The Alexander City Outlook

Vienna Boys Choir: An event that you just can’t miss

The average lifespan of a popular musical act these days can’t possibly be more than about 10 years. Many bands, even those with national hit songs, don’t survive five.

So I think it’s significant that there’s a musical group performing tonight in Alexander City that has lasted longer than most.

Much longer.

In fact, the act coming to town tonight has been performing for the past 512 years. That’s not a mistake: The Vienna Boys Choir was founded in 1498 by Emperor Maximilian I (he called the choir “Wiener Sangerkaben”) and it’s still going strong.

The Vienna Boys Choir is a group of 100 elite child musicians that has been lauded across the globe for its polished performances and purity of tone.

The larger choir is divided into four touring groups of 25 singers, each of equal standing. One of those groups will perform in the Benjamin Russell High School auditorium at 7:30 tonight.

Each of the four groups tours about 11 weeks during the academic year and each choir boy sings about 80 concerts per year. It’s interesting that these singers attend school as they travel. Each choir has a choirmaster and two tutors who tour with the boys, in essence, it’s a traveling classroom for these young grammar-school artists.

Over the years, many of the great classical composers have been associated with the Vienna Boys Choir. Franz Schubert and the brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn all sang with the choir. Mozart and his rival Salieri, Bruckner and Britten worked closely with the choir.

During the Alexander City performance, the Vienna Boys Choir is expected to perform a variety of music, from Austrian folk songs and waltzes to classical masterpieces to medieval chant and pop songs as well.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said, “There’s no more gratifying sound than that of children singing. And there’s no more polished ensemble of children’s voices than the Vienna Boys Choir.”

I’ve got to admit that I personally don’t spend much time listening to boys’ choral music. There’s not one CD of choral music in my collection, not one song on my iPod.

And that doesn’t make any difference at all.

Because I think this concert, which is presented by Alexander City Arts, Inc., will be a memorable event; an opportunity to experience a caliber of music that just shouldn’t be missed.

That’s especially true because Alexander City Arts has made the concert affordable for everyone. The ticket price for adults is $15 and for students and children, it’s only $5.

Alexander City Arts should get lots of credit for bringing world-class artists like The Vienna Boys Choir to our community.

I looked at the choirs’ next venues and most are in much larger cities. On Friday, the choir will play to a sold-out audience in LaGrange, Ga. On Saturday it’s in Meridian, Miss. Next the choir tours Florida, singing in Clearwater, Fort Pierce, Naples, Sarasota, Jacksonville Beach, Tallahassee and Panama City before heading across the country to Oregon and Washington State.

The point is, this concert is a terrific opportunity to see a world-famous performance by an institution with that has been closely tied to many of the greatest composers of all times … in our own hometown.

When you think about it, this choir sang for about 400 years before there was an Alexander City.

I hope to see you there.