Choirmaster Oliver Stech
was appointed Kapellmeister (choirmaster) of the Vienna Boys’ Choir in January of 2011. He has since led his choir in
numerous concerts, and on tours of Austria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Slovakia, South America, Spain,
Switzerland, and the United States.
Oliver is responsible for the concert and tour repertoire; he conducts choir and solo rehearsals and prepares the boys for
the sung services at Vienna’s Imperial Chapel. In addition, he trains the boys for productions at the Vienna State Opera
and at the Vienna Volksoper, and for performances of large symphonic and choral works. He has worked with conductors such
as Christian Aming, Vladimir Fedosejev, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, and Franz Welser-Möst. Appearances on radio and television,
sound recordings and film shoots are part of the choir’s routine.
Oliver was born in Waidhofen/Ybbs in Lower Austria in 1983. He had piano and singing lessons as a child. He went on to study
romance languages at the University of Vienna and voice and music education at the University of Music, focussing on choral
and ensemble conducting. In addition to his studies with Alois Glassner and Johannes Hiemetsberger, he took courses in conducting
with Robert Sund and Jing Ling Tam.
To Oliver, the voice is an important means of expression. He is himself a singer: Oliver was a member of Chorus sine nomine,
the World Youth Choir, and the supporting choirs of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Volksoper. Oliver sang at festivals
such as Klangbogen Wien and Baden-Baden’s prestigious summer festival. As tenor soloist, Oliver performs lieder, masses,
oratorios, operas, and operettas. As a choir member, Oliver has travelled to Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Namibia, South Africa, and Spain. He has appeared under conductors like Bertrand de Billy, Placido Domingo, Alfred
Eschwé, h.k. Gruber, Martin Haselböck, Kristian Järvi, Philippe Jordan, Fabio Luisi, and Georges Prêtre.
Oliver began to conduct while still a student. In 2008, he conducted Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in two Lower Austrian
castles. In 2006, he co-founded the voice ensemble uni-sono. Uni-sono went on to win medals at international choir competitions.
From 2009 to 2011, Oliver led Chorus Discantus, an Austrian women’s chorus. In 2009, Oliver became artistic director
of the ‘Youth Singing Week’ in Lower Austria, and the assistant to Heinz Ferlesch, the artistic director of the
prestigious Vienna Singakademie. For the last three years, he has been lecturing on and teaching voice ensemble at the University
of Music in Vienna.
