When the Pacific Choir from San Francisco visits Vienna as part of its European tour, two special choral traditions come together. During a two-day joint workshop, the singers of the Pacific Choir and the Vienna Boys’ Choir will deepen their musical collaboration, exchange experiences and discover new worlds of sound. The crowning finale of this special encounter will be a concert in which the voices from San Francisco and Vienna take to the stage together. An evening dedicated to international exchange, musical friendship and the unifying power of choral singing.
About the Vienna Boys’ Choir
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is one of the most famous and oldest choirs in the world: the first mention of choirboys at the Vienna Castle dates back to 1296. In 1498, 200 years later, Emperor Maximilian I founded a chapel in Vienna where boys were also to sing: they performed at Imperial Diets, coronations and weddings. Over the centuries, the court attracted musicians such as Gluck and Mozart. Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn and Franz Schubert sang in the choir as boys; Salieri was the court Kapellmeister, and Bruckner was a teacher of the court choirboys.
Today, the Vienna Boys’ Choir is a private, non-profit association which is funded through concerts and tours and also relies on donations and sponsors. The association runs a music primary school and a grammar school; alongside the Boys’ Choir, there are the Vienna Girls’ Choir, the Chorus Primus and the Chorus Juventus. The UNESCO-recognised training programme is open to all, regardless of background, gender, nationality or religion. The active choirboys are divided into four boys’ choirs. Together, they give just under 300 performances each year to almost half a million audience members around the world.
On Sundays, they perform with members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Men’s Choir at the Hofburg Chapel in Vienna. Other highlights include performances at the Salzburg Festival and at the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert. In 2024, the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Vienna Girls’ Choir were jointly awarded the European Culture Prize.
About The Pacific Choir
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area – the global epicentre of cutting-edge technology and innovation – The Pacific Choir (comprising dedicated mixed voices from Years 6 to 12) provides a profound artistic counterpoint to the digital age. Under the direction of Music Director Hyunjung Choi, the choir meets weekly at Peace Lutheran Church in Danville, California. All members are united by a central educational mission: to harness the timeless, unifying power of music to bring people together across community, cultural and continental boundaries.
Having grown up in an environment brimming with cutting-edge technology, these choir members are learning that the deepest human connections extend far beyond screens, and that hearts are united through the shared breath and resonance of a live ensemble. Rather than relying solely on digital communication, the choir champions the vibrant power of music as a universal language to reach people both locally and globally.
The ensemble brings this vision to life through ambitious international exchange projects – such as its landmark European tour, which included a workshop with the Vienna Boys„ Choir – as well as through performances at renowned venues such as the Herbst Theatre and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Particular highlights include their performance at the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the United Nations in 2015 and the concert to mark “500 Years of the Reformation’ at Grace Cathedral in 2017. Its repertoire ranges from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary world premieres. Through these diverse cultural journeys of discovery and concert experiences around the world, the choir embraces the world with enthusiasm, fosters intercultural understanding and is committed to the lifelong goal of uniting humanity through music.
