A young soprano in the Vienna Boys' Choir. (Copyright Wiener Sangerknaben)

The tradition is as old as the choir: since its establishment in 1498, one of the world’s oldest and most beloved singing ensembles will grace the Imperial Chapel (Hofmusikkapelle) in Vienna to celebrate Christmas night. This year will not be an exception.

Austria's music ambassadors, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, will sing Joseph Haydn's "Mass in Honor of St. Nicolas” as well as choral pieces by Franz Schubert.

Several days earlier, on Dec. 20, the talented boys will treat audiences to seasonal songs in the perfect acoustical setting of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York.

Criss-crossing the globe is a common activity for the 100 sopranos, ages 10-14. All are part of four touring choirs, named for the Austrian classical composers Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert. The boys give almost 300 concerts per year before 500,000 spectators. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks a year.

Despite the choir’s tight schedule, the boys will still be with their families during the holidays.

“The boys spend the time from Christmas to January 6th with their families. Those boys who live in Vienna or close to Vienna are singing at the Sunday services and the Christmas Day services in the Imperial Chapel,” Raoul Gehringer, assistant to the choir's artistic director, told The Epoch Times.

“As the daily rehearsals are the most important part of the boys’ education, the preparations for the holiday masses will not affect their lives more than any other performance.”

Noble Origins

The tradition known as the Vienna Boys’ Choir, which has lasted for half a millennium, started with an emperor’s wish. When the Imperial Court was moved from Innsbruck to Vienna, Kaiser Maximilian I ordered six boys to become part of the newly established Vienna Hofmusikkapelle (the court music cappella), containing the best musicians in the Habsburg Empire. Thus, choir was born.

The Vienna Boys' Choir performed during a UEFA Euro 2008 ceremony in Lucerne. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

For centuries, the choir performed exclusively at concerts in the emperor’s court and at state events. Nowadays, the boys sing every Sunday in the ornate chapel at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, one of the most exclusive music attractions in the city.

But the imperial patronage of the choir ceased in 1918 with the end of the Habsburg monarchy. The army uniforms complete with swords which they had worn were replaced by the then top- fashion sailor costumes which the young choristers still wear today. In 1824 Josef Schnitt, the dean of the Imperial Chapel, revived the choir as a private entity under the name Wiener Sängerknaben; that, too, is still used today.

Apart from its noble origins, the Vienna Boys’ Choir's success has been enhanced by the many prominent composers and musicians who have contributed over the centuries: Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Salieri, Heinrich Isaac, Paul Hofhaimer, Biber, Johann Fux, Gluck, and Bruckner. Also, the choir has performed under the batons of numerous first-class conductors like Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, and Sir George Solti.

As the holiday season approaches, the Vienna boys are sending a message to all the children in the world through The Epoch Times: “We hope that every child in the world will have the possibility to enjoy music, to make music, and to sing together with others.”

More about Vienna Boys Choir: http://www.wsk.at