Texas Boys Choir History

Texas Boys Choir history is unique. It’s begins in 1946 with George Bragg’s vision to foster the vocal talents of gifted young men in a choir.

10 years after its founding, the choir was moved to Fort Worth, Texas to allow access to more singers and opportunities. Fort Worth has a long standing tradition of respect and support of the arts and remains the home of TBC today. In 1957, Texas Boys Choir also opened the Texas Boys Choir School. Having the singers attend the TBC School allowed them to practice for 2 periods each day and take their academics with them when touring.

Between 1957 and 2001, Texas Boys Choir toured the world. They have won 2 GRAMMY Awards for Best Choral Performance (Other Than Opera) in 1966 and 1968 and performed for President Kennedy on November 22, 1963 before he traveled to Dallas. During this time they also won three George Washington Honor Medal Awards and a Bronze Award from the International Film and Television Festival. Each new performance, city, and opportunity taught the boys more about the world, teamwork, leadership, self discipline and their craft.

In 2001, the organization opened its first public charter school, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts (FWAFA). FWAFA is a unique environment designed to provide the best of both worlds under one roof: professional artistic training and nationally recognized academic and college prepatory programs for students in grades 3 through 12. All 54 current Texas Boys Choir members are students at FWAFA.

Since 2001 the Texas Boys Choir have racked up numerous accomplishments and accolades. In 2002, TBC attended the World Choir Games in Bremen, Germany where they placed 1st in their division. They returned in 2004 to win a championship medal at the Mixed Boys’ Choirs Division. They performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009, competed in the National ACDA convention in Dallas in 2013, the Southwest ACDA convention in Little Rock in 2014, and the 2017 National ACDA convention in Minneapolis. TBC has been on two international tours to Argentina (2012) and China (2017.) In 2016, the choir opened the world premier of the opera, “JFK”, and travelled to Germany and Austria visiting prestigious locations such as St. Stephen’s in Vienna, and St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. During their visit, the group did cultural exchanges and shared concerts with the Wiltner Boy Choir of Innsbruck, the Dresden Kreuzchor, and the Vienna Boys Choir.

Throughout the years, Texas Boys Choir has sung for Popes and other religious leaders, presidents, kings and other heads of state. Additionally, the choir has appeared on national television and radio broadcasts. With over forty professional recordings with Columbia, Decca, Mark Masters and other independent labels, the Texas Boys Choir continues to earn its reputation as one of the premier boychoirs in the world.

Today, Texas Boys Choir joins other amazing artistic and academic organizations under the management of Texas Center for Arts + Academics. The mission of Texas Center for Arts + Academics is to inspire in artistically talented students a lifelong passion for learning, empowering them to achieve academic and artistic excellence. Texas Center for Arts + Academics is a strong voice in the North Texas arts community and an active advocate for providing young people the means and opportunity to explore and excel in their lives.

The generous support of foundations, corporations, and especially individual donors passionate about the choir have allowed us to provide these unique musical opportunities for over 70 years. We hope you will join us as a supporting member of Texas Boys Choir.