OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The Vienna Boys Choir has been enthralling audiences for centuries and, come the spring of 2015, the world-famous choir will do so in Ocean Springs.
Sheila Thornburg, Programming & Operations Director for the Mary C., made the announcement Friday afternoon. The choir will perform March 9, 2015 at 7 p.m.
"We're very excited," Thornburg said. "This is a huge event for the Mary C. This is one of the most famous choirs in the world. We got very lucky to get them here."
Thornburg said she had been working to get the choir here for about 2 1/2 years.
"We just got lucky that they were going to be touring the southern states at that time," she said. "Their agent called and asked me if we wanted them. I said `Are you kidding me? Of course we want them.'"
The choir is rooted in the 13th century and maintains the tradition of performing music for Sunday Mass at Vienna's Imperial Chapel, as it has done since 1498. The Vienna Boys Choir, as currently constituted, was formed in 1924 and evolved into a professional music group.
There are approximately 100 boys ages 10-14 in the choir -- most from Austria -- which is divided into four touring groups which perform approximately 300 shows per year for as many as half a million people. Each group tours 9-11 weeks each year.
Thornburg noted the typical venue for a Vienna Boys Choir performance holds 1,500 to 3,000 people -- far larger than the 400-seat capacity of the Mary C. theatre.
"I feel like this is a private performance for our patrons and supporters," Thornburg said.
Ticket prices for the event are $59 and $35 for children 10 and under. Tickets are already available for purchase online or at the Mary C. at 1600 Government St. in Ocean Springs.
The Vienna Boys Choir will perform at the Mary C. Cultural Arts Center in Ocean Springs in March of 2015.
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