Johnson County Community College
Press Release
College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122
10/04/05
Story by Peggy Graham
The Boys Are Back
Although 500 years old, the world’s most famous boys choir maintains its clear, soprano voices and remains perpetually young. With charm and skilled precision, the Vienna Choir Boys perform a musical event for the entire family at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College.
Dressed in their trademark uniforms, the Vienna Choir Boys and their music follow a tradition dating back to 1498. Emperor Maximilian I established the boys choir to sing sacred music in the Imperial Chapel of Vienna, a city rich in the musical heritage of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. Today their repertoire ranges from sacred music and oratorios to operettas, international folk songs, contemporary and experimental music. The ensemble, which consists of four separate groups of 24 members each, ranging in age from 10 to 14, blends time-honored heritage with modern CD recordings, television appearances, films and concert tours.
No choir has had more famous choristers than the Vienna Choir Boys. The most famous chorister was probably the prodigy Franz Schubert, who became a member of the choir in 1808. Other choristers include Christopher Gluck, the founder of the modern operatic form, Mozart and Joseph Haydn.
During World War I, the choir had no money to maintain its institute and boarding school and had to resort to public concerts for the first time, at first in Austria and later elsewhere. In 1924, following the breakdown of the Habsburg Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the choir was rescued by the last imperial chaplain, rector Josef Schnitt, who first called the court singers the Vienna Choir Boys.
There are around 100 choristers, divided into four tour choirs. Each group spends nine to 11 weeks of the school year on tour.
The Vienna Choir Boys are a private organization divided into three distinct sections: the choir, the school and a boarding house. Almost 250 children study and rehearse at the school. Beginning with kindergarten, boys and girls are provided with a complete musical and general education. At age 10, the most talented boys are selected to join the choir.
The school is proud of its alumni, many of whom go on to become professional musicians, conductors, singers or instrumentalists. Each season, a new choir of boys carries on the rich traditions of Vienna's musical life and performs for nearly half a million fans throughout the world.
This group of boys with cherub faces combine the innocence of children with superb artistry and continue a tradition of five centuries.
Tickets are $30 and $20, available by calling the Carlsen Center box office, 913-469-4445, or online at www.jccc.edu/CarlsenCenter.
