Von Trapp Children carry on traditions

Their great-grandfather, Captain von Trapp, inspired ‘The Sound of Music.’

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

The hills are alive once again with “The Sound of Music.”

That’s the spirit of the von Trapp Children — Sofia, 18, Melanie, 17, Amanda, 15, and Justin, 12 — whose great-grandfather Captain von Trapp inspired the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music.”

“We have been professionally singing for about six years, but we started singing together for fun since we were really little,” said Melanie, calling from Malibu, Calif. “It’s been really amazing, and it all started when our grandfather, portrayed as Kurt in ‘The Sound of Music,’ had a stroke. So we decided to make a little recording for him and that turned into our very first CD.”

Apparently, to be a von Trapp means living a life that could end up in a Hollywood plot. When the siblings went into the studio to record a few songs, the producer became interested and within a short time the act was performing at a musical festival in Bethlehem, Pa.

Making the entire experience even more surreal was the fact Bethlehem, Pa., was the first American city the von Trapps performed in upon arriving in America over a half a century earlier.

“I guess it was sort of meant to be,” Melanie said. 

Albums, tours

So far the siblings have released four albums, including its most recent, “A Cappella,” and toured the world numerous times. The quartet, which averages more than 100 shows annually, has found a niche audience that not only relishes “The Sound of Music” but also enjoys blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.

“We’ll meet people sometimes who don’t know ‘The Sound of Music’ is a real story,” Melanie said. “Most of ‘The Sound of Music’ is really basically what happened. It’s surprisingly accurate. It’s just such an amazing story.”

She added, “To tell you the truth, the Captain was really the backbone of the family but he wasn’t as strict as they made him out to be in the movie. He was really a gentle and sort of quiet man, but he definitely was sort of what kept the whole family together.”

Coming to Warren

As for the von Trapp Children’s live show, which comes to Packard Music Hall on Wednesday, audiences can expect to hear plenty of songs from “The Sound of Music,” as well as other tunes taught to the siblings by their older von Trapp relatives. They will also perform gospel, Gregorian chants, Broadway songs and even an Italian aria.

“There’s a huge variety of stuff we like to sing,” Melanie said. “We tell stories about some of the differences between the movie and what happened to the von Trapps after they escaped from Austria. And we also wear dresses, old Austrian traditional dresses and lederhosen, that Maria actually wore and was passed down to us. So that’s really a cool part of the show as well.”

If there’s a legacy to the von Trapp family, Melanie knows what it would be.

“I think a word that really describes the von Trapps is family,” Melanie said. “That’s what we still are. It’s just a family that’s carrying on singing together, sticking together and singing songs that really mean something and have a lot of depth to them. It’s really an honor to be a part of the von Trapp tradition.”