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23-502: Tölzer Knabenchor was founded in 1956 by the then 19-year-old grammar school graduate Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden in Bad Tölz . In the same year, they were invited to perform radio concerts. In 1957, the first concert tour to South Tyrol and Trento followed, and in 1960, a trip to Luxembourg , France , England and Belgium . From the 1960s on, the choir and its members participated in opera performances. Since 1963, Carl Orff has been

46-693: A cappella ), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered to be instrumental music (e.g. the wordless women's choir in the final movement of Holst 's symphonic work The Planets ) as is music without singing. Music without any non-vocal instrumental accompaniment is referred to as a cappella . Vocal music typically features sung words called lyrics , although there are notable examples of vocal music that are performed using non-linguistic syllables, sounds, or noises, sometimes as musical onomatopoeia , such as jazz scat singing . A short piece of vocal music with lyrics

69-568: A regular guest and conductor. He recorded his Schulwerk with the choir. In 1964, for example, soloists from the choir participated for the first time in a performance of Mozart's Magic Flute. Since 1971, the choir has rehearsed in the state capital of Munich. In 1973, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden and his choir received the German Record Prize for their performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio . In 1984 and 1986, trips to Chicago , China and Japan followed. Since then,

92-456: Is broadly termed a song, although in different styles of music, it may be called an aria or hymn . Vocal music often has a sequence of sustained pitches that rise and fall, creating a melody , but some vocal styles use less distinct pitches, such as chants or a rhythmic speech-like delivery, such as rapping . As well, there are extended vocal techniques that may be used, such as screaming, growling, throat singing , or yodelling. Vocal music

115-519: Is probably the oldest form of music, since it does not require any instrument besides the human voice . All musical cultures have some variation of vocal music. Solfege , a vocalized musical scale , assigns various syllables such as "Do-Re-Mi" to each note. A variety of similar tools are found in traditional Indian music , and scat singing of jazz. Hip hop music has a very distinct form of vocal percussion known as beatboxing . It involves creating beats, rhythms, and scratching . The singer of

138-592: The Allianz Arena in Munich, directed by Christian Stückl. They also sang on the tarmac at Munich Airport for the farewell of Pope Benedict XVI from his visit to Germany in September 2006, who was delighted, and thanked the boys and the artistic director personally. From 2009 to 2014, Ralf Ludewig was artistic director and managing director of the choir. In 2014, he was dismissed by Schmidt-Gaden right before

161-864: The Christmas Oratorio that it "bursts forth with spirited expectation as the Nativity is vigorously explored". He took farewell from the Tölzer Knabenchor with a concert of four motets by Bach at the Stadtpfarrkirche in Bad Tölz in January 2016, opening the year of celebrating the choir's 60th anniversary. Vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (

184-649: The Tölzer Knabenchor , a boys' choir which achieved international fame within a few years. He conducted the choir until 2016. He was influenced by Carl Orff , Hans Werner Henze , Herbert von Karajan , August Everding and Claudio Abbado . His musical development was particularly influenced by his longstanding collaboration with Nikolaus Harnoncourt , with the Tölzer Knabenchor performing in Harnoncourt's first recordings of Bach 's works in historically informed performance . In 1978, Schmidt-Gaden founded

207-611: The "Florilegium Musicum", a chamber orchestra for early music with original instruments. From 1980 to 1988 he was professor of choral conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg . From 1984 to 1989 he also worked as choir director at La Scala in Milan. The writer Christopher Kloeble  [ de ] , who sang in the Tölzer Knabenchor from 1988 to 1994, reported in 2017 retrospectively about mental abuse by Schmidt-Gaden up to

230-595: The Icelandic group Sigur Rós , Jón Þór Birgisson , often uses vocals without words, as does Icelandic singer/songwriter, Björk . Her album Medúlla is composed entirely of processed and acoustic vocal music, including beatboxing , choral arrangements, and throat singing . Singer Bobby McFerrin has recorded a number of albums using only his voice and body, sometimes consisting of a texted melody supported by untexted vocalizations. The Second Viennese School , especially Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg , pioneered

253-459: The allegations. After Clemens Haudum resigned his position as artistic director in March 2021, Christian Fliegner was the sole artistic director until June 2021, when Michael Hofstetter was introduced as the choir's new artistic director at the end of June 2021. Fliegner took over the newly created position of training director with the 2021/22 season. A year later - at the end of the 2021/22 season -

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276-465: The boys are prepared for concert maturity and for Choir I. The repertoire covers vocal music from the medieval to the modern , folk music , madrigals and motets , church music from the baroque to the classical , solo roles and opera for children's choirs. Members of the choir have played the "Three boys" in Mozart 's Die Zauberflöte ( The Magic Flute ) in numerous productions. Some of

299-416: The children. The training principle in the choir is that every single child is able to sing solo. For example, the choir is able to perform oratorios by Bach with a small cast. The ensemble is composed of several choirs, divided according to age and musical level: Choir I , with the best and most experienced boys, is the concert choir. Choir II also performs in occasional public concerts. In this group,

322-1038: The choir has become known worldwide. In Japan , the choir boys are called Angels from Bavaria and are the subject of manga , among other books. The choir made many concert tours in countries all over the world, including Japan, the People's Republic of China, Israel , Poland and the USA . They have sung at numerous festivals, including Bayreuth Festival , Berlin Festival , Bregenz Festival , Handel Festival Halle (Saale) , Heinrich Schütz Festival Kassel , Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, Munich Opera Festival , Salzburg Festival , Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival , Schwetzingen Festival , Vienna Festival . Notable artists such as Carl Orff , August Everding , Hans Werner Henze , Leonard Bernstein , Gustav Leonhardt , Nikolaus Harnoncourt , and Claudio Abbado are some of those among

345-532: The choir manager, the current amount of boy-singers has decreased to 150. Education starts at the age of six, each member receiving intensive solo vocal training in addition to weekly group rehearsals. Aptitude tests begin in the first grade at many schools in Munich and the surrounding area. The choir is not affiliated with a boarding school. The children are individually supported in choir and solo lessons, thus awakening their enthusiasm and passion for music. A total of ten choir directors and vocal pedagogues supervise

368-405: The choir was again restructured. After one year, Michael Hofstetter left the Tölzer Knabenchor. According to a press release, the choir needed a director with a particularly intensive, regular teaching schedule. Hofstetter, however, could not provide this because of his other artistic commitments. Hofstetter will, however, remain with the choir as principal guest conductor and advisory board member of

391-609: The choir's most popular recordings include Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (born 19 June 1937) is a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic teacher. He founded and conducted the Tölzer Knabenchor . Born in Karlovy Vary , Czechoslovakia , Schmidt-Gaden studied conducting with Kurt Eichhorn in Munich, choral conducting with Kurt Thomas in Leipzig, and singing with Helge Rosvaenge , Otto Iro and Mario Tonelli. In 1956 he founded

414-582: The choir's supporters. The choir sang at the opening ceremony of the 1972 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Munich , directed by Carl Orff, during the traditional Salute of Youth, performed by 3,500 Munich schoolchildren, which made an enormous impression throughout the world. The choir also participated in the official opening ceremony for the 2006 World Cup in Germany , on June 9, 2006, at

437-459: The musical and artistic directors of the Tölzer Knabenchor. Both were longtime members of the staff around Schmidt-Gaden, who continued to pull the strings in his role as artistic mentor. Schmidt-Gaden's wife Helga Schmidt-Gaden took care of economic matters as before, while daughter Barbara Schmidt-Gaden joined as artistic and operational coordinator and has been the sole executive director since 2016. In May 2016, long-time choir manager Anselm Sibig

460-608: The singing of a mocking song on the then overweight Kloeble during a bus ride of the choir. Another choirboy confirmed the atmosphere of fear, humiliation and emotional violence up to a slap in the face. Schmidt-Gaden did not comment on the accusations. Schmidt-Gadens recordings with the Tölzer Knabenchor include Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Collegium Aureum , Kleine Geistliche Konzerte by Heinrich Schütz , and sacred choral music by Orlande de Lassus . A reviewer of Gramophone noted about their 1971 recording of

483-610: The sponsoring association. The succession of the artistic direction has not been settled for the time being. As of 2024, the choir was moved to a new place of Unterföhring, and the choir is planning to take part in a choir festival, Bad Tölz. According to the present choir's manager, Schmidt-Gaden, more funding for the choir is crucial, since the COVID-19 pandemic the format of the open-air festival has been changed. The total choir consists of about 170 boys who are trained in five individual choirs. However, as of 2024, as mentioned by

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506-697: The start of a tour of China due to serious disagreements about personnel management and artistic direction. Since 2014, the choir has hosted a boys' choir festival in Bad Tölz , featuring internationally renowned choirs such as the Vienna Boys' Choir , the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir, the Zurich Boys' Choir, and the Wilten Boys' Choir . From September 2014 to March 2021, vocal coaches Christian Fliegner and Clemens Haudum were

529-496: Was unexpectedly fired and replaced by Barbara Schmidt-Gaden, who took over his duties for only a short period of time. In 2017, author Christopher Kloeble , who sang in the choir from 1988 to 1994, reported mental abuse by then-choir manager Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden. Another choirboy confirmed the atmosphere of fear, humiliation, and emotional violence, including slaps in the face during that time. Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden and current executive director Barbara Schmidt-Gaden did not comment on

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