The Vienna Boys Choir comes to Mason

The historic Vienna Boys Choir takes the stage on Friday, December 14 at George Mason Center for the Arts (Photo courtesy of Lukas Beck.).

Steeped in history, the Vienna Boys Choir is perhaps one of the oldest thriving choirs in the world. The choir will be performing at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts on Friday, Dec. 14. They will be performing traditional Christmas carols in English as well a variety of other languages to accompany their program.

Dating back to as early as 1498, the choir has only expanded since then. Until 1900, the choir performed almost exclusively in Vienna for the emperor. Now, the Vienna Boys Choir spends most of the year touring around the world.

Karem Sezen, the longtime music director for the choir, began his career in music wanting to tour the world.

He began to study music including not only voice, but piano and flute as well. Ending up as one of the directors for the choir was a “coincidence and nothing that [I] had planned,” Sezen said, “Somehow it’s where the universe wanted me.”

The choir has performed all over the world from New York City’s Carnegie Hall, to Shanghai and Berlin. The choir is separated into four different touring groups: Hayden, Bruckner, Mozart and Schubert. The Hayden choir will be performing at Mason’s Center for the Arts on Friday.

The choir is comprised of boys ranging from ages 10 to 14 and they give around 300 concerts and performances each year in front of thousands of people. Performing anything from traditional classical pieces to contemporary pieces, Sezen selects music that he and the boys agree on. When selecting music, Sezen said that a variety of factors go into selecting music for the boys to sing. This includes not only what the director picks but what the boys want to sing and what an audience would like to hear.

With a repertoire spanning over 500 years, there is a lot to choose from for performances. However, music selection differs for each region. Beyond that, the selection process is different for each performance. The choir sings a mix of contemporary songs accompanied by traditional songs from Vienna and Western Europe.

“When we are touring in the U.S. or Germany, for example, we look at the upcoming Christmas choral program,” Karem said. “We do more English speaking chorus songs in America, but we also include German Christmas carols in our program.”

(The choir performs the traditional Christmas carol "The Little Drummer Boy)

Not only has the music changed since the choir began, but so have the actual singers. What used to be a selection of chorus boys primarily from Vienna now includes choristers from the United States and other areas abroad. The choir has now become more international through the process of including outside auditions via CDs and? DVDs.

Two boys touring with the choir that will be coming to Mason are Timo, age 13, and Fabin, age 11. Both boys are originally from Vienna. Timo has been with the choir for four years and has toured multiple times with the choir. The choir is comprised of boys ages 10 to 14 who audition to be a part of the choir. For Fabian, who is now in his third year with the choir, being a part of the group is something special for him. For him, and for many of the boys, he isn’t just singing to sing.

“I like to sing with my soul,” said Fabin. “I like to sing and make people happy.”

Making audiences smile is the reward that the boys get after long days of traveling.

A typical day for the choir includes getting up at seven or eight in the morning on a normal concert day. The boys travel on a bus and take breaks for lunch and naps. They rehearse throughout the day before they perform in a concert. However, on days that they have off, the boys usually spend some time sightseeing or playing soccer.

(Photo courtesty of Lukas Beck.)
For many choristers such as Timo, the contemporary songs are their favorites. Timo’s favorite song to sing is Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time” that the choir sings a cappella. However, his favorite moment includes being on tour with his friends and sharing music with audiences worldwide.

“Singing is very interesting and cool because there are no other possibilities to do singing like that,” Timo said over the phone.

Bringing music to a larger audience is one of the few things that can bring individuals together.

“One of my main reasons for being a musician, is that it’s a language spoken all over the world,” said Sezen. “You meet up other people, you play some type of music, you do music, you improvise…that’s really coming together on a higher sense.”

Tickets for the choir's performance can be purchased at the Center for the Arts box office. One student free studen ticket can be reserved with a valid student ID.