The Vienna Boys Choir Made in Austria Tour WED, OCT. 21, 7:30 P.M. UVU Noorda Center for the Performing Arts
VIENNA BOYS CHOIR Wiener Sängerknaben Made In Austria JOHANNES PELL Conductor
PROGRAM Omnes de Saba venient (They will all come from Saba) Gradual for Epiphany Words from Isaiah 60:6, 60:1, and Matthew 2:2 Pueri Hebraeorum (The Children of the Hebrew People) Words based on John 12:13 and Psalm 24:7–10 Antiphon
Joseph von Eybler (1765–1846)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594)
Der 23. Psalm (The Lord is my shepherd), D 706 Words based on the translation by Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786)
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Erzherzog-Johann-Jodler Words by Anton Schosser (1801–1849) Folk song from Styria Laudate Dominum (Praise the Lord) Words after Psalm 117 (Vulgate: Ps. 116) from: Vesperae solennes de Confessore K.339
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Cantate Domino (Sing to the Lord) Words based on Psalm 96:1–2 and Psalm 98:1,5 (Vulgate: Ps. 95 / Ps. 97) Motet for six-part choir a cappella
Vytautas Miškinis (*1954)
Jubilate Deo universa terra (Rejoice in God, all the earth, 2019) Blessing for Clare College, Cambridge (1998)
Tine Bec (*1993)
Tundra Words by Charles Anthony Silvestri (*1965)
Ola Gjeilo (*1978)
Amazing Grace Folk song from the USA Words by John Newton (1725–1807)
Arr. John Coates
-IntermissionTritsch-Tratsch, fast polka opus 214 Words by Tina Breckwoldt
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) Arr. Gerald Wirth
Kaiserwalzer (Emperor Waltz), opus 437 Words by Victor Gomboz
Johann Strauss II Arr. Gerald Wirth
Wann du durchgehst durchs Tal (When you walk through the valley) Love song from Carinthia
Arr. Gerald Wirth
Do-Re-Mi Edelweiss Words by Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) from “The Sound of Music” (1959)
Richard Rodgers (1902–1979)
Vienna Billy Joel (*1949) Medley aus Mamma Mia! Benny Andersson Highlights from the Film Soundtrack (*1946) Björn Ulvaeus (*1945) Arr. Mac Huff Da Summa is aussi (Summer is over) Cattle driving song from Styria
Arr. Franz Dorfe
An der schönen blauen Donau (Blue Danube), waltz opus 314 Words by Franz von Gernerth (1821–1900)
Johann Strauss II Arr. Gerald Wirth
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES VIENNA BOYS CHOIR The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and one of its oldest; boys have been singing at Vienna’s Imperial Chapel at least since 1296. Two hundred years later, on July 7, 1498, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. established a Court Chapel in Vienna. He gave specific instructions that there were to be boys among the singers, thus laying the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir. Like their modern successors, the early boys spent much time on the road, following their imperial employer to sing at the Holy Roman Empire’s parliamentary meetings, imperial coronations, weddings, state processions, and feasts. Over the centuries, the Viennese court attracted musical geniuses like Heinrich Isaac, Johann Joseph Fux, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Composers Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, and Franz Schubert sang as boys with the choir; Anton Bruckner gave them singing and piano lessons. Today, the former imperial ensemble has grown into an entire campus; the modern Vienna Boys Choir is a private, non-profit organization which funds itself chiefly through income generated from concerts and touring, as well as donations and sponsorship deals. The Vienna Boys Choir maintains a primary school and a grammar school whose syllabuses focus on choral music and singing. 330 boys and girls between the ages of six and nineteen attend the schools on campus. All students have individual voice lessons, and all sing in one of the choirs. In addition to the four famous boys’ choirs, there is a female counterpart— the Vienna Girls Choir (Wiener Chormädchen) for girls aged 10 to 14, who will make their North American tour debut in Spring 2027; as well as the Chorus Primus, a mixed children’s chorus comprised of all boys and girls enrolled in the fourth grade of the choir’s primary school; and the Chorus Juventus, the mixed youth choir of the Senior High School. The Vienna Boys Choir’s education, listed by UNESCO as cultural heritage, is open to all, regardless of origin, gender, nationality, or religion. There are currently 90 active boy choristers, divided into four boys’ choirs, which all perform as “Vienna Boys Choir”; Brucknerchor (Choirmaster Manolo Cagnin), Haydnchor (Choirmaster Jimmy Chiang), Mozartchor (Choirmaster Manuel Huber), and Schubertchor (Choirmaster Johannes Pell). The four choirs share concerts, tours, sound recordings, and filming equally. Between them, they perform almost 300 concerts per year, with almost half a million people attending. Since 1924, the choirs have completed more than 1,000 tours in 100 different countries, clocking up a staggering 29,000 concerts.
On Sundays, the choirs take turns singing mass in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, joining forces with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the men’s chorus of the Vienna State Opera. They frequently participate in large-scale symphonic concerts, performing under conductors like Joana Mallwitz, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, and Franz Welser-Möst. Other highlights in the choirs’ calendars are appearances at the Salzburg Festival and at the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. The Vienna Boys Choir cooperates with several other charities, such as UNICEF, “Licht ins Dunkel” (Light into Darkness, an Austrian charity), and die moewe Child protection agency. Together with Caritas and the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Choir founded “superar”, an outreach program offering children access to free music education. In addition, the Vienna Boys Choir runs Chorus amabilis, a choir for adult singing enthusiasts, aimed particularly at pensioners. In 2023, the Choir celebrated its 525th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Deutsche Grammophon released a live album of the anniversary concert in Vienna’s Musikverein, Decca Classics released a box set of 21 CDs featuring the Choir’s landmark recordings, and academic publishing house Böhlau released a book on the Choir’s rich history. In 2024, the Vienna Boys Choir and the Vienna Girls Choir jointly received the European Culture Award. Erasmus Baumgartner was appointed Artistic Director of the Vienna Boys Choir in the fall of 2023. www.viennaboyschoir.net
JOHANNES PELL, CONDUCTOR Johannes Pell studied piano, choral conducting, and orchestral conducting in Vienna and Salzburg, having developed his early musical foundations with the St. Florianer Sängerknaben and the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. His distinguished career in opera and concert performance includes engagements with Theatre Erfurt, Bonn Opera, the Vienna Volksoper, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He previously served as First Kapellmeister at the Wuppertal Opera, and from 2020 to 2024, he was Chief Conductor of the Staatsoperette Dresden. His talent was recognised early in his career, when Pell was named “Emerging Artist of the Year” by the prestigious Opernwelt magazine.
VIENNA BOYS CHOIR ADMINISTRATION Erich Arthold, President Erasmus Baumgartner, Artistic Director Tina Breckwoldt, Dramaturge
FOR OPUS 3 ARTISTS Robert Berretta, Managing Director Benjamin Maimin, Chief Operating Officer Leonard Stein, Consulting Producer Peter Katz, Manager, Touring Logistics Sarah Vardigans, Company Manager Leslie Beatrice, Director, Marketing & Creative Chris Stager, Marketing Consultant
EXCLUSIVE TOUR MANAGEMENT Opus 3 Artists 470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North New York, NY 10016 www.opus3artists.com
2026-27 Season Schedule Sept. 19
Matthew Morrison SHOW UP
Oct. 2
Counterpoint With Conrad Tao & Caleb Teicher
Oct. 21
The Vienna Boys Choir Made in Austria Tour
Nov. 6
Aída Cuevas 50 Years Singing to Mexico
Dec. 5
Canadian Brass
Dec. 3–22
HUMBUG! The Musical
Jan. 7
Ballet Hispánico New York CARMEN.maquia
Feb. 11
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS:
Feb. 15
An Evening with Itzhak Perlman
April 15
Utah Symphony Peter and the Wolf
May 13
Gravity & Other Myths Ten Thousand Hours
World on a String featuring Kate Kortum & David Marino
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