Saturday, November 22 will be a date to mark on your calendar. That evening at 7:30 p.m., the world famous Vienna Boys Choir will perform at the Cugnet Centre. Ironically, the performance date also coincides with the celebration of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. It seems as though she may have played a part in bringing their gift of music to our city.
The choir was first established after a letter written by Emperor Maximilian I, was sent out on July 7, 1498. The letter instructed court officials to employ a singing master, two basses and six boys to form a choir which was intended to provide musical accompaniment for the church mass.
The boys both resided and received their training at the Palais Augarten. The boarding school provides education and musical training to the boys, which has proven to be quite beneficiary to the students, as many grew up to have careers as professional musicians.
Over the centuries, the choir has changed shape and performed under the direction of several composers.
The structure of the choir changed in 1924 to one that is still in place today. Joseff Schnitt officially founded The Vienna Boys Choir, after the fall of the Austrian Empire saw the Hofkapelle (court orchestra) disbanded. At this time the Vienna Boys Choir evolved into a professional music group and adopted the blue and white sailor uniform they perform in currently.
The choir is sub-divided into four touring groups. Each group is named after a famous Austrian composer associated with the choir's history. The four groups are Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. The boys travel with their choirmaster and two tutors for approximately 11 weeks of the academic year. Each of the four choirs split the touring appearances and Vienna performances equally as to keep all the boys on a flexible and fair schedule.
Currently the boys' choir duties include Sunday Services at the Imperial Chapel, appearances at official state events, concerts in Vienna and abroad, as well as performances at the Vienna State Opera and Volksopor.
One of the 80 performances each student can expect to perform in each year has been secured through the Weyburn Concert Series. Tickets bought in advance are priced at $35 for an adult and $15 for child/student. Tickets will also be available at the door for $40 and $18 respectively.
