8th May, 2014, which is a significant day to Yunnan Province and "The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir" in China. The Yunnan Centre of "The Friends of Vienna Boys Choir" was successfully established in Yunnan province of China. The president & artistic director of the Vienna Boys Choir, Mr. Gerald Wirth, as well as Dr. Wang Jian, the Secretary-General of "The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir", and leaders from the Yunnan Commission of Education and Dali University etc. participated in the Establishment Ceremony & Concert. Mr. Gerald Wirth conducted two students choirs during the Concert which won warm applauses.

Yunnan is located in the south-western area of China, and it has large rural regions of high mountains and valleys. Children from these counties love to sing and present their rich music traditions.

The Yunnan Centre is launched by Yunnan Commission of Education and The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir. It aims at building a strong link between Yunnan and the Vienna in choral singing, and spreading the rich educational experience of the Vienna Boys Choir and helping all the students to learn music with professionals. In its first step, it already consists of 42 children's  choirs. Among them 15 choirs are from rural counties, where the economic development is far behind other cities.

During the 3-days-trip in Yunnan, Mr. Gerald Wirth visited 8 schools, conducted workshops with representative choirs, and attended meetings with local government authorities, choral experts and music teachers. Future exchanges and co-operations between Austria and China were interesting topics.

A special stop with 2 public concerts of the Vienna Boys Choir during its China-Tour 2014 will be organized in Yunnan at the end of October, 2014. Attached to these concerts, exchange activities between the members of the Vienna Boys Choir and "The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir" will enrich the experiences of the young generation.

"The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir" was initiated by the Chinese choral experts, music teachers and fans, and strongly supported by the Vienna Boys Choir, the Chinese Chorus Association -"Chorus China", the Art Education Commission of the Ministry of Education of the PR China, the World Organization for Promoting Music and Arts Education, and the Austrian Embassy in China. The inauguration ceremony of The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir was held at the Austrian Embassy in China on October 28th, 2013. The president of The Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir is Prof. Yang Hongnian, who is a highly respected conductor and educator in the choral conducting area in China. The Friends of the Vienna Boys devotes itself to setting up a strong link between The Vienna Boys Choir, Europe and China.

For more information, please visit:
www.fvbc.cn or www.uniart-worldwide.com