This program will run during Summer A from May 23 - June 14, 2026

Munich (5/25 to 5/27/2026):

Day 1: Sunday: Welcome dinner at the famous Hofbräuhaus (across from Orlandohaus, former residence of composer Orlando di Lasso. Experience live music by original typical Bavarian brass band and Bavarian food.

Day 2: Monday: City walk to major churches (including Orlando di Lasso Frauenkirche) with a refresher on liturgical structures, music, and art. Visit the High Baroque Asam church (Imagery and Liturgy), Asam house facade (Christian Neoplatonism), Civic hall with Marian symbolism, Electorial Residence tour with Mozart lecture at Cuvilliés Theatre (first performance of Idomeneo in 1781). Walk by the Orlando di Lasso/Michael Jackson memorial.

Day 3: Tuesday: Full-day excursion to Castle Neuschwanstein (Richard Wagner and Ludwig II’s friendship).

Day 4: Wednesday: Visit Glyptothek (famous original sculptures from the Greek/Roman antiquity). In the afternoon, enjoy a train journey to Salzburg. Check in at the hotel and stretch your legs on an orientation walk.

Salzburg (5/27 to 6/4/2026)

Day 5: Thursday: Full-day excursion to Königssee (King’s Lake) in Bavaria. Embark on a boat trip to St. Bartholomäus church. While on the boat, experience the echo wall in the mountains with a live trumpet player. Enjoy beautiful landscapes, lunch and hiking around environmentally protected lake.

Day 6: Friday: City walk with Michael Malkiewicz. See the University Church designed by architect Fischer von Erlach and learn “how to read” a church. Visit University Aula (H.I. F. Biber); Horse Bath, and see the Cathedral archive with musicologist and archivist Dr. Eva Neumayr. View baroque fountain called 4 horses and learn about the connection of music, architecture, theology, mythology and astronomy. Group workshop on the method “Guided Imaginary Music” with music therapist Michaela Papst (singer, guitarist,
cellist and film director).

Day 7: Saturday: Enjoy a day off to explore the city on your own. In the evening, you will attend a puppet theatre for the production of The Magic Flute. 

Day 8: Sunday: Attend a church mass with music by Mozart in the Salzburg Cathedral. Experience the church music tradition in Salzburg which goes back to Mozart’s wife Constanze. Explore Castel Mirabell and it's gardens, the Sound of Music steps and Dwarves Garden, the Baroque Hedge Theatre (SINGING), Pegasus fountain, Trinity church (SINGING), St. Sebastian cemetery (grave of Constanze & Leopold Mozart & Paracelsus. Listen to the Vespers, sung by the nuns of the “Sound of Music”  8th Century Abbey “Stift Nonnberg”.

Day 9: Monday: Visit St. Peter’s Library and Archive with Dr. Sonja Führer, St. Peter's Church and Cemetery (grave of Michael Haydn and Mozart’s sister). Also visit the Museum “Domquartier” in the former Archbishop’s residence, Mozart’s birth house; Calvary at the Kapuzinerberg and finally see the Middle Age City Gate, “St. John“. Attend a student concert at the Mozarteum University.

Day 10:Tuesday: Tour the Salzburg Music Festival concert buildings; Salzburg Middle Age Fortress, Hohensalzburg and then enjoy lunch at  a venue overlooking the city. Tour the  Hellbrunn Castle & Trick fountains, hike through the Zoo to the 17th century Stone Theatre (SINGING) and see the "Sound of Music” gazebo.

Day 11: Wednesday: Visit the Mozart autograph collection with Dr. Amrin Brinzing. Walk through the Mozart living house and attend an organ concert at the Salzburg Cathedral. Half day trip in the afternoon to the Untersberg (mountain of the Alps), with a funicular ride and lumch on top of the mountain.

Melk Abbey (6/4 to 6/6/2026)

Day 12: Thursday: Enjoy a train journey to Melk Abbey. Check in at “Stift Melk” and have an orientation walk. Tour a coffee roastery and taste apple strudel in the city, listen to chant singing in the town church and visit the vespers with the monks.

Day 13: Friday: Historical dances, lecture with Michael Malkiewicz; guided tour at the monastery museum. Guided Tour in Melk with tour guide Christine Damböck, Kriemhild’s Nibelungenhaus.

Heiligenkreuz Abbey (6/6 to 6/7/2026)

Day 14: Saturday: It's a train and bus journey to Heiligenkreuz Abbey. Walk through a Gothic church, and be enchanted with listening to the world's most famous Gregorian chant- singing monks. there will be a guided tour with Pater Zacharias, and touring the vespers with the monks.

Day 15: Sunday: Optional opportunity to attend mass service and then a short walk to the baroque Calvary. Bus and train journey to Vienna. Check in at the hostel and have a brief Orientation walk. Evening concert in the Palais Eschenbach with Viennese Walz. 

Vienna (6/7 to 6/14/2026)

Day 16: Monday: Day off to enjoy the sights and sounds of Vienna. 

Day 17: Tuesday: See the Augustin Church (Heart Chapel), the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church and the National Library's Imperial Treasures.

Day 18: Wednesday: View autograph manuscripts at the National Library Archive, see Mozart’s Figaro-House then a Guided tour at the Wiener Musikverein. In the evening, you will attend Wagner’s “Siegfried” at the State Opera House.

Day 19: Thursday: Tour the Johann Strauss Museum at the “Casino Zögernitz”,  the Beethoven museum at Heiligenstadt and the Cemetery with graves of Gustav and Alma Mahler Mahler. Dinner at the Heuriger (typical Viennese tavern)

Day 20: Friday: Guided tour and manuscripts in the Arnold Scheoenberg Center; visit the St.Marx cemetery (tomb of Wolfgang Mozart) and then attend a students concert at the University

Day 21: Saturday: Tour the Castle Schönbrunn. Enjoy some free time and then the Farewell dinner at the “12 Apostelkeller”

Day 22: Sunday: Fly back to the United States.

MUS 477: Music & Culture in Austria (3 credit hours)

Study Abroad: An exploration of the Western classical repertoire, genres, and styles on site in Salzburg, Vienna, and southern Germany. 

• Students will prepare for the course by becoming familiar with the composers, repertoire, and cultural contexts for performing in each city.
  
• Dr. Roth will provide a CD and listening list of repertoire, and Dr. Malkiewicz will provide a list of websites and readings related to the places we will visit.
• All classes will be taught in English; no foreign language requirement.
• In bad weather, classes will be conducted in a classroom at the Mozarteum.
• Evaluation will be based on participation, on-site quizzes, and a final paper.

Program Fee: $3,500 before funding

Funding Sources:

For SPARK eligible students, you will receive the $1,500 SPARK Grant from the Center for Life's Work. SPARK students will also receive a three credit tuition offset which covers summer tuition for this course. Students will still need to pay the $30 course registration fee. Your final out-of-pocket cost will be $2,000 + the $30 course registration fee. 

For non-SPARK eligible undergraduate students, you will receive $500 in funding from the Center for International Education. You will also receive a two credit offset which covers a majority of the summer tuition for this course. Your final out-of-pocket cost will be $3,000 + the cost of one summer credit and the $30 course registration fee.

 Program Fee Includes:

• All accommodations
• Some meals, that are included in the itinerary
• All in-country transportation
• All projects, activities, workshops, entry-fees, day-trips, etc.
• International travel and medical insurance

Not Included:

• Airline tickets
• Passport (must be valid at least 6 months past the return date of the program). 
• Miscellaneous expenses (such as souvenirs, personal care items, etc.)

Visit the following sites to see the recommended immunizations and medications for your program. Talk with your family and your physician to understand which ones you may need to travel. 

CDC 

Passport Health

U.S. Department of State

Payment #1: $700 due December 3rd (refundable up until 2nd payment)

Payment #2: $800 due January 26th

Payment #3: 

$500 due February 23rd for SPARK students (final payment)

$800 due February 23rd for Non-SPARK & Grad students

Payment #4: $700 due March 23rd for Non-SPARK & Grad students (final payment)