Tölzer Knabenchor

The Tölz Boys Choir is a boys' choir in Munich, which was founded in 1956 in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz and on the borders of Germany is known.

Career

The Tölz Boys Choir was founded in 1956 by the then only 19 -year-old high school graduates Gerhard Schmidt- Gaden, Bad Tolz. Already in the same year he was invited to broadcast concerts. In 1957 the first concert tour to South Tyrol and Trento, 1960, a trip to Luxembourg, France, England and Belgium. Since 1963, Carl Orff and a regular guest conductor. He played with the choir his school work.

From the 1960s the chorus or soloists of the choir took part in opera performances. 1964 participated for the first time singer of the choir in a performance of The Magic Flute. In 1973, Gerhard Schmidt- Gaden with his choir the German Record Prize for his brushed against the grain performance of the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach.

1984 and 1986 she traveled to Chicago, China, and Japan. Since then, the choir is known worldwide. In Japan, the choirboys angels are called from Bavaria and include the subject of manga.

The choir has since undertaken concert tours all over the world, including Japan, the People's Republic of China, Israel, Poland and the United States. He has sung at numerous festivals, including the Bayreuth Festival, Berlin Festival, Bregenz Festival, Handel Festival in Halle ( Saale), Heinrich Schütz Festival Kassel, Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, Munich Opera Festival, Salzburg Festival, Schleswig -Holstein Music Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, Vienna Festival. Appearances have taken the choir and its soloists in cities around the world, such as Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Lucerne, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Brussels, Warsaw, Rome, Venice, Madrid, Chicago, New York, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Talent development and training in the choir

The total choir consists of around 200 boys who are trained in four separate choirs. Chorus I, with the best and most experienced Boys' Choir, the Concert Choir. Choir II also occurs in occasional public concerts. The boys are prepared for the concert level and on Chorus I in him. The aptitude tests begin in the first class in many schools around Munich. The choir is not connected boarding operation. The children are supported individually in choral and solo hours and so aroused their enthusiasm and passion for music. Total serve alongside Gerhard Schmidt- Gaden (since 2009 choir director ) and Ralf Ludewig (since 2009 artistic director and manager ) seven choral conductor and voice teacher the children.

The training principle in the choir provides that each child is able to solo singing. So the choir, for example, be able to bring oratorios by Bach in a small ensemble for performance.

Repertoire

The choir or individual singers of the choir contribute annually at nearly 250 national and international concerts and opera performances, such as at the Salzburg Festival and the Munich Opera Festival.

The choir's repertoire includes vocal music from the Middle Ages to modern times, folk songs, madrigals and motets, church music from Baroque to Classical, solo roles and children's choirs for operas. Legendary are already the occupations of the " Three boys " in The Magic Flute at more than 2000 productions.

The soloists of the Tölz Boys Choir are engaged in all opera houses and concert halls of the world for more than four decades: Paris, Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Madrid, Milan, Vienna, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Tokyo and many more Even at major festivals, such as, inter alia, in Salzburg, Bayreuth, Vienna, Aix -en- Provence, Orange, Avenches, Spoleto and the Edinburgh Tolz soloists are regular guests. Many of the best conductors have worked with the soloists of the Tölz Boys Choir, among others as Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Karl Böhm, Ivor Bolton, Herbert von Karajan, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sir Georg Solti and Marcello Viotti.

The opera stage and concert repertoire of soloists of the Tölz Boys Choir includes, inter alia, Amore from Claudio Monteverdi's " Orfeo ", " Il ritorno d' Ulisse " and " L' incoronazione di Poppea ", the three boys from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's " The Magic Flute" and Apollo, Hyacinth, Melia, Zephyrus from "Apollo and Hyacinth " Waldvogel from Richard Wagner's " Siegfried" and shepherd boy from "Tannhäuser", Yniold Claude Debussy's " Pelleas and Melisande " Amore from Christoph Willibald Gluck's " Orfeo ed Euridice", Miles from Benjamin Britten's " Turn of the Screw ", 18 boys soloists from Jörg Widmann " The Face in the mirror ," Young Joseph from Hans Zender's " Chief Joseph " and Leonard Bernstein " Chichester Psalms ," Gabriel Fauré "Requiem " Gustav Mahler " plaintive song ," Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy "Elijah".

The choir sang with numerous renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Beethoven Hall Bonn, Dresden Staatskapelle and the Vienna Philharmonic. They especially like Gerhard Schmidt- Gaden recalls the recording of Bach's cantatas and oratorios, together with Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

With his folksy songs of the Tölz Boys Choir is also in numerous music programs on television as a guest.

The choir sang at the opening ceremony of the 1972 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Munich under the direction of Carl Orff in the traditional greeting of youth, represented by 3,500 school children in Munich, which left a huge impression in the world. Also at the official opening ceremony for the Football World Cup 2006 in Germany on 9 June 2006 at the Allianz Arena in Munich under the direction of Christian Stückl worked with the choir. He also sang on the runway at Munich airport to the adoption of the Pope Benedict XVI. of its visit to Germany in September 2006. Delighted thanked this all the boys and the artistic director personally.

Awards

Well-known former Tölz Boys

• The mountaineers, folk music group
• John Friedmann ( b. 1971 )
• Benjamin basic (* 1980), pop singer (tenor ), composer, producer
• John Hauer ( born 1985 ), actor
• Tobi Hofmann (born 1973 ), jazz musician, actor
• Markus Huber ( born 1968 ), conductor
• Christopher Kloeble (* 1982 ), writer
• Barbara Schmidt- Gaden, singer (mezzo- soprano), daughter of the choir 's founder

Discography

The Tölz Boys Choir has recorded many classical works by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Benjamin Britten, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Heinrich Schütz, Orlando di Lasso, Carl Orff, Gustav Mahler and Robert Schumann.

On the popular sector, the choir has recorded the following albums:

• The Tölz Boys Choir sings his greatest successes
• Spring-summer - autumn and winter
• The Tölz Boys Choir sings his most popular songs
• Songs of the Alps
• The hiking is enjoyable
• Folk songs with Robert Stolz
• Folk songs with Hermann Prey
• Hoppe Hoppe Reiter - The most beautiful children's songs
• Altbayerische Christmas
• Christmas in the Mountains
• Ye Children kommet / 's Christ Child coming soon