Vienna Boys Choir to enchant regional music lovers March 26 at the Community Concert Hall
Vienna Boys Choir
The magic of the Vienna Boys Choir comes to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Friday, March 26, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is one of the world’s oldest existing boys’ choirs. A 1498 founding document of Maximilian I called the first dozen boys to the imperial court as members of the newly formed court music band. Since then, the choir has been regarded as Austria’s “singing ambassadors.”
Vienna Boys Choir to enchant regional music lovers March 26 at the Community Concert Hall
DURANGO, Colo. – The magic of the Vienna Boys Choir comes to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Friday, March 26, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is one of the world’s oldest existing boys’ choirs. A 1498 founding document of Maximilian I called the first dozen boys to the imperial court as members of the newly formed court music band. Since then, the choir has been regarded as Austria’s “singing ambassadors.”
Together with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Boys Choir maintains a 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.
Today some 100 choristers between the ages of ten and 14 are divided into four touring choirs that present more than 300 concerts and performances each year, always to generous rave reviews. The choir’s repertoire ranges from medieval to contemporary and experimental music. Motets and lieder for boys’ choir form the core of the touring repertoire, as do the choir’s own arrangements of quintessentially Viennese music, waltzes and polkas by Strauss, Lanner and Lehar.
For the Durango performance, Florian Schwarz will serve as conductor. Born in Vienna in 1974, Schwarz garnered experience with children’s choirs while working as the assistant to the chorus master of the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen, and by 2004 he had joined the Chorschule de Wiener Sängerknaben(Vienna Boys Choir). Beginning Fall 2008, he was named a conductor of one of the Wiener Sängerknaben’s four concert choirs. In this role, he prepares the boys for concerts both abroad and in Vienna, including appearances with the Vienna State Opera. Spring 2009 marked Schwarz’s first North American tour with the VBC.
Listen to audio samples of the choir at http://www.wsk.at/jart/prj3/wsk_website/main.jart?rel=en&content-id=1181926278703&reserve-mode=active.
Tickets for the Vienna Boys Choir – $25 for Balcony, $42 for Orchestra and $50 for Plaza – are available on line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657 or toll free 877.282.9992. Or visit the Ticketing Services Office in Downtown Durango at 7th and Main Ave. All sales final.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6:30 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College. It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
