His upbringing, as one of five children in a teacher’s family, was influential in his most formative years. Johannes Prinz, born 1958 in Wolfsberg (Carinthia), came into contact with music early, as his father, a music teacher and composer, dealt with it on a daily basis. More important for the growing boy was not the specific musical education but art in its widest sense – an approach of basic importance to Johannes Prinz and which still determines his own artistic and pedagogic work today. At the age of nine he became a member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, singing soprano solos while on the choir’s international tours, and finding in Ferdinand Grossmann an important teacher, who influenced his future as much as Erwin Ortner, who gave him private tuition in choir conducting. His academic education was at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, graduating with honours in Music and Instrumental Education and the Teaching of Singing. He also studied conducting here under Karl Österreicher. As a singer in the Arnold Schönberg Choir and the ORF (Austrian Radio) Choir he carried on working closely with Erwin Ortner. After working as choir master assistent of the Arnold Schönberg Choir, in 1982 Johannes Prinz first took over the artistic direction of his “own” choir. Out of the newly formed Choir of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (short name W.U.Chor) he created an ensemble, which within a short period of time, had an international name and won first prizes at international competitions. He remained with this choir ten years, with tours as far away as Australia and the Far East. In 1988 he took over the artistic direction of the Chamber Choir of the Vienna Music University, with which he worked successfully a further ten years and in 1995 won the first prize in the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf (Germany). From 1995 to February 2007 he was artistic director of the Vienna Chamber Choir. In 1991 the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien engaged him as choir master of the Wiener Singverein. Under the direction of Johannes Prinz the choir has re-established its reputation as one of the top international concert choirs: concerts with leading orchestras and the world’s best conductors being evidence of this, as well as invitations to festivals, international tours and awards for recordings – as recently with the Grammy Award for the recording of Mahler’s 3rd symphony under Pierre Boulez with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ladies Choir of the Wiener Singverein. As a guest conductor, Johannes Prinz undertook, among other projects, the choir rehearsals of the Bavarian Radio Choir for a concert project with Riccardo Muti, In 1998 he conducted the European Youth Choir and in 2003 (together with Maria Guinand/ Venezuela) the World Youth Choir. Furthermore he worked with choirs in Belgium, Germany, Danmark, Switzerland, Singapore and Lithuania as a guest conductor. Hand in hand with his artistic work, Johannes Prinz developed his educational activities. He founded, and for ten years directed the ”Vokalwoche” Wolfsberg. As a sought after lecturer at international and national choir master courses. In 1985 Johannes Prinz got a contract as a lecturer at the Vienna Music University. In 2000 he was appointed Professor for Choir Conducting at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Graz. In recent years Johannes Prinz has been making his mark as a conductor, whereby choral/orchestral works (including Haydn's "The Creation", Bruckner's"Mass in D-minor" and the "Te Deum", Bach's "St John Passion", Mendelssohn's "Elijah" plus works by Arvo Pärt, Wolfram Wagner and Wolfgang Sauseng) as well as symphonic works were on the programs. He has appeared with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the RSO Vienna, the Capella Istropolitana, the Capella Leopoldina, the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonie, the Vienna Concert-Verein and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
