The Vienna Boys Choir, renowned as one of the finest vocal
ensembles in the world for over five centuries, is a frequent visitor to North
America, performing throughout the country in everything from houses of worship
to great concert venues like New York’s Carnegie Hall and Chicago’s Symphony
Hall. The enormously popular chorus is actually comprised of four separate ensembles
of boys between the ages of 10 and 14, totaling choristers at the Vienna Boys
Choir school at any given time. The four choirs are of equal standing, and the
group’s tours, concerts in Vienna and audio and video recording projects are
shared among them. Each choir has a choirmaster and two tutors who travel with
the boys. Approximately eleven weeks of the school year are devoted to touring,
and each choir member sings about 80 concerts a year. Many of the boys have
siblings, fathers, uncles and even grandfathers who have also been members of
the choir.
Biography
The
Vienna Boys Choir can trace its history as far back as the 13th century but it
was formally established at Vienna's Imperial Chapel in 1498 by Holy Roman
Emperor Maximilian I. The many incarnations of the group have been performing
continuously ever since. The modern Vienna Boys Choir represents quite a
departure from the composition of the original medieval choir of six boys.
Today's Vienna Boys Choir is comprised of talented young singers from all over
the world who are admitted by audition. The choir visiting the U.S. this fall,
led by its conductor Oliver Stech,
includes boys hailing from Austria, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Iceland,
Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines. The group will be
featured in a new film, Curt Faudon's Good
Shepherds, to receive its North American premiere in the fall.
Oliver Stech became choirmaster of the Vienna Boys Choir in January of 2011. He has led the choir on tours of Europe, Asia, South America, and the USA, and prepares the boys for the sung services at Vienna's Imperial Chapel. In addition, he trains the boys for productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Volksoper, and for performances of large symphonic and choral works. In this capacity, he has collaborated with conductors such as Christian Aming, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, and Franz Welser-Möst. He also leads the boys in appearances on radio and television, sound recordings and film shoots, which are part of the choir's routine. Mr. Stech conducted the boys on the set of two of Curt Faudon's films, in Palestine, Italy, and Austria. Mr. Stech is a singer and former chorus member himself, and started conducting while still a student. In 2010, he became a lecturer at the University of Music in Vienna, his alma mater.
Visit us at www.viennaboyschoir.net