For the first time in DePaul University history, a DePaul choir group has been invited to perform abroad. The DePaul A Cappella Choir, 14 members strong and led by its founder and director Clayton Parr, will participate in Vienna’s International Advent Choral Festival during the month of December. For the students, musically and personally, this is an experience of a lifetime. For DePaul, these appearances further enhance the School of Music’s reputation internationally.

The A Capella Choir will provide a preview of selections from their upcoming Viennese tour when they present a “Schubertiade” performance featuring the music of Austrian composer Franz Schubert at 8 p.m. Nov. 14 in DePaul’s Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St. Admission is free of charge.

Vienna is one of several European cities to host an International Choir Festival during the Christian season of Advent. Each year, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs invites choirs from around the world to meet and share music during this four-week period leading up to Christmas. Singly and together, these international choirs perform in various venues throughout the city, from bustling marketplaces to world-famous stages. The DePaul A Cappella Choir will sing in the Pfarrkirche-Lichtenal—Schubert’s own church—and appear jointly on several occasions with other Viennese choirs associated with the Musikgymnasium (music high schools). The performances by DePaul A Cappella have been arranged in part by the Friedrich-Lessky-Chor, a Viennese ensemble that appeared on the DePaul campus last year.

The special nature of this trip has obviously generated much enthusiasm among the students, who, according to Parr, “took the initiative to make this trip a reality.” Beginning with a casual remark at a rehearsal last spring, the idea for this tour began to take shape. Students got involved in all stages of the meticulous planning required for such a tour and are funding the trip in its entirety.

During their two-week stay in the Austrian capital, the group will perform music thematically tied to “Christmas from the New World”—including works from 16th century Latin America, early colonial and contemporary American music, and spirituals.

At the Nov. 14 Schubertiade in Chicago, DePaul A Cappella will be joined by several of its student colleagues at the keyboard for an informal and intimate evening of ensemble music and refreshments modeled after a 19th century Schubertiade. These were celebrated evenings of music and socializing over which the composer Schubert presided at the piano in his native Vienna. The program will include works by Schubert and preview some of the repertory that the choir will perform on tour.

For more information about DePaul School of Music events, call 773/325-7260.