INTERLOCHEN -- The Vienna Boys Choir is known throughout the world for its members pure, youthful voices.
The boys will raise those voices in song during a varied performance scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Interlochen Center for the Arts' Corson Auditorium.
The choir's fall 2009 tour program features a range of pieces from Mozart and Haydn to polkas, a Korean love song and a selection from the rock musical "Hair." They are led by conductor Manolo Cagnin, on his first North American trip with the choir.
About 100 choristers are divided into four choirs. The one performing at Interlochen includes 25 boys ages 10 to 14. That group arrived in the United States in October for a roughly nine-week tour with more than 40 performances. Two other choirs are in Vienna going to school and singing locally. Another is currently on tour in Asia.
About 400 boys try out each year for the choir, said company manager Tania Jastrebov.
She spoke by phone as the choir traveled on a bus to a performance in North Carolina. Jastrebov said the choir will do most of its U.S. travel by bus, covering the South, Midwest and Northeast on this tour.
The Vienna Boys Choir traces its history to 1498 and the court musicians of Emperor Maximilian I. It is now a private, nonprofit organization and known throughout the world. The boys that will perform in Interlochen represent multiple countries.
"Most of them are certainly from Austria, (but we) also have two children from the United States, one from Cincinnati and one from New York; a boy from Africa and a boy from Germany," Jastrebov said.
The choir last performed at Interlochen in October 2007.
Tickets to Wednesday's concert are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors and $9 for students.
For more information, visit www.interlochen.org or call the box office at 276-7800.
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