THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290752
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
The Vienna Boys' Choir, a singing institution founded in 1498 by Emperor Maximilian I for the Imperial Chapel, will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 13 in Willett Hall in the Portsmouth Community Concert series.
Children who join the choir begin their musical training early at a special preparatory school where they receive instruction in theory and practice of singing. At age 9, candidates for the choir take an examination, where musical ability is the deciding factor on whether a child will be accepted at the boarding school where the choristers are trained.
They follow in the musical tradition of many of the finest musicians of the West including Christoph Willibald Gluck, founder of the modern operatic form; Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, who became composer to the court in 1787; Franz Schubert, who sang as a choirboy from 1808 to 1813; and Anton Bruckner, who became organist at the chapel in 1867.
Although the Hapsburg dynasty collapsed and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire threatened to end the institution, the tradition of the boys' choir survived.
The Vienna Boys' Choir tours internationally for an average of three months a year. Often, two choirs are on the road simultaneously. Each tour group includes 24 choristers, a choirmaster, a tutor and a nurse.
The choir has visited the United States more than 50 times since 1932 and has performed around the world. They have made numerous films, television shows and recordings. They repertoire includes costumed operettas, sacred music, folk songs and secular tunes.
Season subscription tickets are available for the concert at the Willett Hall Box Office the evening of the performance. Tickets are $35 for adults, $17 for students.
The remaining concert in the series will be the New Xavier Cugat Orchestra April 8. For more information, call 393-5144. ILLUSTRATION: The Vienna Boys' Choir to perform by CNB