The Tölzer Knabenchor was founded in 1956 by Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden in Bad Tölz, a town in the center of Upper Bavaria. Since 1970, it has had a section in Munich with its own studio in Munich-Solln. Right now almost 80 percent of the choir members come from Munich, although Bad Tölz remains an important center. Training is based on the discipline accepted voluntarily by each boy. Creativity, spontaneity and the joy of singing are as important as a well-developed technique.
The choir’s vast musical palette gives priority to baroque oratorios in their original form, borne out by various remarkable recordings. These include the Little Sacred Concertos by Heinrich Schütz (recorded between 1987 and 1990) conducted by Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden.
The various ensembles of the Tölzer Knabenchor give about 240 concerts and opera performances every year. The choristers receive a share of the earnings.
Extensive concert tours have taken them to China, Japan, the USA, Israel, England, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Austria and Switzerland. Many eminent conductors have worked or still work with them: Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Karl Böhm, Sergiu Celibidache, John Eliot Gardiner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert von Karajan, Gustav Leonhardt, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sir Georg Solti, Bruno Weil.
The soloists of the Tölzer Knabenchor sing in many well-known operas and great festivals throughout the world. For example, there are eight recordings of Mozart’s Magic Flute, in which Tölzer Knabenchor choristers sing the parts of the three boys.