THOMASVILLE- Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s 2024-25 Concert Series continues Tuesday, Dec. 17, as the world-famous Vienna Boys Choir takes the stage at the Thomasville Center for the Arts in a program called “Christmas in Vienna.” The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

The traveling troupe of 21 cultural ambassadors – sopranos and altos ranging in age from nine to 14 years old – are set to perform a mix of Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, and seasonal hymns and carols in both German and English, led by Choirmaster Manolo Cagnin.

“TEF first presented the Choir in 1959, and we are thrilled to present them again 65 years later,” Executive and Artistic Director Rick Ivey said.

Public response has been very enthusiastic, he said, and the concert is currently sold out with a waiting list for tickets.

The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and one of its oldest. Boys have been performing at Vienna’s Imperial Chapel at least since 1296. Two hundred years later, on July 7, 1498, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established a Court Chapel in Vienna to include boys among the singers, laying the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir. Just as they do today, these early choir members spent much time traveling, as they accompanied the emperor to sing at parliamentary meetings, coronations, weddings, state processions, and feasts.

The modern Vienna Boys Choir is a private, non-profit organization funded through income from concerts, donations, and sponsorships. The Choir maintains a school focusing on choral music and singing. More than 300 boys and girls from six to 19 years old attend the schools on campus. All students have individual voice lessons and sing in one of the choirs.

There are currently four choirs, each under its own choirmaster, sharing concerts, tours, sound recordings, and filming equally. Altogether they perform almost 300 concerts each year to nearly half a million people. Since 1924, the choirs have completed more than 1000 tours in 100 different countries, clocking up a staggering 29,000 concerts.

TEF’s Concert Series is presented in cooperation with the Thomasville Center for the Arts. Interested concertgoers can contact the TEF office at (229) 226-7404 or visit www.TEFconcerts.com for more information.

Founded in 1937, TEF is a volunteer-powered, non-profit organization celebrating 87 years of entertaining the community. In addition to its annual season of performances by acclaimed artists, TEF offers a dedicated family series of presentations geared to families and younger children, provides educational outreach programs for students and awards performing arts scholarships and grants to promising young artists.