AUR graduate takes on Event Management Internship with Rome Chamber Music Festival

AUR graduate Tiffany Burrafato (BUS ’17) has an extraordinary Event Management internship with the Rome Chamber Music Festival (http://www.romechamberfestival.org/en/) this summer, hosted in the magnificent Pietro da Cortona hall of the 17th century Palazzo Barberini. Founded and directed by American violinist Robert McDuffie, the prestigious Rome Chamber Music Festival is a celebration of classical and contemporary chamber music, and has become one of the most anticipated events on Rome’s cultural and social calendar. The festival celebrates its fourteenth season in 2017 with a spectacular new program that includes masterpieces, from baroque to bluegrass, played by internationally known artists and rising stars selected through the De Simone Young Artist Program.

While the Festival runs for just one week, the planning and logistics are executed far in advance. The Festival draws its audience from both the Rome community and tourists, mostly from Anglophone countries, interested in exploring Rome’s music scene while travelling. Tiffany, who graduated cum laude in Business Administration, with a concentration in Travel & Tourism, has been working backstage, managing logistics and hospitality for the dozens of renowned artists from around the world.  Her main tasks include general scheduling and artist assistance, as well as concert hall seating organization. Tiffany assists in keeping track of scheduled practice times, both group and individual, and on concert nights helps in getting the concert hall ready (i.e. rearranging the hall, placing event programs on chairs, coordinating with other colleagues on the amount of chairs necessary based on ticket sales and reservations, making sure cleaning timelines are met, etc.)  As is true with most events, she also has to deal with, and keep track of, sudden schedule changes. The backstage crew works as a team to oversee all the details that contribute to the success of the Festival. Everyone works together on everything and anything. 

This extraordinary work experience fits nicely with Tiffany’s professional interests in the tourism business.  She is planning to attend graduate school and hopes to pursue a career in the Travel & Tourism sector.  Congratulations Tiffany on this terrific internship!