The St. Florian Boys Choir

A Grand Tradition Revitalized

The success of the St. Florian Boys Choir lies in the strong foundation of its nigh 1,000-year history. Numerous superb musicians have emerged from its ranks since the founding of the choir, the most eminent one being Anton Bruckner.

Today the St. Florian Boys Choir is an internationally active choir with a diverse repertoire and a clear goal – to convey the joy of making music to their audience. On frequent concert tours they serve as cultural ambassadors of Europe, bringing the great legacy of Austrian music as well as a contemporary repertoire full of new ideas to all continents of the globe.

The unique sound of a boys choir, which only a few remaining institutions in the world still cultivate today, continues to be in great demand at well-known music festivals and in major opera productions. Over the past decades, the choir has visited all corners of the world and has taken part in major music festivals (among them the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Festival, the Festival d’Aix en Provence) and it has performed with some of the most famous orchestras (Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra,…) and conductors time and again. Franz Welser-Möst, the General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera, is Honorary President of the association “Friends of the St. Florian Boys Choir”.

Soloists of the St. Florian Boys Choir sing roles composed for boys (for ex. “Three Boys” in Mozart’s Magic Flute) in large opera houses (among them Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Verona, Barcelona, Aix en Provence, …) on a regular basis.

With an aim towards expanding the repertoire of the Boys Choir, the Men’s Choir of the St. Florian Boys Choir was founded in 1989. Its ranks are made up for the most part of former Choir Boys who have continued to receive voice training and/or become professional singers, some of whom also perform in other renowned ensembles.

Soloists who are members of the Men’s Choir also form small ensembles, which perform mostly in concerts by the Boys Choir and sometimes also as groups in their own right. 

The extensive discography which the St. Florian Boys Choir has to show for itself includes traditional Austrian music, volkslieder and Christmas songs as well as recordings of early music in collaboration with renowned special ensembles performing on historic instruments.

Markus Stumpner became choir master in September 2018, Franz Farnberger has been Artistic Director since 1983.

For more information on the musical activities of the choir please click on the menu item “Booking the Boys Choir“.