Scenic oratorio by Hans Köhl and Shane Woodborne
Playlist
3:11
1:14
2:19
1:44
0:50
2:35
0:18
1:59
2:05
0:53
5:58
2:20
1:21
3:31
0:52
1:57
0:46
2:22
1:02
2:56
2:38
1:21
1:15
1:22
1:26
0:33
2:20
1:52
4:18
0:44
1:35
1:32
2:17
1:30
1:55
1:26
0:38
2:17
1:23
2:07
1:15
1:55
2:47
2:22
1:25
5:35
Thoughts on the work
This time, the barren Dachstein massif, which is climatically comparable to the biblical mountains of Judea, forms the backdrop for the Salzburg Advent Singing. The “Blind Shepherd” and his companions form a dramaturgical arc to the Advent story of Mary and Joseph. With his heightened senses, he perceives much more than the sighted people around him and – above all – he sees well with his heart. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was not the only one to grasp this profound sensory perception in “The Little Prince”; similar insights were also attributed to the blind shepherd Teiresias in Greek mythology. During an encounter with Mary and Joseph, he grasps the birth of the Redeemer prophesied by Isaiah with his heightened senses. The Advent events take their course.
With this Advent song, which I am working on with the composer Shane Woodborne, the biblical events are transferred into our alpine landscape, similar to the way the numerous nativity scene builders and figure carvers have been doing it for centuries in their typical regional representations. The actors around Mary and Joseph – from the angel who holds his protective hand over everyone, to the shepherds who are astonished by the events, to the hard-hearted innkeeper – will once again all portray a characteristic personality. In the end, little Peterl will surprise the blind shepherd with an almost unbelievable story!
With wonderful musical and vocal performances by the Salzburger Saitenmusik-Ensemble, the Salzburger Geigenmusik, the Ensemble Juvavum Brass, the Salzburger Blattbläser-Ensemble, the soloists, the vocal ensembles Hohes C and CMM, the Salzburger Volkschoir and the Salzburger Hirtenkindern will once again make this will once again be an unforgettable experience.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Hans Köhl, overall management, book, program
If you come once, you'll keep coming back!
The history of the Salzburg Advent Singing is like a good book, it never ends with the last page, but has been opening up new perspectives again and again for 79 years now. With over 150 singers, musicians and performers, this cradle of all Advent carols is a very special experience for around 36,000 visitors every year. It has already delighted generations of guests from all over the world. “Those who come once, come again” – this credo is probably the best compliment for the Adventsingen family.
Food for the soul
At each of the 16 performances in the Grosses Festspielhaus, you can feel how the audience breathes with the performers. A unique, energetic aura develops, the feeling of a large community, which reaches its climax at the latest when the devotional yodel is sung together. Over the years, the famous Salzburg Advent Singing has become a valuable, often annual nourishment for the soul for over two million visitors. It is not only an experience on the ground, but also a recurring topic in the news.
A unique experience
There is probably no other event of this genre where such a high artistic level can be experienced. Driven by the longing for unity and peace as well as the meditative power of silence, the Advent events can be experienced this year from the perspective of a blind shepherd. Folk music and classical music, contemporary sounds, the play of the shepherd children and impressive scenic performances with the story of Mary and Joseph – all this forms a harmonious whole in its elegant simplicity that is second to none.
Leading Team
Hans Köhl
has been the main director of the Salzburg Advent Festival for 25 years. He is also managing director of the non-profit Kulturwerk Salzburg GmbH, which acts as the organizer of this traditional Salzburg cultural institution. He is where all the threads of this internationally renowned event come together.
Every year, he conceives new scenic-musical complete works, writes the books, takes care of the folk music components and develops new Salzburg Advent songs in close cooperation with the respective composer. A tireless search for new approaches and their contemporary implementation while incorporating valuable traditions is the driving force behind his successful work.
Conscious of his responsible, traditional heritage, Hans Köhl sets the highest possible artistic standards for himself and all those involved. Under his leadership, the Salzburg Advent Singing always surprises with new experiences of the Advent events and the mystery of the divine miracle of birth.
Shane Woodborne
studied violoncello and piano in Cape Town, South Africa and at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. During his studies, he increasingly devoted himself to composing. Commissioned works are created for the Beethoven-Gesellschaft Bremen, the Zeitfluss-Festival Salzburg, the Jeunesse and the Lindesnes Chamber Music Festival Norway, among others. These include works for choir and orchestra as well as song cycles, solo works and chamber music. The musician and composer has been a member of the Camerata Salzburg since 1992.
Shane Woodborne has composed numerous musical works for world premieres and new versions of Salzburg Advent carols such as “Da hat vor dem Stall der Äpfibam bliaht” (1999, 2007), “Siehe ich bin des Herren Magd” (2002), “Maria” (2009), “Sehnsucht” (2013), “Schnee in Bethlehem” (2015, 2022), “Fürchte dich nicht!” (2020, 2021, 2022) and “The Blind Shepherd” (2017, 2024)
Herbert Böck
First musical training as a Viennese choirboy – soprano soloist. Studied conducting, oboe, composition and music education at the Vienna University of Music. 1985-1989 solo oboist with the Vienna RSO. 1989-1998 artistic director of the Vienna Singakademie with conducting duties at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Principal conductor of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra, artistic director of the Concentus Vocalis, since 1995 professor of choral and ensemble conducting at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. Founded the Mozarteum University Chamber Choir in 2007.
Collaborations with the Vienna Philharmonic Wind Ensemble, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Lower Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra, Orchestra Santa Cecilia die Roma, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra Ljubljana, Radio Orchestra Budapest, Symphony Orchestra Latvia, RIAS Chamber Choir Berlin, Berlin Radio Choir, MDR Choir Leipzig, WDR Choir Cologne, among others. Numerous concert tours throughout Europe, to Russia, Israel and the USA.
Herbert Böck has been a congenial conductor for the Salzburg Advent Singing since 2001, who appreciates and respects folk music as a basis and for whom working with choirs is a much-loved task.
Gerda Gratzer
Gerda Gratzer celebrated her debut as an acting director at the Salzburg Advent Festival in 2022. The sensitive artist grew up in Carinthia and studied musicology, ethnology, cultural management and acting in Graz and Salzburg.
She was artistic director of the Millstatt International Music Weeks, managing director of the Prima la Musica youth music competition in Salzburg and finally devoted herself entirely to theater. She founded the Theater Panoptikum and the Theater der Freien Elemente, worked as an actress for many years and directed more than 30 plays (“Drei Mal Leben” by Yasmina Reza, “Der thermale Widerstand” by Ferdinand Schmalz, “Glück” by Kateřina Černá, “Acht Frauen” by Robert Thomas, “Die Wunderübung” by Daniel Glattauer and many more).
Gerda Gratzer leads seminars for acting and directing and is also a systemic psychotherapist with her own practice.
www.gerdagratzer.at
Brigitte Schiebler
Before becoming self-employed, master tailor Brigitte Schiebler worked for many years as a professional for the Salzburg Festival. In her studio, the creative design, cut and draft director produces enchanting unique textile items such as business outfits, bridal and evening wear, dirndl dresses, made-to-measure shirts and interior decorations. The Salzburg native also creates exclusive costumes for international fashion shows and also provides expert opinions as an appraiser and textile expert.
Brigitte Schiebler loves magical things, including the challenge entrusted to her to design a distinctive and fascinating costume design for the new production of the Salzburg Advent Singing and to produce it using her craftsmanship.
Mask:
Nicole Klingseisen
Elena Schachl
Andreas Ivancsics
is a freelance video artist and stage designer. After training as a sound engineer at the SAE Vienna, he worked as head of the sound and video technology department at Bühne Baden. There he met Dietmar Solt, the stage designer of the Salzburg Advent Festival, and they worked together for many years.
His artistic work has taken Andreas to various theaters in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy as well as the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman. In 2025, premieres at the Seefestspiele Mörbisch, the Musicalsommer Amstetten, the Salzburger Landestheater, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Vienna Musikverein and the Steyr Music Festival are on the agenda.
Andreas Ivancsics was awarded the “Austrian Music Theater Prize” in 2018 for “Axel an der Himmelstür” at the Volksoper Vienna.
www.ivo-ton.com
Plant 2025
Contributors
People and their actors
Eva Maria Schinwald
celebrated her stage debut in 2013 with the leading role in the contemporary opera “Die Kavalleristin” by Adriaan de Wit. In 2014, she was engaged for the first time in the Salzburg Advent Singing “Der Sterngucker” at the Großes Festspielhaus/Salzburg as “Maria”. In 2017, she delighted the audience in the work “Der blinde Hirte” as a soprano in the role of the angel. In 2021, Eva Maria Schinwald enchanted audiences as an actress and soloist in the role of “Maria” in the anniversary Advent Singing (without an audience due to coronavirus), performed as “Maria” in the work “Snow in Bethlehem” in 2022 and also delighted audiences in this role in 2023.
Concert tours have taken the lyric soprano to Germany, the Hugo Wolf Festival in Slovenia and London, where she sang J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion with the Salzburg Bach Society and the Baroque Orchestra of the Royal School of Music. She has also appeared in numerous staged productions at the Salzburg State Theater and the Salzburg Festival.
Eva Schinwald completed her master’s degree in singing at the Mozarteum Salzburg with distinction. She completed international master classes with Horiana Branisteanu, Edda Moser, Helena Lazarska, Margreet Honig, Gerhard Kahry and Wolfgang Holzmair.
www.evaschinwald.com
Johannes Forster (baritone)
The baritone studied singing with Albert Hartinger and John Thomasson at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
The singer made his debut on stage as a boy at the tender age of 10 in the leading role of the children’s opera Pollicino, and was later heard at the festival in La Bohème and Der Rosenkavalier. The world premiere of Arvo Pärt’s Our Father is also one of his early engagements.
As a male voice, he found his way onto the Salzburg male ensemble scene with the vocal ensemble Hohes C, which was named World Choir Champion in 2014 and is now also part of the Salzburg Advent Singing. Other ensembles include the Ruperti Viergesang, with a focus on folk music, and Lungo5, in close harmony and barbershop style.
In 2019 and 2022, he took on the leading role of Dismas in the staged Salzburg Passion Singing and from 2018-2024 he sang and acted in the Shepherd’s Advent. He sang as a soloist with the Salzburg Bach Choir under Howard Arman and in various Festival productions. He can also be heard as a lieder singer and interprets songs by Shane Woodborne and Franz Schubert together with the Quadrophonie Salzburg.
The versatile singer ranges from Renaissance and Baroque music to Romantic songs and contemporary atonal music, as well as jazz, pop and musicals. He imparts his knowledge as a vocal teacher and choir director at the Musikum Salzburg and numerous choirs.
Masterclasses have taken him to artists such as Wolfgang Holzmair, Sascha Wienhausen and The King’s Singers
Elisabeth Eder-Marböck (soprano)
Salzburg native Elisabeth Eder – soprano, harpist, musicologist, teacher – grew up in Großarl in Pongau and has been embodying the role of the angel as a soprano soloist since 2018.
She completed her artistic, pedagogical, scientific and musicophysiological training (concert subject, IGP studies, teaching degree, music physiology, university didactics, PhD studies) at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the Paris Lodron University Salzburg, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (all eight degrees or academic degrees with distinction as well as two university courses). She received the Award of Excellence 2022 (Austrian State Prize for the best doctoral theses) for her doctoral thesis. In November 2023, she was awarded the Ring of Honor of the Republic of Austria by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on the occasion of her doctorate sub auspiciis at the Mozarteum University.
Elisabeth Eder teaches singing and pedagogical-scientific courses at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She demonstrates her artistic versatility as a soloist, chamber musician and with various orchestras and choirs at national and international level. As a soprano soloist, she can be heard regularly in Salzburg Cathedral and in various concert and opera projects. As a harpist, she regularly plays in the Salzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, has won first prizes in international and national competitions and has performed with many renowned orchestras at home and abroad, such as the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle. Concert tours have taken her to venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Barbican Hall London, the Verona Opera and Milan, the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella and many more.
Website: www.elisabeth-eder.at
www.elisabeth-eder.at
Edwin Hochmuth
The qualified social care worker and Tyrolean actor Edwin Hochmuth completed his acting training in 2006 at the Sachers acting school in Innsbruck. Since then, he has appeared on many stages. Important stages have included the Tiroler Landestheater, the Innsbruck Kellertheater, the Theater in Effingerstraße in Bern, the Tiroler Volksschauspiele in Telfs and many more. He has also appeared in various TV and cinema productions. In addition to his passion for acting, Edwin also works as a counselor at the children’s home in Axams.
He has been director of the Tyrolean theater festival “Stummer Schrei” since August 2023.
Hochmuth first appeared at the Salzburg Advent Singing in 2012. In 2018, he was hired for the role of the shepherd Jaggerl. Since then, he has performed with the shepherd children at the Salzburg Advent Singing every year. He and the children enjoy performing with the Salzburg Little Shepherds so much that he always enjoys coming back to Salzburg.
Marcella Wieland
Her passion for theater sparked the “Theater Mokrit” of the Lungau Cultural Association in 2012. Since then, she has appeared in many productions such as Tannöd, Ein Jedermann, 8 Frauen and more. The actress made her debut at the Salzburg Advent Singing in 2023 in the role of Maria’s mother Anna. This time she will embody a completely different role as the landlady.
She has been on stage with the ensemble for puppet and children’s theater since 2018 and goes on tour throughout Austria with changing productions. The “Theater Mokrit” and the Lungau Cultural Association around Robert Wimmer have always promoted and supported her passion for theater. The cultural association is her valuable source of inspiration and employer. Marcella Wieland will complete her training as a theater educator in Innsbruck in spring 2023.
Marcella Wieland began her professional career as a family helper, where she also worked for many years. She then completed her examination to become a non-medical practitioner in Munich. After living in South Africa and the city of Salzburg, she moved to Salzburg’s Lungau region in 2008. She runs a practice in Unternberg and offers individual coaching sessions as well as the “Mentoring for Women” workshop, which she also holds regularly in the city of Salzburg.
Salzburg shepherd children 2025
Valentin Aster (trumpet)
Lisa Brunauer (flute)
Marina Buchstätter (flute)
Hannah Marie Fuchs (violin)
Marlene Fuchsberger (hammered dulcimer)
Philomena Greinz (hammered dulcimer)
Lara Illek (recorder)
Lea Kniewasser (clarinet)
Valentina Költringer (violin)
Matthias Leymüller (double bass)
Niklas Mischkulnig (violin)
Jana Neuherz (flute)
Barbara Neureiter (recorder)
Sophia Rosenberger (violin)
Mateo Schauer-Prenninger (harmonica)
Luis Schinagl (trumpet)
Philipp Stadler (harmonica)
from left: Markus Helminger, Gerda Gratzer, Elena Seywald, Gudrun Köhl-Korbuly, Hans Köhl
Vocal ensembles
The Salzburg Folk Song Choir
80 singers
Rehearsal, direction: Martin Fuchsberger
The Salzburg Folk Song Choir has been an important pillar of the Salzburg Advent Singing since 1950. Generations of excellent singers have borne and continue to bear witness to the high vocal quality of this traditional ensemble.
From 1950-2025, the choir management was in the hands of Sepp Dengg, Harald Dengg and Burgi Vötterl for three generations. In 2025, Martin Fuchsberger takes over as artistic director – a new era begins. The organizational management has been in the proven hands of Berta Wagner since 2007.
Under the direction of Herbert Böck (since 2001), this choir of around 80 members blossoms into a very special form every year in the Grosses Festspielhaus.
f. l.: Elija Sticker (tenor), cond.: Bernhard Ainz (baritone), Tobias Kremshuber (tenor), Valentin Stemeseder (bass), Johannes Schmidhuber (tenor)
VOCAL SEMBLE HIGH C (Quartet)
Once again this year, the vocal ensemble Hohes C will delight us with a changing quartet line-up at the Salzburg Advent Singing. The singers impress with their special sound spectrum ranging from cultivated Renaissance works to folk music and “crispy” pop arrangements.
Concert tours have taken the ensemble to South Africa, Germany, Italy, Finland, Croatia and Canada in recent years. At the largest choir competition in the world, the World Choir Games in Riga, the ensemble was able to impress in the Male Vocal Ensemble category and was crowned “WORLD CHOIR CHAMPION”. The ensemble was also awarded a gold medal (Musica Sacra acapella) and a silver medal (Folklore).
From left: Tobias Kremshuber, tenor
Elija Sticker, tenor
Bernhard Ainz. Baritone
Valentin Stemeseder, bass
Johannes Schmidhuber, tenor
www.facebook.com/hohes-C-Vokalensemble
f. l.: Andrea Schwarz (soprano), cond.: Maria Brunauer (alto), Marlene Schuen (mezzo-soprano)
Maria Margarethe Brunauer
Having grown up with traditional Austrian folk music, the mezzo-soprano studied concert singing and vocal pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. Since graduating, she has worked as a freelance opera singer, teaches singing at the University of Augsburg and is a member of the Bavarian Radio Concert Choir.
Photo: Holger Borggrefe
Andrea Lore Schwarz
The Salzburg-born mezzo-soprano completed her master’s degree in vocal pedagogy with a focus on choral conducting and her teaching degree at the Mozarteum in 2022. She has been a member of the Salzburg Bach Choir and various other ensembles since 2014 and regularly performs in concerts and opera productions as part of numerous cultural events. She currently teaches at the sports and music college in Salzburg, works as a voice coach for the Salzburg Choir Association and can regularly be heard as a soloist at concerts and events.
Photo: private
Marlene Schuen
The singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer was born in the middle of the Ladin Dolomites, went to Innsbruck and Munich to study and now lives in Munich again after a stay in Berlin. After international concert tours with various artists, including Hubert von Goisern, she founded her own band “Ganes”. She is also part of a new project with Marc Romboy and Dimitri Andreas and works on studio recordings for numerous artists.
Photo: Rahwa Seyum
Orchestra
From left: Ingeborg Weber (harp)
Elisabeth Neureiter (dulcimer)
Directed by: Reinhold Schmid (guitar)
Elisabeth Weber (organ portative, guitar)
Magdalena Kufer (double bass)
Johannes Rohrer (zither)
from left: Timea Laczkò-Tòth (cello)
Andrea Brucker, (viola)
Ltg. Maria Dengg (violin)
Burgi Vötterl (violin)
Gundl Aggermann (flute)
Magdalena Kufer (double bass)
f.l. Erwin Wendl (trombone)
Hans Gerl (horn)
Christina Eberl (trumpet; flugelhorn)
Christian Sperl (horn)
Lg: Horst Hofer (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Thomas Höger (trombone)
f.l.t.r.: Anton Gmachl (clarinet)
Gundl Aggermann (flute)
Lg: Gottfried Linsinger (oboe, cor anglais)
Gerti Hollweger (bassoon)
Technology & equipment
Lg: Hubert Schwaiger
Light efficiency: Thomas Herbst
Hans Köhl
Gerda Gratzer
Hubert Schwaiger
Lg: Edwin Pfanzagl-Cardone
Lg: Georg Schlager
Joinery Alfred Laserer, Gosau
Ticket service & administration
The ticket service team
under the direction of Gertraud Ainz does a great job every year. Always polite and courteous, they make every effort to fulfill the wishes of the 36,000 or so visitors to the Advent Festival each year. A recent visitor survey confirms that the ticket service team is extremely satisfied!
from left to right: Gertraud Ainz, Regina Strübler
Stefan Sperr
is responsible for accounting, controlling and IT matters. His decades of service as head of this important administrative area and his financial expertise are of particular value to the Salzburg Advent Festival.
Hans Köhl
has been the main director of the Salzburg Advent Festival since the turn of the millennium. All the threads of this successful cultural event come together with him, who is also the managing director of the organizer “Kulturwerk Salzburg”.
Residenzplatz 9
A – 5010 Salzburg
Dates
1st Advent weekend
Fri 28.11. 19.30 Premiere
Sat 29.11. 14.00/17.00
Sun 30.11. 14:00
2nd Advent weekend
Fri 5. 12. 19.30
Sat 6. 12. 14.00/17.00
Sun 7. 12. 14.00/17.00
Mon 8.12. 14:00
3rd Advent weekend
Fri 12. 12. 19.30
Sat 13. 12. 14.00/17.00
Sun 14. 12. 14.00/17.00
Duration of the performance:
approx. 1:40 hours, no intermission