Vienna Boys Choir Debuts CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA at Queens College, 12/15

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College presents the Vienna Boys Choir exclusive holiday show Christmas in Vienna for one night only on Saturday, 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.

Today there are around 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen, divided into four touring choirs. They visit virtually all European countries, and they are frequent guests in Asia, Australia and the Americas.

The beloved and treasured institution of the Vienna Boys Choir makes this debut performance a must-see for the holiday season.

How to Buy Tickets:

• Box Office: 718.793.8080
• Online: www.KupferbergCenter.org
• Groups: Call Box Office at 718.793.8080 for groups of 10 or more.
• Discount Tickets: Discount tickets are available for students, seniors and Queens College staff, faculty and alumni.

Kupferberg Center for the Arts is located on the Queens College campus between exits 23 & 24 on the eastbound service road for the Long Island Expressway in Flushing. Free Parking and Wheelchair Accessible. Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College is the largest cultural center in the borough of Queens.

The arts are a central part of academic programs at Queens College, where all undergraduates are required to take at least one course in the visual or performing arts. The Combined resources of Queens College and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts create a powerful intersection of diverse, engaging arts programming for students and the greater community.

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts houses three performance spaces including the acoustically perfect LeFrak Concert Hall, the Colden Auditorium and the Goldstein Theater. Also housed on the Queens College Campus is the Godwin-Ternbach Museum home to the most comprehensive art collection in Queens, and the Queens College Art Center, which is a separate gallery for contemporary installations. The world-renowned Louis Armstrong House Museum, located in Corona, is also part of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College.