In 1998 the Vienna Boys Choir celebrated the 500 year anniversary of their existence. The Vienna Boys Choir, formerly known as the Royal Court Boys Choir, was originally subsidized by the Royal Private School. However, through the collapse of the monarchy and the disbandment of the Burg-Parish the Vienna Boys Choir was closed in 1920. In the absence of the Vienna Boys Choir, the women of the State Opera Choir filled the higher range vocal positions once occupied by the young male vocalists in the ensemble of the Vienna Royal Court Choir.
In 1924 the Royal Court Choir began to recruit young male singers once again, leading to the reinstatement of the Vienna Boys Choir and its permanent settlement in the Royal Court Chapel. In 1926, the Rector Schnitt of the Royal Court Chapel began to organize a wide range of singing engagements outside of the Royal Court Chapel program in order to secure the position of the Vienna Boys Choir, creating a world-wide demand for the Vienna Boys Choir that has endured through present day.