One of Austria's oldest and most respected traditions will be carried on at 8 tonight in Eisenhower Auditorium -- by a group of artists ranging in age from 10 to 14.

The Vienna Choir Boys has inherited a past of prestige and universal fame, since classical composers like Josef Haydn and Franz Schubert were former members. Mozart, although never a singer, also composed for the choir, then called the Imperial Chapel.

D. Douglas Miller, a music professor, has heard the choir many times, both in Vienna and here in State College. Although it is impossible to compare today's choir to that of Mozart's time, the group's standards are still extremely high, he said.

Joanne Rutkowski, assistant professor of music, saw the Vienna Choir Boys during their last tour and said she was impressed by the tremendous amount of work invested by the young talents.

The young boys' voices encompass the same range as women's voices to "provide a much lighter and very pure sound," she said.

"Many children's choirs with similar structures have been developing in the U.S. in recent years," including the Saint Thomas Church Choir for boys in New York City, Miller said.

But European choirs differ in that young singers will traditionally put their choir participations on hold when their voices start changing and then come back when their voices are settled, Rutkowski said. U.S. children choirs will typically hold on to their participants throughout their growing process, she said.