Von Trapps to Perform with Justin-Siena Choir in Sound of Christmas

The Justin-Siena Visual & Performing Arts Department is very pleased to announce a special Christmas Concert that the whole family can enjoy! The great-grandchildren of Captain and Maria von Trapp, who are famous from the movie “The Sound of Music”, will be stopping in Napa. They will join the Justin-Siena choir in a special Christmas concert. The concert will take place in the Lincoln Theater on Friday, December 4, 2015 at 8 pm. Tickets range from $15-$45 and can be purchased at www.lincolntheater.org.

Nearly 50 members of the Justin-Siena choir and advanced choir have been hard at work preparing a holiday repertoire as well as a couple numbers to be performed with the von Trapps for this special upcoming concert. Under the direction of Justin-Siena Instructor in Music, Ms. Lauren Seva Hesser, the choir will be joining this world renown group.

Justin-Siena’s performing arts program has enjoyed steady growth over the last several years in music specifically, with many students pursuing music at the college level, and our young musicians are in good company with the long-time acclaimed Justin-Siena Theatre. Our young performers are very excited to team up with the von Trapps.

You cannot find another name as universally beloved as Von Trapp. The story of the family who escaped Austria, moved to the United States, and toured the world singing for two decades has inspired generations since the film The Sound of Music was released in 1964. The family fled the Nazi regime in Austria, by getting a music contract in America where they applied for citizenship. Their story is even more intriguing than the fictionalized version. 

The history continues as the great grandchildren of the Captain and Maria von Trapp take up the family tradition anew. Meet Sofi, Melanie, Amanda, and August von Trapp, four siblings that, for the last 12 years, have been singing on stages around the world to critical acclaim and packed houses. They are touring now to promote the release of a new album of original songs, Dancing in Gold.

The Von Trapps have toured extensively, from Beijing’s Forbidden City to the Sydney Opera House, performed with major symphonies across the country, appeared on Oprah, and recorded with artists such as Wayne Newton and Rufus Wainwright. For the past few years, The von Trapps have been frequent guest performers with Pink Martini, the globetrotting pop sensation. The two groups collaborated on Pink Martini’s eighth studio album, Dream a Little Dream, released in March 2014, which has sold over 20,000 copies in the US alone, and was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Justin-Siena’s Visual & Performing Arts Department Chair and Theatre Director, Mr. James Thomas Bailey, is thrilled about this artistic collaboration. “For our young performers to be exposed to professional musicians nearer to their own age bracket will make a big impact.” About a year ago James was listening to a weekend NPR program and heard an arrangement of “Edelweiss” that he really liked and immediately began thinking about our choir. At the end of the song he learned it was performed by the Von Trapps — great-grandchildren of Captain and Maria Von Trapp. A week later he attended a musical performance by Portland-based Pink Martini at the Lincoln Theater and when looking at the CDs for sale in the lobby, noticed that there was a CD recorded with the Von Trapps, also hailing from Portland. He thought a collaboration of young performers could be fun and reached out to the agent for the Von Trapps to ask if they would be interested in performing with the Justin-Siena choir. Their interest was immediate. Thus, a summer-long conversation began between James Bailey and the Von Trapps to iron out a date and logistics.

This unique occasion to celebrate Christmas and the 50th Anniversary of The Sound of Music promises to be a stellar way to kick off the Christmas season. Coming to the Napa Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater on Friday, December 4, 2015, “The Sound of Christmas” will instantly be one of your favorite things!

More about the Von Trapps:

http://vontrapps.net/vontrapps

Check out the 2015-16 Season of Arts at Justin-Siena—including two more Lincoln Theater shows:

http://www.justin-siena.org/Page/Student-Life/Arts/Arts-Season