Vienna Boys Choir Debuts CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA at Queens College Tonight

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College presents the Vienna Boys Choir exclusive holiday show Christmas in Vienna for one night only tonight, December 15, 2012 at 7:30 pm at the Colden Auditorium at Queens College. Tickets are $20-$30 and can be purchased by calling the Kupferberg Center Box Office at 719.793.8080 or online at www.KupferbergCenter.org.

The Vienna Boys Choirs is the illustrious group of child musicians that have been delighting music lovers across the globe for six centuries with their purity of tone, distinctive charm and crowd-pleasing repertoire. Christmas in Vienna showcases these gifted musicians with voices of unforgettable beauty in an extraordinary program featuring Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, popular songs and, of course, holiday favorites.

The rich musical experience of the Vienna Boys Choir is a fusion of extraordinary talent, singular training, and master artistic direction to enthrall every member of the family and audience.

The origin of the Vienna Boys Choir dates to the early 15th century when boys began singing at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1498, more than half a millennium ago, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians to Vienna. He gave instructions that there were to be six singing boys among his musicians. Historians have settled on 1498 as the foundation date of the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and in consequence the Vienna Boys Choir. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the imperial court, at mass, at private concerts and functions, and on state occasions.

Musicians like Heinrich Isaac, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Joseph Fux, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Salieri and Anton Bruckner worked with the choir. Composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert were themselves choristers. Brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn, members of the choir of St. Stephen's Cathedral, and frequently sang with the imperial boys' choir.