Vienna Boys Choir returns to Athens in time for Christmas

Nothing welcomes Christmas like the sound of children's voices. For centuries the gold standard in youth singing has been the Vienna Boys Choir. This year ensemble returns to Hodgson Concert Hall Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. with a program that stretches from ancient carols to ABBA.

VIENN BOYS CHOIR

The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and one of its oldest. Boys have been singing at Vienna's Imperial Chapel at least since 1296. Two hundred years later, on July 7, 1498, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established a Court Chapel in Vienna. He gave specific instructions that there were to be boys among the singers, thus laying the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir. Like their modern successors, the early boys spent much time on the road, following their imperial employer to sing at the Holy Roman Empire’s parliamentary meetings, imperial coronations, weddings, state processions, and feasts.

Today, the former imperial ensemble has grown into an entire campus; the modern Vienna Boys Choir is a private, non-profit organization that funds itself chiefly through income generated from concerts and touring, as well as donations and sponsorship deals. The Vienna Boys Choir maintains a primary school and a grammar school whose syllabuses focus on choral music and singing. Three hundred and thirty boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 19 attend the schools on campus. All students have individual voice lessons, and all sing in one of the choirs.

There are currently 90 active boy choristers, divided into four boys’ choirs, which all perform as “Vienna Boys Choir;”Brucknerchor (Choirmaster Manolo Cagnin), Haydnchor (Choirmaster Jimmy Chiang),Mozartchor (Choirmaster Manuel Huber), and Schubertchor (Choirmaster Oliver Stech). The four choirs share concerts, tours, sound recordings and filming equally. Between them, they perform almost 300 concerts per year, with almost half a million people attending. Since 1924, the choirs have completed more than 1000 tours in 100 different countries, clocking up a staggering 29,000 concerts.

On Sundays, the choirs take turns singing Mass in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, joining forces with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the men’s chorus of the Vienna State Opera. They frequently participate in large-scale symphonic concerts, performing under conductors like Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, and Franz Welser-Möst. Other highlights in the choirs’ calendars are appearances at the Salzburg Festival and at the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic.

In 2023, the Choir celebrated its 525th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Deutsche Grammophon released a live album of the anniversary concert in Vienna’s Musikverein, Decca Classics released a box set of 21 CDs featuring the Choir’s landmark recordings, and academic publishing house Böhlau released a book on the Choir’s rich history. In 2024, the Vienna Boys Choir and the Vienna Girls Choir jointly received the European Culture Award.

MANOLO CAGNIN, CONDUCTOR

Born and raised in Treviso, Italy, Manolo Cagnin developed an interest in music early in life. As a child, he learned to play the violin and viola at the Conservatory of Venice, then later went on to study choral music, conducting, and composition in Venice and Milan. He completed his studies in Leipzig under Kurt Masur and Fabio Luisi.

In Leipzig, Mr.Cagnin served as assistant to the Thomanerchor’s artistic director, Georg Christoph Biller. He was music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s 2007 production of La Tragédie de Carmen.

In 2008, Mr.Cagnin was named conductor of one of the Vienna Boys Choir's four touring choirs. He has since led the choir on numerous tours, taking him several times around the world. In Vienna, Mr. Cagnin conducts the VBC's choral concerts, as well as the opera productions in the choir's own concert hall. In addition, he prepares the boys for the sung services with the Vienna Chapel Imperial and for appearances with the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper, as well as for sound and video recordings.

SUPPORTED BY

David Coker and Sharon Price

BUYING TICKETS IS EASY

Securing tickets for UGA Presents performances couldn’t be easier. There are three ways to choose from:

1. Purchase tickets online 24/7 at pac.uga.edu.

2. Call the Performing Arts Center Box Office at (706) 542-4400, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

3. Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center Box Office, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (5 minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)

You may also create your own series of three or more performances (10% off). UGA Presents single tickets start at just $25 with promo code PAC25 and UGA student tickets are $10.

Parking is free.