Boys' choir

A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as trebles and often termed boy sopranos," although occasionally some boys sing in the alto range. Some boys' choirs of churches or cathedrals are further supported by older male voices singing tenor and bass; these singers are sometimes former choirboys.

Middle ages & early development

Boys' choirs, as a Euro-American cultural tradition, developed in the Middle Ages. Boys were then responsible for contributing a treble sound to church music, since women were typically barred from the performance of sacred music in a public (gender mixed) context. Some of the oldest existing boys' choirs—such as the Vienna Boys' Choir—trace their roots back to this time.

In 1498, more than half a millennium ago, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians from Innsbruck to Vienna. He gave specific instructions that there were to be six boys among his musicians. For want of a foundation charter, historians have settled on 1498 as the official foundation date of the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and—in consequence—the Vienna Boys' Choir. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the court, at mass, at private concerts and functions and on state occasions.

American Boychoir School

The American Boychoir School is a music boarding school and day school located in Hopewell, New Jersey. It is one of only two boychoir boarding schools in the United States, the other being Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City. The school serves boys in grades 4–8 who come from across the United States as well as many countries. The school was fictionalized in the 2014 film Boychoir.

On April 10, 2015 the school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy stating it needed $350,000 to finish the school year and $3,000,000 to come out of bankruptcy and open for the next academic year. On April 14, 2015 the school announced it would end the school year early, on May 16 or 17, instead of reaching the normal time for graduation, the second week of June.

The Choir

The American Boychoir performs in concerts across the United States and at international venues. On average, the choir makes over 200 appearances in four to five major tours annually. In its history, the choir has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The St. Olaf Choir, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and several opera singers including Jessye Norman, Frederica von Stade and Kathleen Battle. The choir has had television appearances on NBC's Today show and is featured on sixteen recordings. One of its members in 1951–1952, Chet Allen was cast as Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti's first ever opera for television, Amahl and the Night Visitors on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, then on NBC.

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and director with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1979 (for Kramer vs. Kramer) and 1988 (for Rain Man).

He first drew critical praise for starring in the play Eh?, for which he won a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award. This was soon followed by his breakthrough 1967 film role as Benjamin Braddock, the title character, in The Graduate. Since then, Hoffman's career has largely been focused on cinema, with sporadic returns to television and the stage. His subsequent notable films include Midnight Cowboy, Little Big Man, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Lenny, Marathon Man, All the President's Men, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Hook and Wag the Dog.

Aside from his two Academy award wins, Hoffman has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, plus thirteen Golden Globes, winning six (including an honorary one) and has won four BAFTAs, three Drama Desk Awards, a Genie Award, and an Emmy Award. Hoffman received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1999, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. Hoffman made his directorial debut in 2012, with Quartet.

Kathy Bates

Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress and director. After appearing in several minor roles in film and television during the 1970s and the 1980s, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery (1990), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also received a Golden Globe. She followed this with major roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Dolores Claiborne (1995), before playing a featured role as Molly Brown in Titanic (1997).

She received a Tony Award nomination for her 1983 performance in the Broadway play 'night, Mother. She won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Primary Colors (1998), for which she also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for About Schmidt (2002).

Her television work has resulted in thirteen Emmy Award nominations, two of which were for her starring role on the television series Harry's Law and most recently, a win for her highly praised appearance on the third series of FX horror-thriller series American Horror Story, where she portrayed Delphine LaLaurie. She won another Emmy Award in 2012 for her portrayal as the ghost of Charlie Harper on CBS comedy series Two and a Half Men, a role formerly portrayed by Charlie Sheen.