Soon, the air will be filled with the songs of Christmas — some of it great, some of it not so great.

But for those whose tastes in Christmas songs run more toward serious choral music than “Frosty” and “Rudolph,” the ensemble whose name has perhaps come to be most synonymous with Christmas music is the Vienna Boys Choir.

That’s due in part to the fact that the Boys Choir has a long, long tradition at its back. The origins of the choir actually date back to 1498, when Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians from Innsbruck to Vienna — and gave specific instructions that there were to be six boys among his musicians. That, essentially, was the beginning of the Vienna Boys Choir.

The choir comes to Hill Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, when the choir members lend their pristine voices and exquisite choral arrangements to a program of Christmas music. The performance is presented by the University Musical Society.

Aficionados of the Boys Choir know that their repertoire actually extends far beyond Christmas music. “We travel around the world, all year long, sharing our music,” said conductor Manolo Cagnin, in a recent e-mail interview. “We are constantly evolving, trying new music and incorporating diverse types of music into our program.

“But the Christmas tour is the most popular one we do. This time of year, people are especially drawn to the Boys Choir, and that is especially the case in the U.S.”

The choir's program on Sunday will include about 20 songs and pieces, including “Gaudete,” “Ave Maria,” “Laudate Dominum,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Jubilate Deo,” “Still, Still, Still” and “Silver Bells.”

"Ave Maria" - Vienna Boys Choir

Generally, throughout the year, the choir's repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary and experimental music. The core of the repertoire is motets and lieder, in addition to the choir's own arrangements of waltzes and polkas by Strauss.

The Boys Choir consists of about 100 choristers between the ages of 10 and 14, and is divided into four touring choirs. The four choirs present approximately 300 performances each year, to a total audience of about a half a million. Each of the touring groups spend about 10 weeks of the school year on tour, and they travel to almost every European country, as well as frequently performing in Asia, Australia, and North and South America.

Cagnin assessed the the choir’s continuing popularity thus: “Our tradition of sacred and classical repertoire has now been combined with contemporary music, folk songs and more, bringing the repertoire into the 21st century. So, we provide entertainment that appeals to almost everyone.”

Indeed, in the 1970s, the choir started to perform Heinz Kratochwil's a cappella arrangements of Beatles songs. And in 2002, their first-ever “pop” album — featuring songs by the likes of Madonna, Celine Dion and Robbie Willams — was a best seller, and was nominated for the 2003 Amadeus, the Austrian music award. The choir has also lent its signature choral sound to soundtracks for various films, like “Primal Fear,” “The 13th Floor” and Japanese films such as “Dokuritsu shonen-gasshoudan” and the animated “Doraemon.”

When conducting young people, the primary responsibility of the conductor, said Cagnin, is to make sure that “the children are enjoying and feeling the music while they are learning — that they are stimulated and motivated. Music really is food for the soul, and ideally, they will continue to love music as they grow up.

“There is a great deal of satisfaction derived from guiding young singers through the process of discovering their talent, and, of course, loving the music while they are making this discovery.”

The Vienna Boys Choir has its own school. Almost 250 children study and rehearse in the Augartenpalais, a baroque palace and former imperial hunting lodge in Vienna. Starting in kindergarten, boys and girls are given an extensive musical and general education through the elementary grades. At age 10, the most talented boys are selected to join the Choir and enter the Choir’s grammar school. All boys are assigned to one of the touring choirs. The choristers are also encouraged to create their own projects; a number of them write, act and direct short sketches about life at the school.

Cagnin said that after the boys “graduate” from the choir when reaching 14, a small percentage of them go on to become professional singers or musicians, and that many become conductors and music teachers, or sing in church choirs and other adult choirs.

“Every student at our school learns to play at least one musical instrument, combined with their in-depth study of music history and theory,” he said. “These really are remarkable boys, and they are completely committed to the training required to meet the choir’s goals. The experience they garner during their four years with the choir will last them a lifetime.”

PREVIEW Vienna Boys Choir Who: Venerated, historic boys choir. What: “Christmas In Vienna,” a program of Christmas music. Where: Hill Auditorium, 825 North University Avenue. When: Sunday, 4 p.m. How much: $10-$36 Info: 734-764-2538 / UMS web site. Special note: The Boychoir of Ann Arbor will perform at Hill Auditorium at 3 p.m. Sunday, prior to the Vienna performance.

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com

Vienna Boys Choir perform "Still, Still, Still"