The Windsbacher Knabenchor (Windsbach Boys' Choir) is a German

boys' choir A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...

Windsbach Windsbach is a town in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 20 km east of Ansbach, and 29 km southwest of Nuremberg. Geography Location Windsbach is located in the Rangau area on the river Franconian Rezat. Th ...

, Germany, founded in 1946 and performing internationally.

History

The choir was founded in 1946 by

Hans Thamm Hans Thamm (1921 – 13 March 2007) was a German choral conductor, the founder and for more than three decades director of the boys' choir Windsbacher Knabenchor. Career Thamm was born in Kamenz, Saxony. He received his first musical training in ...

and was conducted by

Karl-Friedrich Beringer Hans Karl-Friedrich Beringer (born 7 January 1948, in Neuendettelsau) is a German choral and orchestral conductor, who was from 1978 to 2011 the conductor of the Windsbacher Knabenchor. Life Born in Neuendettelsau, Beringer studied at the Meis ...

from 1977 for decades. It is regarded as one of the most renowned boys choirs of the world. The choir is an institution of the Lutheran Church in Bavaria, which raises about 30 percent of the funds required to support both the ensemble and the singers

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. The choir received the

Rheingau Musikpreis The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

of the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

in 2007. From 2011, has been artistic director of the choir.

Repertoire and performances

Windsbacher in der Sixtina (c) Mila Pavan

The choir's repertoire spans from

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

to great

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s such as the Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'' and Medelssohn's ''

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

''. With about 70 singers, the choir performs about 50 concerts per year. This includes going on tour once or twice per year to locations such as other European countries, the Middle East, Far East, the United States and South America. The choir accompanied the

Presidents of Germany President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobilit ...

and

Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...

on their state visits and held a concert for

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In the ...

Education

At school, the young singers are specially supported in so called "choir classes" of the external grammar school "Johann-Sebastian-Bach- Gymnasium". This allows for more flexibility in responding to the special needs of the singers. The musical education at the boarding school also includes voice training,

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

and of course the daily rehearsals. In order to ensure proper delivery of homework and absorption of curriculum content, the younger grades are obliged to attend a daily "study time" at the boarding school. Depending on the proficiency level of an individual student, special enhancement classes are offered by teachers of the grammar school. The purpose of this offer is to enable students to catch up on subject matters they missed due to absence or class cancellations which result from tours or additional rehearsals in preparation of important performances.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Choirs of children German choirs Boys' and men's choirs Musical groups established in 1946 1946 establishments in Germany