And the stars will shine

Choral concert in the festive hall of Akademisches Gymnasium in Vienna with works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Lucy Walker, Wolfram Wagner (premiere), Jacob Collier.

Artists

Thomas Holmes – musical director

Daniela Hlavka – piano

Cantus Novus Wien

Tickets

Free admission, donations welcome

About Daniela Hlavka

Daniela Hlavka began her musical training with piano lessons and developed a passion for choral singing at an early age. She later moved to Vienna to study biology and music education, as well as church music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Among her most influential teachers are Melissa Dermastia (organ), Johannes Ebenbauer (improvisation), Ingrun Fußenegger and Manuel Schuen (choral conducting), Antanina Kalechyts (Gregorian chant), and Wolfgang Sauseng (composition). In addition to her master’s degree in church music, she currently works as a choir director, organist, and singer in various ensembles. When she isn’t busy with music, you’ll likely find her in the Botanical Garden.

About Cantus Novus Wien

Cantus Novus Wien was founded in 1990 by Ingrun Fußenegger and has been directed by Thomas Holmes since 2001. Its broad repertoire ranges from a cappella works to major choral-orchestral repertoire. The choir has collaborated with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (ORF RSO Wien) at the Hollywood in Vienna film music gala, performing alongside Broadway and Hollywood stars, including Disney composer Alan Menken. Through world premieres of commissioned works, international collaborations with choirs and composers, concert tours to Stockholm, London, and Zurich, and acclaimed video productions, the choir was named “Choir of the Year” by the Vienna Choral Forum (Chorforum Wien) in 2018. At the invitation of Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Cantus Novus Wien made its debut at the Musikverein performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. The choir also participated in the 2020 inauguration of the new organ at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna and performed at the nitsch museum by personal invitation of Hermann Nitsch. To mark the Beethoven anniversary year in 2020, the choir released recordings of Beethoven’s canons and secular choral works on the Naxos label. Cantus Novus Wien was a finalist and received a Gold Award at the International Choir Competition Ave Verum 2022. The choir celebrated its 33rd anniversary in 2023 with a gala concert at Vienna’s MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, together with VOCES8. Other recent highlights include participating in the staged world premiere of the church opera Caecilia by Magdalena Severin, performing at Vienna’s ODEON with [dunkelbunt] alongside traditional Indian and Yiddish music, and most recently receiving invitations to perform at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (KHM) and at the Long Night of Churches 2026 in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna.