The Wayne State College Black and Gold Preforming Arts Series brought in the Vienna Boys Choir to Ramsey Theater on Thursday, Oct. 23.
The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the oldest in the world, running since the early Renaissance in Europe, singing in the Imperial Chapel in Vienna, Austria.
Now, the group consists of 100 boys in total, touring in groups of 25, all between the ages of 9 to 14. The four groups are Brucknerchor, Haydnchor, Mozartchor and Schubertchor. The four groups have around 300 per year, combined and millions of people attend these concerts. The Vienna Boys Choir just celebrated their 527th anniversary in 2025.
The group that WSC hosted was Haydnchor, under the direction and accompaniment of Jimmy Chiang. They performed a variety of songs, from “The Prayer” which is from the movie “Quest for Camelot,” classics from Mozart, Bruckner and Strauss and even Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” from the movie “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.” Before the intermission, they performed their theme song “Trisch Tratsch (Chit Chat),” a fast polka style song.
However, not all boys are European. The boys in the choir represent around 15 nations across the world. Jimmy Chiang, the director for the Haydnchor group, is from Hong Kong, China. He started his career at the age of 13 as a concert pianist but was raised in a musical family, taking piano lessons at age four and later studied cello, conducting and composition. Chiang even arranged a couple of pieces for the WSC performance. Chiang attended Trinity College of Music in London, United Kingdom at age 16 and earned a Fellow’s Diploma, attended Baylor University for his Bachelor of Music and completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with the Master Atrium. Chiang has been a Choirmaster of the Vienna Boys Choir since 2013, touring North and South America, Europe and Asia. Chiang has conducted in places like Carnegie Hall in New York, Opera City and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Lotte Concert Hall and Seoul Arts Center in South Korea and many others.
Upcoming Black and Gold performances include the President’s Holiday Gala on Sunday, Dec. 7, The Acting Company on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 and Step Afrika! On Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Tickets for all three are on sale now. Tickets are $10 for the public, free for WSC faculty, staff and students. Tickets are available at wsc.edu/performing-arts
