Sylvia Purcar - An Extraordinary Artist

Sylvia Purcar is one of the most gifted voice teachers and studio producers on the international scene today. Born in Hungary, Sylvia Purcar had an opera career of distinction centered in Zagreb and the former Yugoslav Republic.

However, Mme. Purcar is best known for her teaching career which began with the Vienna Choir Boys in 1988. For the next 10 years Sylvia Purcar taught vocal technique and performance with the choir and developed many remarkable soloist caliber singers -- perhaps the greatest boy soloists to emerge in the past century. Among them, her son Max Emanuel Cencic and later the Swiss- American, Terrence Wey. Both young artists career have been documented on major international recording labels.

After leaving the Vienna Choir Boys in 1998, Mme. Purcar has been teaching privately from her studio in Vienna. These students have had important careers, among them Lorin Wey who collaborated with celebrated Early Music conductor René Clemencic in an album of baroque masterpieces, including the Handel "Gloria" for the OEHMS label released in 2004.

Excerpts of the Wey- Clemencic album, "Laudate Pueri", can be downloaded at the Audio Lounge link of this webpage.

From 2001-2006 Sylvia Purcar also collaborated in preparing the Renaissance Choir at the Vienna Imperial Chapel to perfrom Renaissance music for the Latin liturgy sung at Sunday High Mass there. This effort was recorded in a superb collaboration with Rene Clemencic released on the Oehms label. The title is "Sacred Music from the Vienna Imperial Chapel of Emperor Maximillian I".. Two excerpts from this disc are found in the Audio Lounge section of this website.

Meanwhile, other recent Purcar students were featured artists in the role of Cupid in a staged version of John Blow's Venus and Adonis for the Wiener Kammeroper; as well as soloists in an Andrew Lloyd Webber celebration at the 2005 Linz Festival; and also as the Drei Knaben in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte under Riccardo Muti at this year’s Salzburg Festival.

In Spring 2005 the Atlanta Boy Choir engaged Mme. Purcar for a two week teaching residency with their singers.

Sylvia Purcar consolidated her students in July 2005 to form the KnabenChor Virtuosi/ Wien. These gifted young artists perform as a unique chamber choir with soloists, ideally suited for Early Music concerts when paired with men, as well as providing vocal resources for opera companies and symphony orchestras. In its start-up phase the Youth Choir Foundation will manage the KnabenChor Virtuosi/ Wien.

Upon its formation the Virtuosi immediately generated intense interest in several quarters of the music world and significant engagements have been finalized with many more under development. Every effort will be made to record and document every performance by the KnabenChor Virtuosi. The intention is to provide access to every appearance by this ensemble.