The "Sounds of the Vienna Boys' Choir" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just stopped at the Parish Resource Center to hang a poster that I had framed for my wife who works there. I entered the PRC, walked into Carol's office to find her using our iPad2 to charge things. Bad news, right? Not in this case. Seems that the PRC is bringing The Vienna Boys' Choir to Lancaster, PA for a night of music at Hempfield High School's Performing Arts Center which is located in Landisville, PA. The Vienna Boys' Choir (also The Vienna Choir Boys, German: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, named for Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, which perform about 300 concerts each year before almost 500,000 people. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks. The choir is the modern-day descendant of the boys' choirs from the Viennese Court, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The choir was, for practical purposes, established by a letter written by Maximilian I of Habsburg on July 7, 1498. In the letter, the Emperor instructed court officials to employ a singing master, two basses and six boys. The role of the choir (now numbering between fourteen and twenty) was to provide musical accompaniment to the church mass. Carol is not sure which one of the four touring groups will arrive in Lancaster in March for the concert. The concert is to help raise money for the PRC which is a non-profit that was founded to help congregations train, coach and equip members for service and leadership. Years ago I sang in the St. James Church choir as first, a soprano or treble, and then an alto. I started when I was about 8 years old and able to read and remained in the choir until my voice became too deep to reach the alto notes which was about 13 or 14 years old. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and got to sing in quite a few large venues as well as church on Sundays and for special services such as weddings and funerals. The boys and mens' choirs were paid choirs, so I was able to earn spending money for myself, provided I behaved and didn't get fined too much by Mr. Mac, the choirmaster, by the end of each month. I also was asked to usher for organ recitals and putting the hymn numbers on the church boards, which also was a paid job. I gained many friends during these years and am sure the boys of the Vienna Choir are going through the same situations as I did. Watching this concert will bring back many pleasant memories, I'm sure. Date of the show is March 10 at 7:30 PM. If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the concert, go to www.parishresourcecenter.com or call Carol or Debbie at the center at 717-299-9932. They can help you pick out your seats as well as place the order for you. Pretty neat watching Carol slide the card through this small card reader and the info appearing on the screen. Technology at its finest! See you there. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Below is the PRC advertisement for the concert.