Gerald Wirth, who succeeded Norbert Balatsch as the Vienna Boys Choir’s artistic director in 2001 and became its president in 2013, received his early musical training as a member of the Wiener Sängerknaben and at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Austria, where he studied voice, oboe, and piano. From 1986 to 1989 he was a choirmaster of the Wiener Sängerknaben, in charge of one of the four touring choirs. He then turned his attention to opera, as chorusmaster of the Landestheater Salzburg. In 1991 Wirth moved to Canada to assume the post of artistic director of the Calgary Boys’ Choir. In 1994 he became music director of the Calgary Civic Symphony and of Sangita, Calgary’s professional vocal ensemble, and from 1997 to 1999 he was associate conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared as a guest conductor in Australia, Hong Kong, China, Russia, and the United States, and is also active as a composer and arranger. In 2008, Wirth founded Superar, a European initiative advocating more music and dance in the daily life of children and adolescents.
