite! Coastal California Choral Festival, hosted by Cuesta Concord Chorus in San Luis Obispo, California. Cuesta Concord Chorus has traveled around the world with MCI and now they invite your choir group to join them for an enchanting festival on California’s Central Coast from August 14 through August 18, 2025, for five days of singing, sipping wine, and sightseeing!

Choir Festival Highlights

The inaugural Voices Unite! Choral Festival brings together adult choruses from all over the world to perform in some of the region’s most beautiful venues, including two performing art centers, an 18^th century Spanish mission, and local wineries. The festival will culminate in a mass sing performance of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff with orchestral accompaniment at the breathtaking Harold J. Miossi Cultural and Performing Arts Center at the California Polytechnical University campus. When you arrive in the Golden State, your MCI tour manager will greet you at the airport (San Francisco or Los Angeles) to welcome you to California. You’ll take a private motor coach from the airport to your accommodations in San Luis Obispo, where you’ll have some time to settle in before meeting your festival hosts at the kickoff event at the Cuesta College Performing Arts Center. Each choir group will have the opportunity to perform for each other during the opening ceremony of the Voices Unite! California Coastal Choral Festival. The second day begins with a rehearsal for the festival massed sing piece, Carmina Burana, conducted by Cuesta Concord Chorus Director Cassandra Tarantino. Then festival participants are free to do some sightseeing around San Luis Obispo and other nearby coastal communities, including Cayucos, Avila, and Pismo Beach. Friday evening’s concert performance will take place at the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, an 18^th century Spanish mission. Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, San Luis Obispo, central California On Saturday, festival participants will rehearse Carmina Burana with orchestra accompaniment. The afternoon is yours to explore San Luis Obispo’s quaint downtown area with new friends. Immerse yourself in local art, history, and festivals. Don’t miss the charming galleries and vibrant farmers' markets. On Saturday evening, all choirs will perform in the premier festival concert at the San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Center. Stick around after the performance for a farewell reception dinner with participating choirs. If you enjoy spiritual song, Sunday morning provides opportunities for your choir to sing in a worship service at a local church. You can also opt to enjoy a free morning in town. After lunch the festival travels to Morro Bay, a picturesque coastal town known for its sandy dunes and the impressive Morro Rock. Spend the afternoon taking a walk along the beach, shopping for souvenirs, or watching sea lions play in the harbor. In the evening, choir groups will travel to Paso Robles and perform at one of three local wineries. The sun sets along the Great Ocean Road Monday is departure day for many of our festival participants but if you’d like to extend your stay in California, contact one of our music and travel tour consultants! Popular add-ons include a visit to Hearst Castle in nearby San Simeo, CA, heading north to San Francisco, or traveling south to Los Angeles. Contact us to plan a custom concert tour for your choir group. Visit the festival page for the full itinerary and details on how to register your choir for the 2025 Voices Unite! California Coastal Choral Festival.

Choir Group Accommodations

The festival registration includes four nights in the accommodation of your group’s choice. Participating choirs can choose to stay on the California Polytechnical (Cal Poly) State University campus. University accommodations are multi-bedroom, on-campus apartments with single beds only. If campus living isn’t your style, groups can opt to stay at one of San Luis Obispo’s local hotels. Complimentary breakfast is served daily at your hotel and additional meals can be arranged upon request. Ask our tour managers for restaurant recommendations and take advantage of the region’s varied, flavorful local cuisine!

Get More From Your Music Tour

From the rugged Morro Rock to the pristine beaches of Pismo, every view and dish throughout the weekend is a memory worth capturing. MCI’s team of expert music and travel tour consultants will help you get the most from your journey to the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa region. Choose one of our land packages for accommodations that meet your group’s needs, private transportation to all festival events, insurance—even a tour manager to orient your group to the region and keep you on schedule! Each day’s itinerary allows time for sightseeing, shopping, and creating new friendships with other choir members.

About the Host Choir: Cuesta Concord Chorus

The Cuesta Concord Chorus was founded in 2005 by Cassandra Tarantino, who was hired by Cuesta College to begin a choral program at the campus in Paso Robles. Over the past 20 years, Cuesta Concord Chorus has grown into a thriving community for singers, regularly performing throughout the US and Europe. The chorus performs a range of musical genres at choir festivals, in small caroling ensembles, and as part of their veteran outreach efforts. Director Cassandra Tarantino holds BAs in Church Music and English Literature from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and MAs in Choral Conducting from San Jose State University and Performance Flute from California State University, Northridge. She teaches private flute and voice, music theory, and music history at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, California. She looks forward to the festival’s Saturday night concert when she will conduct the mass sing of Carmina Burana with all participating choirs alongside a fabulous full orchestra on stage at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.

Remembering Ann Coppenbarger

The Voices Unite! California Coastal Choral Festival is made possible through a generous endowment from Ann Coppenbarger, member emeritus of the Cuesta Concord Chorus, who passed away in February 2022 at the age of 79. Ann was a special education teacher for 28 years in the San Luis Obispo County school district. Her fellow choir group members recall that Ann was the first person to arrive at every rehearsal and a constant source of support and encouragement. When her illness prevented her from attending rehearsals in person, she would attend via Zoom to visit with members. They were her family and Ann made sure that “her” choir would sing on into the future by naming Cuesta Concord Chorus as a beneficiary of her estate. The Cuesta Concord Chorus performs in her honor.