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Dr. McClure's Musical Tours

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Dr. McClure's Musical Tours

Join Dr. Sara McClure and like-minded travelers on musically inspired adventures in Europe and beyond!

12/06/2026

Back to our tour of composer graves... these tombs are both for Gioachino Rossini. What gives? ☠🎶

In 2018, I visited Florence with my mom, and while wandering through the Basilica di Santa Croce, I spotted Rossini's tomb. (Other celebrities buried there include Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli!) Something tickled my brain... hadn't I already seen Rossini's grave in Père-Lachaise in Paris?!

Turns out I had, indeed.

Rossini was born in Italy in 1772, but in 1824 he landed in Paris, where he soon composed one of his most famous operas, Guillaume Tell. By 1830, he had largely retired from composing, partly due to ill health but perhaps he felt financially secure after his success. He returned to Italy for a time, but settled back in Paris in 1855, died there in 1868, and was buried in Père-Lachaise. 🇫🇷

Later, the city of Florence offered Rossini's wife, Olympe Pélissier, the opportunity to have him buried among the famous names of Santa Croce. A public fundraiser brought in enough money to have Rossini's remains moved there in 1887. 🇮🇹

So if you notice two Rossinis on my someday musician grave bingo card... you'll know why! ☠🎶

07/06/2026

During the second half of DMMT #3 to Italy next winter, we'll follow the footsteps of another of my favorite composers, Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). 🎶

Born in Cremona, Monteverdi moved to Mantua around 1590 to become a court musician for Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga I. We will visit the Ducal Palace—one of the largest in Europe, believe it or not—where Monteverdi composed several volumes of madrigals and L'Orfeo, one of the oldest extant operas.

In 1613, Monteverdi moved to Venice to become the maestro di ca****la at San Marco, which is the can't-miss sight of Venice. It is an incredible space with multiple balconies that made music for multiple choirs and instrumental ensembles possible.

And before you even ask, yes of course we will be visiting Monteverdi's grave in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. 😉

If you're interested in joining us on this adventure across northern Italy, let me know! Full details and pricing will be available by mid-summer. 🇮🇹

06/06/2026

Consider yourself warned: I'm stuck on this graves kick. Back to Paris we go... 🇫🇷

There are so many cemeteries in Paris! We'll get to the biggest one, Père Lachaise, eventually, but first, one of the smallest: Cimetière de Passy (aerial view from Wikipedia). It's located just west of the Trocadéro, an area across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower with great views.

If you don't know where you're going... don't expect to get much help from the map. Melody Lee Stroth and I spent much longer than we planned searching for none other than Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré, numbers 31 and 39. They *~look~* so easy to find, but... not so much. The graves are all quite close together, with narrow paths between heads and feet. I found myself apologizing to ghosts as we did our best to avoid spiders without stepping on anyone.

Eventually we found them, though! I got unexpectedly emotional at Fauré's stone, since the pedagogical line I mentioned in my last post has affected my life so much without my even being a composer or solo performer. Plus, in addition to his famous Requiem, Fauré wrote some gorgeous chamber music—I particularly love his Piano Trio, Op. 120—and mélodies (art songs).

Off to listen to that piano trio for the zillionth time, and think about sneaking off to Paris to make some videos so no one else has as much trouble as we did!

05/06/2026

Since yesterday I posted a bunch of male composers' graves... today I'll share the grave of one of the most important musicians of the 20th century: composer, teacher, and conductor Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979). 🇫🇷🎶

Boulanger studied with Gabriel Fauré (another underrated composer, but I digress) and went on to teach an incredible number of important musicians and composers, from Aaron Copland to Quincy Jones. Her sister, Lili, was a celebrated composer before she died at only 24 years old, and is also buried in this family spot.

Mademoiselle's grave in Cimetière de Montmartre wasn't hard to find (unlike some in Paris, more on that tomorrow), but I couldn't believe the flowers hadn't been watered. I emptied my water bottle on them and found a spigot nearby for more, and it made me a little teary, to be honest.

I visited in 2018, and later I wrote a paper for an American Music seminar about how badly the musicians treated Boulanger when she came to conduct the New York Philharmonic in 1924—the first woman to do so! Bernstein, who never formally studied with Boulanger but admired her immensely, invited her back in 1962, and thankfully it was much different by then.

I also think about teacher lineages in these moments, and while I don't have lineage back to Mademoiselle, my husband does, and that's pretty dang cool. Without her, our lives would be incredibly different. Truthfully, without her, I wouldn't have spent two months in Paris with Steve, and Dr. McClure's Musical Tours might not even exist. Wild how life works, isn't it?

04/06/2026

𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞: 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬' 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 ☠️

It's wild to me that people from decades or even centuries ago whose music has meant so much to me are right there! (I already admitted this was weird.) Anyway, I recently started gathering my list and photos to build a new page on my website for others who'd like to pay their respects to some of their heroes, and it has a lot of names already!

Here are some just from our most recent tour:
Gustav Mahler
Johannes Brahms
Ludwig van Beethoven
Franz Schubert
Hugo Wolf
Arnold Schoenberg
Antonio Salieri
Carl Czerny
Joseph Haydn
(𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯... 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵!)

We were lucky to have beautiful weather exploring Vienna's Central Cemetery, and Mahler's grave is only minutes from the Beethoven Museum in Heiligenstadt. If you go visit Haydn at Bergkirche in Eisenstadt, be sure to bring a few euros so you can get into the chapel! (Also in Haydn's grave: an extra skull. That's a story for another time... 💀💀)

03/06/2026

𝐀 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠... 🎶

I was honored that my friend Dana, a fellow band geek from high school, and her mom Rosanne (photographer extraordinaire!) joined us on this adventure. Dana and I both took German back in the day, and it was really fun to translate these cute signs in the Haydn Haus in Eisenstadt that imagined things Haydn might have thought in his servant role at Esterhazy Palace:

"I need new instruments!" "I need better staff paper" "I want to finally go back to Vienna!" "Does he like my new symphony?"

As a music teacher, Dana understands these needs better than most!! Thanks so much for coming 🥰

29/05/2026

As a longtime volunteer for (and occasional rider in) The Property Shop Dressage & CT Schooling Show Series, I'm so pleased to be a sponsor! Makes my horse girl heart very happy ☺️ And yes, someday I would love to plan a horsey tour to Ireland or the UK or France.......... 🐎

27/05/2026

While I wait (very) impatiently for La Scala's 2026–27 schedule to be released, there's more to be excited about for DMMT #3: Cremona, Italy! 🎻🇮🇹

I visited Cremona while presenting at a Baroque music conference in 2018, and I was enchanted! Of course, it's a pretty easy place for a music nerd to love, as composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) was born there, and a century later, Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) built his famous string instruments there. Today, Cremona is home to several luthiers, and we'll tour one of their shops to learn how these gorgeous instruments are made!

Unique opportunities like these are what make our tours so special. Stay tuned for more details about this trip in late February/early March 2027! 🎶

Have Kids, Will Travel

23/05/2026

Many of you know how deeply I love Paris. I've visited five times and spent about three months there altogether. I saw a question on a forum tonight about some [slightly] less well-known sites that don't involve impressionist art... so here are four of my recommendations:

1-3. Musée de Cluny: Roman baths and a fabulous collection of medieval art including the iconic "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries. Located in the 5th arrondissement (conveniently my favorite neighborhood). Also includes one of my favorite things in Paris: the heads of statues chopped off Notre-Dame during the French Revolution and then found nearly 200 years later in someone's backyard, having been buried there for safe-keeping and forgotten.

4-5. Hôtel de la Marine: 18th-century building recently gorgeously restored that provides a glimpse of Versailles glamor without the crowds and travel time. Don't forget to look down at the amazing floors! The audio guide was a little wonky when I was there, but it's a story-telling approach that's something different.

6-8. Fontainebleau: another Versailles alternative that dates to the 12th century! I loved seeing the steps where Napoleon abdicated—all the early 19th-century history was fascinating. Plus, famed composition teacher Nadia Boulanger led the American Conservatory there for 30 years.

9. La Cuisine Paris: learn to bake some great bread! ☺️

All four may be part of our Paris Residency loosely planned for fall 2027... stay tuned! 🇫🇷

22/05/2026

It's been six years since I've been to Venice (and thirteen years before that!)... I'm ready to go back. Who's coming along Winter 2027?! 🇮🇹🎶

Have Kids, Will Travel

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