January 8, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Alys Stephens Center and the Birmingham Music Club present the Vienna Choir Boys at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, at the Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. S. This show is part of the Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Rushton Haskell Birmingham Music Club Classically Inclined Series. Come early for a performance in the lobby from the Birmingham Boys Choir. Tickets are $52, $42 and $22; student tickets are $10. Call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org.

The famous Vienna boys’ choir, formed more than half a millennium ago in 1498, performed exclusively for the imperial court of Vienna. Musicians like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Salieri and Anton Bruckner worked with the choir, among others. Composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert and conductors Hans Richter, Felix Mottl and Clemens Krauss were themselves choristers. Brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn sang frequently with the imperial boys’ choir.

In 1918, the public had the pleasure of hearing them perform for the first time. The imperial uniform was replaced by the sailor suit, then the height of boys’ fashion. In 1926 the choir started to give concerts outside of the chapel, performing motets, secular works and children’s operas. The choir performed across Europe, the United States, Australia and South America. Today there are 100 choristers, ages 10-14, in four touring choirs, performing 300 concerts each year for half a million fans.

The choir’s repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary and experimental music. One of their goals is to introduce the boys to as many different styles of music as possible. The choir has commissioned a number of world music projects.

This show is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt R. Haskell, John Durr Elmore, Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, Jefferson County Commission, Birmingham Music Club Guild, Alabama State Council on the Arts, WBHM, The Birmingham News and Charter Media.