October 3, 2007

Vienna Boys Choir to present diverse program at Purdue

Purdue Convocations is presenting the concert as part of its Classics series. The performance will include sacred works by Henry Purcell, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn and Benjamin Britten, along with a broad range of Austrian, German and other international folk songs for which the Vienna Boys Choir is known.

Emperor Maximilian I founded the group in 1498, and since, the Vienna Boys Choir has been carrying on a tradition of purity of tone, musical depth and distinctive charm that is celebrated around the world, said Todd Wetzel, Purdue Convocations director.

For more than four centuries, the choir sang exclusively for the imperial court – at mass, private concerts and state occasions. Among the choir's distinguished alumni are composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert, and conductors Hans Richter, Felix Mottl and Clemens Krauss. Mozart, Antonio Salieri and brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn also worked with the choir.

After the breakdown of the Habsburg Empire, the choir was established as a private organization, and in 1926 it began to give concerts outside of the chapel. Audiences were dazzled by the boys' voices and choral arrangements, and within three years, the choir had performed throughout Europe, Wetzel said. They debuted in the United States in 1932.

Today there are around 100 choristers between the ages of 10 and 14 divided into four touring choirs, which give around 300 concerts and performances each year in front of almost half a million people. Each group spends nine to 11 weeks of the school year on tour in areas such as Europe, Asia, Australia and North and South America. The choir also maintains the tradition of imperial musicians, providing music for the Sunday Mass in Vienna's Imperial Chapel, as they have done since 1498.

Wetzel said the choir's diverse, crowd-pleasing repertoire spans the ages, from medieval to contemporary times, and encompasses international folk songs, sacred and classical masterpieces, experimental works and world music.

Tickets are $15-35 for adults and $15-25 for children 18 years and younger, and Purdue and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at (765) 496-1977.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Kerry Schutt Nason, (765) 494-5045, knason@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Publication-quality photos of the Vienna Boys Choir are available at https://www.purdue.edu/convos/viennaboysimages.shtml