For more than five centuries, the Vienna Boys Choir has enchanted millions with its unique charm and exceptionally beautiful singing. The world-famous choir brings its angelic sound to Music Hall on Friday, November 12 at 8:00 PM as part of Cincinnati Arts Association's 2010-11 Season. Tickets are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.ORG, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office.
No group of child musicians has won more acclaim than the incomparable Wiener Sängerknaben, founded by Emperor Maximilian I in 1498. Six centuries later, the famed Vienna Boys Choir continues to delight music-lovers across the globe with its purity of tone, distinctive charm and a diverse, crowd-pleasing repertoire that encompasses Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, beloved pop songs, holiday favorites, and medieval chant. Gifted musicians with voices of unforgettable beauty, they carry on the Vienna Boys Choir's illustrious traditions.
Such excellence is not easily attained - only an elite 100 boys between the ages of ten and fourteen are chosen for the choir's prestigious grammar school where they undergo a rigorous musical and academic program. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, which present approximately 300 concerts and performances each year in front of almost half-a-million people. Each group spends nine to eleven weeks of the school year on tour. They visit virtually all European countries, and they are frequent guests in Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
Together with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Boys Choir maintains the tradition of the imperial musicians: as Hofmusikkapelle they provide the music for the Sunday Mass in Vienna's Imperial Chapel, as they have done since 1498. Gerald Wirth took over as the choir's artistic director in 2001.
Many luminaries have been connected with the choir: Franz Schubert and the brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn sang with the choir; Mozart, Salieri, Bruckner and Britten are closely connected with the choir's rich history.
Outside of Vienna, the choir frequently performs with the world's premiere ensembles and foremost
conductors, including Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Mariss Jansons, and Riccardo Muti, who often request
to work with the choir in particular. The Vienna Boys Choir has sung on dozens of major recordings and
film soundtracks and tour worldwide.
When not rehearsing or performing, the boys can be found pounding the soccer field, swimming, navigating ski slopes, and directing movie shorts. As musicians accomplished beyond their years, the incomparable Vienna Boys Choir have established themselves as the world's most beloved choir.
"Time may march on, but the Vienna Boys Choir remains a rock-solid institution."
The Green Bay Press-Gazette
"...purity and lung power, childlike simplicity and mature command of breath control and phrasing, is what this ensemble is all about..."
The Washington Post
For more information, visit www.wsk.at.
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