Photo: Lukas Beck
The Vienna Boys Choir
Strauss For Ever
Johann Strauss II, Tausend und eine Nacht (Arabian nights), waltz, opus 346
Joseph Haydn, Insanae et vanae curae (Vain and useless worries), Hob. XXI:1, 13c
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Stabat mater
Fac ut ardeat cor meum (Ignite my heart with love)
Quando corpus morietur (When the body will die)
Anton Bruckner, Virga Jesse floruit (The rod of Jesse has flowered) WAB 52, arr. Jimmy Chiang
Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss, Pizzicato Polka, arr. Alan Mossesset, Avi Esposito
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vesperae solennes de confessore, KV 339
Laudate Dominum (Praise the Lord)
The Prayer, from the movie Quest for Camelot, David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa, Tony Renis
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Joyful, Joyful (Ode to Joy), from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, arr. Roger Emerson
Irving Berlin, There’s No Business Like Show Business, from Annie Get Your Gun
Jacques Offenbach, Barcarole – Belle nuit, o nuit d’amour (Beautiful night, night of love), from The Tales of Hoffmann
Johannes Brahms, Wiegenlied (Lullaby), opus 49/4
Jimmy Chiang, Erzherzog Johann Jodler (Archduke Johann’s yodel)
Zoltan Kodaly, Turot eszig a cigany (Chewing cheese curds)
Petar Liondev Kaval Sviri (A kaval flute plays, 1979), Bulgarisches Volkslied
Mykola Leontovich, Shchedryk (New Year’s Carol, 1916)
Johann Strauss II, Tritsch Tratsch (Chitchat), fast pola opus 214, arr. Gerald Wirth
Rolf Lovland, You Raise Me Up
Rollo Dilworth, Joshua, Traditional Spiritual
Johann Strauss II, An der shonen blauen Donau (Blue Danube Waltz), opus 314, arr. Gerald Wirth
Universally adored for its “pure and pristine sound” (San Francisco Chronicle), the legendary Vienna Boys Choir will sing a lively program celebrating the 200th birthday of one of Vienna’s most cherished native sons.
Johann Strauss Jr. was the grandfather of the Viennese waltz and polka styles that defined that city’s music for generations, and this choir has been singing choral renditions of his music since the 1920s! Come and hear classics like the Blue Danube waltz, Tales from the Vienna Woods, and a selection of rollicking polkas, all sung with spirit and finesse by these angelic young voices.
October 30, 2025 at 7:30 pm
$40 General | $35 Senior | $5 Student
Arts on Alexander
2111 Alexander Ave
Austin, TX 78702
The Vienna Boys Choir: Five Centuries of Pure, Unbroken Song
When Emperor Maximilian I moved his court chapel to Vienna in 1498, he could scarcely have imagined that the boys who sang for daily Mass would still be lifting their treble voices half a millennium later. Today the Vienna Boys Choir stands as one of the world’s most cherished musical institutions, its trademark navy-blue sailor suits and “Vienna sound” instantly recognizable from Tokyo to Toronto. Yet behind the iconic image lies a living, breathing community of roughly one hundred boys, ages nine to fourteen, who balance spelling tests and soccer practice with the demands of a professional touring ensemble.
The modern incarnation of the choir was founded in 1924, three years after the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy. Re-established as a private, non-profit school, the choir traded military cadet uniforms for the friendlier sailor look and soon launched the first of thousands of international tours. To make the schedule sustainable, the organization created four equal touring units—Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert—each comprising twenty-four choristers. On any given weekend one choir might be singing Renaissance motets in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel while another is charming audiences in Sydney with a folk song in Maori.
That global reach is matched by an equally broad repertoire. A typical concert unfolds in three acts. First comes the sacred polyphony on which the choir was founded: luminous motets by Palestrina, Gallus, and Victoria, sung with the ethereal blend that critics have called “a single instrument shaped by fifty angelic throats.” Next the choristers pay tribute to their Austrian roots with Classical favorites—Mozart’s “Lacrimosa,” a Haydn Te Deum, or Schubert’s radiant partsongs—before letting their hair down in a kaleidoscope of world folk tunes and contemporary hits. It is not uncommon for a Strauss waltz to share the program with an ABBA anthem or Oscar Peterson’s civil-rights hymn “Hymn to Freedom.” The result, in the words of a recent Chicago Symphony Center feature, is “a musical message of peace; music unites, it does not divide.”
That philosophy is championed by Artistic Director and alumnus Gerald Wirth, who believes the choir’s mission is “to open hearts through beauty and curiosity.” Wirth has expanded the boys’ linguistic palette to include Zulu, Hindi, and Japanese, and composed original works the choir now performs alongside standards. A sister Vienna Girls Choir, founded in 2004, and an alumni men’s choir complete the growing musical family. Alumni include Joseph & Michael Haydn, Franz Schubert, Hans Richter, HK Gruber — evidence of the choir’s long-term artistic influence.
Life at Palais Augarten—the 18th-century home the choir has occupied since 1948—intertwines rigorous training with a robust academic curriculum. Choristers attend regular classes, study two instruments, and receive rehearsal coaching that emphasizes healthy vocal technique. They rehearse four hours a day, but evenings still allow for table tennis or simply writing postcards home. Boarding staff and teachers travel on tour, ensuring continuity of care when the boys are away for up to eleven-week stretches.
“The world-famous Vienna Boys Choir delivered a musical message of peace; music unites, it does not divide.”
“Audience participation turned the Cathedral into one vast instrument… a thunderous standing ovation.”
Photo by Georg Wilke
Born in Hong Kong and now an Austrian citizen, Jimmy Chiang is an internationally celebrated conductor and concert pianist of remarkable versatility. His musical journey began at the tender age of four when he discovered his passion for playing the piano. Over the years, he expanded his musical repertoire, mastered the cello, and delved into the art of composition.
His exceptional talent brought him into the spotlight at a young age when he first performed as a soloist on the piano with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13. From 1994 to 1996, he enriched the orchestra as a cellist before assuming his role as first guest conductor in 2008.
Chiang's pursuit of musical excellence led him through renowned institutions such as the Trinity College of Music in London, Baylor University in the USA, and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. There, he was inspired and nurtured by esteemed mentors such as Seiji Ozawa, Leopold Hager, Erwin Ortner, and Wolfgang Watzinger.
As the winner of the prestigious "Lovro von Matačić" Conducting Competition in 2007, Chiang quickly established himself as a leading force in the world of classical music. From 2007 to 2009, he served as assistant to the General Music Director in the production of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Lübeck Theater and participated in opera productions at the historic Eutin Festival.
His artistic journey continued to the Theater Freiburg, where he served as Kapellmeister from 2009 to 2011. There, he conducted, among other works, a production of György Ligeti's "Le Grand Macabre" directed by Calixto Bieito, which was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics alike.
Since autumn 2013, Jimmy Chiang has been the Kapellmeister of the renowned Vienna Boys' Choir. Under his leadership, the choir has embarked on numerous tours across Europe, Asia, and the USA, performing in world-famous concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Vienna Musikverein.
Chiang's remarkable collaborations with esteemed orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of conductors like Riccardo Muti, Franz Welser-Möst, Philippe Jordan, and Joana Mallwitz, cement his reputation as one of the leading conductors of his generation.
A highlight in Chiang's career was undoubtedly his conducting of Mahler's 8th Symphony in Hong Kong in 2016, during his tenure as artistic director of the Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival. Additionally, he has conducted ensembles such as the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Orquesta Sinfonie Castilla y Leon, the Taranto Opera Festival, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Through his outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication to the arts, Jimmy Chiang has established himself as a leading figure in the world of classical music, and his influence will continue to inspire generations of music lovers worldwide.