Event Calendar
Vienna Boys Choir
Friday, October 25, 2019, 7:30 pm
“There’s no more gratifying sound than that of children singing. And there’s no more polished ensemble of children’s voices than the Vienna Boys Choir.” - Fort Worth Star Telegram
“[the] mix of purity and lung power, childlike simplicity and mature command of breath control and phrasing, is what this ensemble is all about...” - The Washington Post
“Their tone is pristine, their dynamics perfectly rendered, but of course it is their youth and pure soprano voices that make them unique.” - Charleston Post and Courier
The Vienna Boys Choir, renowned as one of the finest vocal ensembles in the world for over 5 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 23 - 26 boys each, totaling 100 choristers at the Vienna Boys Choir's school at any given time - all of them between the ages of 10 and 14. The four choirs are of equal standing, and the Vienna Boys Choir'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.
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. has included boys hailing from Austria, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines and the U.S.
Visit us at www.viennaboyschoir.net
MANUEL HUBER, Conductor – Vienna Boys Choir
Manuel Huber, the most recent addition to the ranks of Choirmaster of the Vienna Boys Choir, is an Italian with extensive experience as voice coach, choir director and music educator in a variety of positions throughout Europe. Prior to his appointment with the Vienna Boys Choir, he was musical director of the Youth Project at the Gut Immling Opera Festival, a voice coach with the highly regarded Tölzer Knabenchor, and guest conductor of Kammerphilharmonie Budweis, Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie, and Salzburg’s Mozarteum University Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Brixen, South Tyrol, Manuel Huber began to play the piano at the age of six, and was for years a member and later chairman of the Vinzentiner Knabenchor. At 15, he began to conduct, leading the children's choir, the women's chorus, and the church choir of his native Weitental. He continued his piano studies at the Claudio Monteverdi Conservatory in Brixen, and went on to study choral conducting, music pedagogy, and orchestral conducting at the Salzburg Mozarteum as well. To this he added a major in psychology at Salzburg University, from which he graduated with distinction in 2018.
Asked about his experiences with the Vienna Boys Choir, Mr. Huber says, "I love the work we do together, and especially how much the boys enjoy their music. My goal is to teach them the tools of the trade, to understand and feel music as best we can, and at the same time, see them grow up and come into their own.
