During the Whitsun vacations, the Junge Domkantorei at Würzburg Cathedral will embark on a 9-day concert tour to Passau, Austria and Hungary with their director, Cathedral Choirmaster Alexander Rüth, and Cathedral Cantor Julian Beutmiller. As musical ambassadors of the Würzburg diocese and the city of Würzburg, they can be heard at prominent venues such as Passau Cathedral, the Augarten Palace in Vienna and St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest. In addition, the young singers experience a varied cultural program in these metropolises of European music history.

The encounters on this concert tour also promise special experiences:

The tour begins with a concert in St. Paul's Church in Passau on May 25 at 7.30 pm, as well as a church service on May 26 at 11.30 am in Passau Cathedral at the cordial invitation of Andreas Unterguggenberger, the choirmaster of Passau Cathedral. The Dommusik Würzburg is looking forward to visiting its former musical assistant and long-time Stiftskantor in Aschaffenburg and to strengthening the friendly ties between the cathedral musicians.

In Vienna, we will be guests of the Vienna Boys' Choir and in particular the newly founded Vienna Girls' Choir at their boarding school in the Augarten Palace. One of the highlights of the trip will be the meeting with the Vienna Choir Girls, as well as a joint rehearsal and May devotion and a concert on May 27th in St. Leopold. In addition to the exchange of ideas between the singers and getting to know such an internationally important institution, the main focus of the trip will be on raising the profile of girls' choir work and ensuring equality with the boys' choir tradition. With one of the first girls' choirs in German cathedral churches, Dommusik Würzburg is one of the most exemplary institutions in Germany in this area and is therefore also a sought-after networker.

In Budapest, the Junge Domkantorei will be giving a lunch concert in St. Stephen's Basilica, Hungary's largest and best-known cathedral, on May 30, 2014, where it will present itself to a large international audience.

In addition to the concerts and church services, the focus is also on musical and cultural education on an international trip.

In Vienna, the young singers will follow in the footsteps of the European musical tradition and discover the places where Mozart, Beethoven and Bruckner worked. In the House of Music, the singers can then get active themselves. A modern star of classical music can be heard live at the Vienna State Opera in a concert with star soprano Asmik Grigorian. In Budapest, the choir will experience the cultural history of the city on a guided tour of the castle hill, a boat trip on the Danube and a tour through the city at night.

At the end of the trip, on the shores of Lake Balaton, the focus will be on actively shaping the choral community of 68 singers aged between 14 and 24.

The "sounding ambassadors of the diocese and the city of Würzburg" are delighted to have the opportunity to get to know the musical metropolises of Passau, Vienna and Budapest, to work together with such a famous choir as the Vienna Boys' Choir and the Vienna Girls' Choir, to gain many new experiences and adventures and to share these with the choir community.

This trip is made financially possible by the Dommusikverein Würzburg.