vonTrapp Children In Special Engagement At The Morton Arboretum

Famous Singing Act Traces Roots To “Sound Of Music” Blockbuster Movie

LISLE, IL (August 22, 2006) – From Broadway tunes to ballads to Bach – from folk to French to four-part harmony – there’ll be a wide range of memorable, enjoyable music when The vonTrapp Children deliver a special family concert at The Morton Arboretum September 17. These are grandchildren of the real Sound of Music family kids whose story was immortalized in the 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

The children – 18-year old Sofia, 16-year old Melanie, Amanda, 15 and Justin, 11 – feature beautiful harmonies with crystal-clear voices, said band manager Barney Kilpatrick, adding that the children have worked all summer preparing new material to go with Sound of Music movie tunes.  It is truly family-oriented entertainment.

“It’s not unusual to see three generations of the same family at a vonTrapp Children’s concert,” says Arboretum Special Events Manager Marilyn Baysek. “A lot of youngsters today have seen The Sound Of Music on DVD, and will be as familiar as their parents and grandparents with music from that movie,” she says.

The vonTrapp Children also present Broadway favorites – from shows such as Oliver, and West Side Story. Amanda and Justin mix a bit of whimsy with a song-and-dance routine to the tune “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” from Annie Get Your Gun.

Following the concert, the children will sign autographs for the audience.

The von Trapp Children recorded albums in 2003 and 2004, and their latest album: Christmas with The von Trapp Children, is set for re-release this fall. The children have performed with such major orchestras as Boston Pops; Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, and Milwaukee Symphonies and the Minnesota Orchestra. They have toured the world, appeared on network TV, and even at The Grand Ole Opry.

As they perform, they explain briefly their family’s remarkable history and flight from the Nazis.

Of the original “vonTrapp Children,” three are still alive and are all in their 90s. They include Agathe, 92, who lives in Baltimore. She was portrayed in the movie as Liesl - the character who sang in the duet proclaiming that she was “16, going on 17.” Agathe, a great aunt to the current vonTrapp Children, is still involved in helping them perform, especially in perfecting their German pronunciations. The other two “original children” are Werner and Maria – now in Vermont – who were portrayed in the movie as Kurt and Brigitta respectively.

The vonTrapp Children are all home schooled, and advocate this method of education.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. For tickets, visit www.mortonarb.org or www.ticketweb.com, call 630-725-2066 or stop by the information desk at the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. General admission seating; lawn area opens at 2 p.m.

Families are invited to come out early prior to the concert and enjoy the beauty of the Arboretum’s 14 miles of hiking trails and nine miles of roadways. Splash in the Secret Stream or climb a giant acorn in the new Children’s Garden, or get lost in our Maze Garden.

The Morton Arboretum’s summer concert series is sponsored by Bonterra Vineyards, Edy’s Ice Cream, the Hilton of Lisle/Naperville, Nine FM and Samuel Adams Beer Company.

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of more than 3,700 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Conveniently located at I-88 and Rte. 53 in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CDT) and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST). The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CDT) and 9:30 to 4 p.m. (CST). Visit www.mortonarb.org or call 630/968-0074 to learn more.

Media Contact:    Gina Tedesco, 630-725-2103, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Marty Cusack, 630-719-5768, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it