“VIENNA BOYS CHOIR”

For the first time in Cyprus, the world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir will perform under the direction of Maestro Manolo Cagnin. The concert is organized in the framework of the Nicosia International Festival, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, on Sunday, 2 April 2023 at Nicosia Municipal Theatre at 18:30.
 
The Cyprus concert coincides with the celebrations of the Choir’s 525th anniversary. Participating alongside the Choir are the Cypriot soprano Chryso Makariou and the “Pancyprian Girls’ Choir of the Music Schools Vox Venus,” under the direction of Eleni Kyprianou.
 
The programme will include works by internationally acclaimed classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Heinrich Werner and Josef Strauss, as well as contemporary composers including Ennio Morricone, Heinz Kratochwil and Bob Merrill.
 
The Vienna Boys Choir
 
The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the world’s most famous and oldest boys’ choirs. In 1498, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court to Vienna to establish the Imperial Chapel and the Vienna Boys Choir. Over the centuries, the court attracted musicians such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Anton Bruckner. Notably, Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn and Franz Schubert were themselves members of the Choir as children.
 
Today, the Choir operates as a private, non-profit organization supported by sponsorships and donations. It runs an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. Three hundred boys and girls aged six to nineteen attend the Choir’s schools in Vienna’s Augarten park, receiving individual vocal training; about one-third later become professional musicians. The Choir itself is made up of around 100 boys aged nine to fourteen.
 
Each year, the Choir gives around 300 concerts worldwide, attracting a total audience of over half a million. It frequently performs with major orchestras conducted by Joana Mallwitz, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann and Simone Young. Highlights include appearances at the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert.
 
The Choir’s singing tradition is inscribed by UNESCO as part of Austria’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Professor Gerald Wirth, a former chorister himself, serves as Artistic Director of the entire campus.
 
Soprano Chryso Makariou
 
Chryso Makariou has appeared in international productions alongside distinguished artists from around the world, including at Vienna’s Musikverein, the State Opera Stara Zagora in Bulgaria and Gasteig Philharmonie in Munich, as well as on tour in Europe, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Finland and South Korea. She frequently collaborates with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the State Opera Banská Bystrica in Slovakia. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Barockorchester, the Classical Orchestra of Vienna, the Wiener Salon Symphony Orchestra and many others.
 
Workshop with Vienna Boys Choir Artistic Director Gerald Wirth
 
In addition to the concert, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is organizing a workshop with the Vienna Boys Choir’s Artistic Director Gerald Wirth. The internationally renowned music educator will share his experience on developing children’s and youth choir sound, as well as his own pedagogical approach with emphasis on musical creativity.
 
The workshop is addressed to Secondary Education Music Teachers and vocal instructors from Cyprus Music Schools. It will take place on Monday, 3 April from 09:00–11:00 at the auditorium of Nicosia Municipality.
 
Tickets: www.soldoutticketbox.com
 
Ticket prices:
ZONE A: €25 / €20
ZONE B: €20 / €16
ZONE C: €15 / €12
ZONE D: €10
 
Reduced-price tickets apply to: students, conscripts, university students, pensioners, parents of large families, actors and persons with disabilities (upon presentation of valid ID).
 
Festival identity:
Organizers: Nicosia Municipality, Nicosia For Art
The Festival is presented by ECOMMBX.
Institutional sponsor: Ministry of Culture, Republic of Cyprus
Silver Sponsor: Cyprus Public Transport
Bronze sponsor: Embassy of Spain in Cyprus, Deloitte Legal
Hospitality sponsor: The Classic Hotel