The Von Trapp Children

[Joe]

Hi all,



Meet the von Trapp children: Melanie, Amanda, Justin, and Sofia. They are the descendants of the famous family whose story captivated the world in "The Sound of Music." As the great-grandchildren of the actual Captain von Trapp, they have inherited the family's unique musical gift. Their beautifully blended voices bring a fresh, pure sound to a diverse variety of music.

This young group performed a few days ago on the shopping network QVC. I managed to secure all three cd's for only $26.

Their first CD contains the following songs:
1. Wayfaring Stranger
2. Father's Eyes
3. Cuckoo
4. Dona Nobis
5. O Wie Wohl
6. All the Pretty Little Horses
7. Ching-a-ring-chaw
8. Edelweiss
9. Lonely Goatherd
10. Come Thou Fount
11. Scarborough Fair
12. Children's Prayer
13. Amazing Grace
14. Danny Boy
15. Blue Cheese
16. Good News About the Chariot
17. Homeward Bound

Visit their website here for info and samples of their two latest recordings.

[Natasha]

Thanks for that info!

Natasha

[roger]

One tends to forget that the characters portrayed in the film were a *real* family. Somehow, I can't imagine Julie Andrews as a great-grandmother!

Admittedly, I have only listened to a couple of clips but, based on that, I would say they are very good but not spectacular. Their age difference (10 to 16) is enormous but will gradually diminish to insignificance in ten years' time. Meanwhile, I hope they are judged for their vocal skills and not overexposed merely for their novelty value.

Good luck to them and thanks for the link, Joe.

Roger

[Joe]

Christmas with the von Trapp Children

Join the great-grandchildren of the real-life Captain and Maria von Trapp for a wonderful Christmas show featuring holiday classics, songs from “The Sound of Music” and the most beloved folk songs of all time.

Scottish Rite Cathedral - 1533 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown PA

2006 Performance Schedule
Thurs., Nov. 30 - 11 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 1 - 11:30 a.m., 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 2 - 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 3 - 2:30 & 6 p.m.

www.christkindlmarkt.org/06/vontrapp.asp
www.vontrappchildren.com/

[postscript]

That's a very intersting post, Jo. Do they not live in Penn or was it the Appalachians they went to originally when they came over to the states? There ws a very interesting programme a year or so back on the BBC about thefilm children, looking back on the ime when the film was made. They made friendships they have retained ever since.

Peter

[Joe]

Hello Peter,

Trivia...Maria was sent to look after only one of the captain's children!

I believe the real-life Maria and Capt. Georg von Trapp were married in 1927. The family moved to Stowe, Vermont soon after that.

The third eldest child, Maria (aged 91) continues to perform at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont. She was recently interviewed on NPR...please listen to her story.

weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20060819.html (scroll to mid-page)

Her grandchildren , "The VonTrapp Children" in the photo, have recently moved to Montana.

Joe

[postscript]

joe said:

Hello Peter,

Trivia...Maria was sent to look after only one of the captain's children!

I believe the real-life Maria and Capt. Georg von Trapp were married in 1927. The family moved to Stowe, Vermont soon after that.

The third eldest child, Maria (aged 91) continues to perform at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont. She was recently interviewed on NPR...please listen to her story.

weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20060819.html (scroll to mid-page)

Her grandchildren , "The VonTrapp Children" in the photo, have recently moved to Montana.

Joe

Very very interesting indeed! Thank you for that Joe.

Peter S.

[Joe]

The Von Trapp Children to perform in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
20th May 2007during the group's UK tour.

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Newcastle Town Hall
Approx Start Time: 7.30PM
Prices: £19.50, Family ticket (two adults and two children) £64

Meet the Von Trapp children: Sofia (19), Melanie (17), Amanda (16), and Justin (13). They are the great-grandchildren of Captain Von Trapp, father of the famous singing family whose story captivated the world in the musical 'The Sound of Music'.

The children will be touring the UK during the latter half of May 2007. Other performances are listed below...

15th May - Northhampton - Derngate
16th May - Canterbury -The Marlowe
17th May - Dartford -The Orchard
18th May - Basingstoke -The Anvil
19th May - York -Grand Opera House
20th May - Newcastle - City Hall
23rd May - Worthing - The Pavilion
25th May - Brentwood - Centre
26th May - Croydon - Fairfield Hall
27th May - High Wycombe - Swan Theatre

[postscript]

Thank you, Joe, for that superb advance news on the Von Trapp family. I have never been in The Swan theatre before and High Wycombe is a close call. It is also nice to realise the Derngate has re-opened after a re-fit. That was where I saw Hayley on stage the second time but the first time I actually made literal contact with her, she thrusting her hand into mine and saying 'You cant get any closer than saying 'Hi'!'. Bless her.

Peter S.

[Joe]

The Von Trapp Children are scheduled to appear and perform on the Martha Stewart TV show on Tuesday, January 23.

I believe that the eldest in the group just turned 20.

[stevemacdonald]

joe said:

I believe that the eldest in the group just turned 20.

And for a while there, I believe one of them was 16 going on 17.

[Joe]

Taken from the Bucks Free Press
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Friday 18th May 2007

The von Trapp children's favourite things
By Nicola Orchard

Sofia von Trapp has enjoyed her first tour of England. The 18 year old - great granddaughter of Captain Von Trapp, has toured the country with her brother and two sisters in their group The von Trapp Children.

"We have been to Harrods, and walked around Hyde Park, and just been having a wonderful time," she says.

Sofia, an alto singer, is one fourth of singing siblings The von Trapp Children, made up of her younger sisters - soprano Melanie, 16, and fellow alto Amanda, 15, as well as her brother, 12-year-old Justin, who sings treble.

The four youngsters, who live in Montana, are the great grandchildren of Captain von Trapp, whose story and family were made famous in the film The Sound of Music.

"Even though I have seen the film countless times, I still sing along. It makes me so proud," says Sofia.

"I am just amazed by the story. When Hitler invaded Austria, so many people just let him come in, but our family stood up for what they believed in."

The siblings have been singing professionally for five years, but they have enjoyed music since they were young.

They made a CD for their grandfather Werner (portrayed in the film as Kurt), and their touring career took off from there.

And they have visited countries including Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand throughout their relatively short career, but this is their first UK tour.

Sofia says: "We are very happy to be here, and very happy to be singing."

The siblings choose the songs themselves, but as Sofia says, they have different taste in music.

"I love Queen and classic rock, as well as R and B, and Amanda likes country."

With Sofia set to attend Berkeley College of Music next year, what does the future hold for the von Trapp Children?

"We will stay together as long as it is fun," Sofia says.

"I love singing with my siblings, it's hard to describe, but when we sing together, it's easy to harmonise."

The story of The Sound of Music is famous the world over, and Sofia says: "We love the reaction we get from the audiences. Sometimes I feel that people know more about my family than I do."

"Even in places like Korea, where not a lot of people speak English, they are still singing along, and know all the words to our songs."

[Joe]

A video of The Von Trapp Children can be found on YouTube. This clip was from the QVC shopping channel, December 2005. Songs performed were Amazing Grace, Down To The River, and Lonely Goatherd.

[Joe]

Already in 2007, the young quartet has completed two tours of Canada and a weeklong tour of the UK. Following summer concerts including performances with both the Detroit and Philadelphia Orchestra, the group are planning on revisiting Asia in October.

[Joe]

Werner von Trapp, a member of the family made famous by the legendary Hollywood film The Sound of Music, has died aged 91 in Vermont, USA.

The film was loosely based on a 1949 book by Mr von Trapp's stepmother Maria and changes some details. Werner was depicted by the film character named Kurt.

Mr von Trapp, who is survived by three sisters and one brother, was proficient in a number of instruments and as a singer.

Werner Von Trapp was born in 1915 in Zell am See, Austria, as the fourth child and second son of Capt Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead. He served in Europe with the US Army in World War II.

Read the full report from the BBC HERE, also on the top righthand side of that page, watch a clip of Mr Von Trapp's great-grandchildren when they performed in Basingstoke and in other UK cities last May.

ALSO, The Von Trapp Children will release their second Christmas CD "Snow" and a DVD in time for the Christmas holidays.



The CD features the von Trapp Children in a variety of fresh new material. Produced by Emmy-winning composer Jay Chattaway (Star Trek:The Next Generation and its next three spinoffs) the arrangements feature music sung acapella and with orchestra, musical flavors range from classical ballads to uptempo contemporary.

The group will be performing this new music on their fall and winter tours.

Joe