The "Bringing Back The Boyhood Memories; The Vienna Boys Choir" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just wrapped up helping my wife with the fundraiser for the Parish Resource Center (PRC) where she works. This year's fundraiser for the PRC was sponsoring The Vienna Boys' Choir. Watching them perform has been on my "Bucket List" for over 50 years. When I was in the Boys' Choir at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, PA, from the early 50s to the late 50s, I always admired the Vienna choir and hoped that some day I would hear them in concert. Well that day came on March 10, 2012 when they appeared in concert at the Hempfield High School Performing Arts Center in Landisville, PA. Every year the PRC has a fundraiser that benefits their mission of "Serving Congregations in Central Pennsylvania since 1976," and they were lucky enough to have one of the four touring choirs make a stop in Landisville. The choir is the modern-day descendant of the boys' choir from the Viennese Court, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The role back then was to provide musical accompaniment to the church mass. The composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert were members of the choir at one time. In 1920 the choir was disbanded, however the rector at the time sought a continuation of the tradition, so in 1924 the "Vienna Boys' Choir" was officially founded and has evolved into a professional music group. They adopted the now-famous blue and white sailor suits to replace the imperial military cadet uniforms that had existed. Since 1948, the Palais Augarten in Vienna Austria, has served as their rehearsal venue and boarding school for the Vienna Boys' Choir. The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choirsters between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring groups, 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 one of the oldest boys' choirs in the world and for nearly 500 years has been one of the enduring symbols of Austria. One of those four touring groups made their only Pennsylvania performance in front of about 1,200 lucky people, and I was one of the lucky ones. For me, the day started when Carol and I traveled to Lititz mid-morning to greet them with Scott, the President of the PRC, as they arrived by bus at the Linden Hall School for Girls. Few knew about the stop, since it was pre-arranged by the leader of the boys' choir and the choir director of the school. Carol, Scott and some of the members of the girls' choir from Linden Hall waited for the bus in the brisk weather along Main Street. About 10:15 AM, the bus pulled to a stop and the door opened. At this point I should tell you that the contract that was signed by the PRC and the Vienna Boys' Choir does not allow any video, audio or still photos of the choir to appear in any publication or on the Internet. Only those photos taken from their website may be used for publicity. So, I have honored that and only will add photos that I am permitted to add.The boys' filed from the bus and were taken to the chapel by the girls, who were mostly the same ages as the boys. I counted 22 boys, the female leader, a few chaperones, and Manolo Cagnin, the Choirmaster. One of the boys was from New York while the others were from all over the world. A few pieces were performed by two different choirs and then their Choirmaster rose and told the sparse audience that the boys would like to perform for them. Bravo! The applause, even from such a small crowd, was tremendous. And, I was sitting ten feet from them! Words cannot describe how I felt listening to the two compositions they performed for me, as I felt that since this was on my "Bucket List" for over 50 years, they were doing this for me. Then, the applause was overwhelming. It filled the chapel and spilled out into the street. The boys took bow after bow as did the Choirmaster. Carol later told me that the boys don't try to please the audience or themselves, they try to please their Choirmaster. And, they certainly did, judging by the huge smile he had on his face. Gifts were presented to all the choir boys by Linden Hall members and the boys were ushered to the stable to view the horses that live at the school. I got to talk to a few of the boys, the ones that I could understand, and to Manolo. I told him how happy I was to be able to be with them today. We talked about choral music and about my experiences as a boy and then he asked me if I played any instruments. I was so embarrassed to tell him I had played the accordion at one time and now I only attempt to play the harmonica from time to time, when I can find where my wife hides it. The boys loved the horses, touching them and feeding them carrots, as the girls laughed and showed them how to hold the carrots. Then it was gym time for the boys and absolutely no one other than the boys and Choirmaster were allowed in the gym. We left for home to prepare for the evening. Early afternoon and we were at the Performing Arts Center preparing for the 7:30 PM concert. The auditorium holds 1,300 so we knew we would almost fill the place. Tickets were priced at $28 and $42 dollars. Shortly after we arrived, the leader and Choirmaster arrived to "scout" the place. They were pleased and after unloading the boys' uniforms and

the Choirmaster's materials, Manolo sat at the Baby Grand piano that was in the center of the stage. For over two hours he practiced. I sat and listened for most of that time. When the boys arrived they dressed, ate, and went on stage to practice for an hour. The doors opened at 7:00 PM and the large crowd filed into the auditorium. The Boys' Choir offered selections from a repertoire that included motets and lieder (German word meaning songs) written specifically for the boys as well as the choir's own arrangements of Strauss waltzes and polkas. Then they performed a medley of songs from the musical comedy "Sister Act." Time after time the audience applauded and the boys' and Choirmaster bowed. Most of the concert was offered in German, with a few English performances. An encore naturally followed with an approximately 10:00 PM completion to the evening. A huge success! I can hardly wait to see what the PRC will offer next

year. May have to make sure they have a copy of my "Bucket List" so they can plan accordingly. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: The Palais Augarten in Vienna, Austria; Carol, Scott and the girls wait for the boys to exit the bus; sign outside the Chapel at Linden Hall School for Girls; program cover for the PRC's Vienna Boys' Choir Concert; Hempfield's Performning Arts Center as it begins to fill for the concert.