Team

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Artistic Director
Management
Voice Pedagogues
Pedagogues

Prof. Mag. Franz Farnberger

Artistic Director

After completion of studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Franz Farnberger served as the conductor of the Vienna Boys Choir for seven years. In this function he conducted more than 800 concerts all over the globe.

Since 1983 he has been Artistic Director of the St. Florian Boys Choir, responsible for the musical formation of the boys, rehearsal of repertoire and concert conducting in Austria and abroad. Under his direction the choir has recorded numerous CDs and made television appearances.

Farnberger nearly always conducts the concerts from the piano. He is also active as a pianist (in recent years, primarily as an accompanist for Alois Mühlbacher) and teaches at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz.

He sees his most important goal as helping children engage with music on a high level, but with priority always being placed on taking joy in singing.

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„Singing is our musical mother tongue. If it is promoted during childhood, it remains a valuable asset for a person’s entire lifetime.“

Markus Stumpner, MA

Conductor

Markus Stumpner, MA

Conductor

I myself was a member of the St. Florian Boys Choir for 6 years, during which the path for my musical career was begun. My musical highlights were certainly the performances as first and second boys in The Magic Flute at various opera houses, and the leading role in the opera The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten at the Salzburg Landestheater.
Since 2010 I have studied voice with Kurt Azesberger, and since 2011 also Choir Direction with Georg Leopold at the Anton Bruckner Private University. After I joined the men’s choir unit of the Boys Choir in 2009, I was once again able to go on many of the tours, which I remember particularly fondly. Since early 2013 I have been a vocal trainer working with both the men’s and the boys choir units of the Boys Choir, which is especially fun for me. Since 2018 I am the conductor of the choir.

Mag. Christa Steinkellner

Managing Director, Concert Management

Mag. Christa Steinkellner

Managing Director, Concert Management

Contact person for the following areas:

| Inquiries on booking the Boys Choir for performances in Austria and other countries |
| CD/DVD productions, radio and television appearances |
| financial and legal concerns |
| Sponsors |

Stiftstraße 1
4490 St. Florian
Telephone: +43 7224 47 99 11
e-mail: saengerknaben@florianer.at

After graduating from the commercial academy, I studied psychology in Salzburg and worked for five years, while attending a university, in a Salzburg concert agency which represented the St. Florian Boys Choir among others. Following my return to Upper Austria I took a job as an educator at St. Florian – intending it to be a “transition job” until I would find an interesting position in psychology. This was in 1993. Soon, I stopped looking for another job, because here at St. Florian I had everything which interested me and gave me pleasure – and the same is true today: children and music, interesting people, a great team, beautiful surroundings, but also numbers and organization. Only a few months after beginning the job I assumed the concert management of the choir, and in 2014 I was made Managing Director of the Sponsors’ Association.

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It is a challenging task for the entire team, including the Association Board, to manage all of these responsibilities “under one roof”: imparting musical and social competences to the boys for their future, creating an environment in which they feel protected, keeping the choir’s musical standards at the highest possible level, organizing interesting engagements and eventful tours, and financing all of it. But it is not only a challenging task. Above all, it is wonderfully enriching.

Mag. Wolfgang Gruber

Boarding School Administration, Public Relations Work

Mag. Wolfgang Gruber

Boarding School Administration, Public Relations Work

Contact partner for:

| New intake/recruitment |
| Parents |
| Schools |
| Media representatives |
| Sponsors |
| Affairs of association |

Stiftstraße 1
4490 St. Florian
Telephone: +43 7224 47 99 22
Fax: +43 7224 47 99 34
e-mail: w.gruber@florianer.at

Middle School Teacher certified in the subjects Athletics and Latin, residing in Reichersberg am Inn. Employed by the Institute since 1995, Boarding School Director since 1996, and also responsible since 1998 for the choir’s public relations work and administration of the association "Friends of the St. Florian Boys Choir".

“I see my role here, on the one hand, as providing for the children entrusted to us an environment in which they can develop all of their talents completely and in a manner appropriate for children; and on the other hand, I attempt to give the outstanding achievements of the Choir Boys the place in society which those achievements deserve. And every time our boys excite audiences with their beautiful voices, but also with their natural qualities, I am proud and happy to have the privilege of working on location with the St. Florian Boys Choir”.

Markus Schulz

Voice Pedagogue

Markus Schulz

Voice Pedagogue

From 1983-1987 I myself was a Choir Boy at St. Florian. The musical highlights in this period were certainly my appearances as “First Boy” in W.A. Mozart’s Magic Flute at the Vienna Volks- und Staatsoper, and my participation in a CD production with Jörg Demus. Following my active Choir Boy period, I studied at the Linz Bruckner Conservatory, first violin and later voice, song and oratorio. During my studies I was also employed as a supervisor with the Boys Choir. Since then, I have been employed as a voice trainer here on location. In addition to my artistic activity, I have also worked on the production of many concerts in the series featuring the Men’s Choir of former Choir Boys together with the current Boys’ Choir.

Georg Wiesinger

Marketing

Georg Wiesinger

Marketing

Georg Wiesinger studied Composition in Linz and Manchester. After teaching Music for some time at a Gymnasium he went into the cultural industry. He worked at the Künstlerische Betriebsbüro at the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Philharmonie Salzburg and the Kinderfestspiele. For the St. Florian Boys’ Choir he is responsible for marketing agenda (e.g. social media) and works for the St. Florian Boys Choir magazine. Moreover, he is in charge of the print products.

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“Working for the St. Florian Boys Choir is a great privilege. I always experience great joy when I enter the monastery through the huge portal walking across the inner courtyard to my workplace. I appreciate the friendly interpersonal climate between the children and my colleagues. And, what’s more, I enjoy listening to the many young talents’ singing and I treasure their love for the great gift of music.”

Johanna Klinglmüller

Pedagogue

Johanna Klinglmüller

Pedagogue

Ulrike Kletzenbauer

Pedagogue

Ulrike Kletzenbauer

Pedagogue

Born 1976, residing in Schwertberg

After a long period in the intense, mostly negatively-charged field of social work, I wanted to dedicate myself again once more to the more pleasant side of being human. And where better to do that than with the Boys’ Choir, where the boys are challenged and supported according to their talents, and at the same time a great cultural value – namely music – is kept alive. Music has always played a great role in my life (in the school choir, making music at home ...). Therefore, I am that much more touched during those moments when the boys work their magic in our hearts with their voices. When I began my work, a choir boy said to me that it was their job to bring people joy with their voices. And every day they succeed in doing it once again. I place great value on respectful dealings with one another, listening, and especially the appreciation of their personalities.

Sara Safarkhani

Pedagogue

Sara Safarkhani

Pedagogue

Born in Tehran in 1981

I am about to complete my studies in social pedagogy and have been working with the choirboys since November 2024 with great joy and passion. For me, music and singing are wonderful ways to promote joy, community, and expression—especially when working with boys. It makes me happy to see how they grow with enthusiasm, discover new things, and develop self-confidence.

Through my experience as a competitive swimmer, lifeguard, and swimming coach, as well as a former soccer player and active referee, I bring values such as team spirit, fairness, and perseverance to my work in addition to my pedagogical knowledge. My goal is to strengthen the children in their development, motivate them, and give them confidence in their own abilities.

I look forward to accompanying the choirboys with openness, humor, and empathy and to helping shape their everyday lives in a positive way.

Thomas Storch, BEd

Pedagogue

Thomas Storch, BEd

Pedagogue

My name is Thomas Storch and I am 26 years old. After graduation from secondary school it was clear to me that I wanted to work with children in the future. This led me to decide to study for a degree in elementary education and teaching certification at the teachers’ college of the Linz Diocese. During this time I was confirmed in my direction, as I found that working and being with children gave me much pleasure. It is important to me that what we do is fun for the children, and that they are in a protected environment in which they feel comfortable. Here with the St. Florian Boys Choir as well, where I have been an educator since 2014, I try to pursue these goals to the greatest extent possible.

Andrea Wertgarner

Pedagogue

Andrea Wertgarner

Pedagogue

I find working with the children in this tradition-rich environment a joyful enrichment. For me, bringing out their strengths and talents means a great potential for our society and the next generations.

Again and again I am amazed by the uniqueness of each boy. The joy of making music and the individual sound of the beautiful voice, the willingness to sing in a choir, the willingness to travel, these are all talents that the children bring with them and that we value and encourage.

My talents that I can bring here as an educator are a love of children, music and singing and a love of learning, as well as an appreciation of beauty and a sense of community.

I am happy to be part of this great whole - a flourishing, thriving forge of traditional talent - as a role model, a mediator of values and a loving companion in the boarding school of the St. Florian Boys Choir.