Flathead's von Trapps embark on new journey

The von Trapp children who launched a worldwide music career from their family home near Somers are all grown up now, but still follow the sounds of music.

Sofia, 26, Melanie, 24, Amanda, 23, and August, 20, are the great-grandchildren of Capt. Georg and Maria von Trapp, whose singing family was portrayed in the popular 1965 musical, “The Sound of Music,” set against the spectacular Alps surrounding Salzburg, Austria.

Their parents, Stefan and Annie von Trapp, still reside part time in the Flathead Valley.

The von Trapp siblings now live in Portland, where they recently collaborated with pop group Pink Martini on its eighth studio album, “Dream a Little Dream.”

On April 14 the von Trapps will release an album of their compositions, “Dancing in Gold.” It’s the first of three EPs of entirely original work that will be released over the next two years.

They just left on a two-week tour that will bring them through Spokane for a concert on April 4, and the foursome is still in demand for concerts throughout the world. They have agents coordinating their schedules in North and South America, on the global symphony circuit and in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

As “The Sound of Music” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year as one of the world’s most beloved films, the von Trapps hold their legacy ever close.

“It’s amazing how much [the movie] means to people,” Melanie von Trapp said in a telephone interview from her Portland home. “We’re not blind to that. We’re very grateful it is a legacy we can be proud of and can share that same joy with people who love it.”

Stefan and Annie von Trapp began recording their children’s angelic voices in 2001 — they’ve recorded several albums through the years — and then took their children on the road, home-schooling them in between concerts for much of the next decade.

In a February 2002 interview with the Daily Inter Lake, they talked about how difficult the decision was to jump head-first into having their children perform on a world stage.

They had been content to home-school the children at their rural home, to cheer them on at soccer games and let them sing locally.

After their first cross-country tour, it was clear the young quartet had the same remarkable musical ability of their Austrian ancestors. They took off and never looked back.

“Both parents were on the road with us a lot,” Melanie recalled. “They’re pretty amazing; they kept us protected. Both of them were wary and careful that it didn’t become something that wasn’t either fun or educational or meaningful.

“I remember them saying there was never pressure to keep going,” she continued. “It was whether it felt right. They were willing to break the standard way of raising kids, but they fought hard to give us normalcy, and our opinions were always included.”

Their grandfather, Werner von Trapp, one of the real von Trapps immortalized in “The Sound of Music” — he was Kurt, the “incorrigible” child in the movie — once gave his Flathead Valley grandchildren some well-heeded advice: “If you have a gift you also have a responsibility to use it.”

It was Werner, their “opa,” who taught them Austrian folk songs during his summer visits to the Flathead. When he was too ill to travel one year, the children made a recording of their music and sent it to them. In hindsight that recording was the start of something very big.

By January 2003 the von Trapp children had performed well over 100 concerts around the world over a two-year period, in places as far away as South Korea and Australia and as close as Glacier National Park. They have been media darlings since Day One, appearing on most major national television news network through the years.

In 2010 they sang on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” during a special show that reunited the entire cast of “The Sound of Music” for the first time.

As they grew into young adults, one by one they pursued their postsecondary education. Sofia studied voice and music business at Berklee College of Music in Boston; Melanie studied voice at Grove City College in Pennsylvania; and Amanda pursued politics at Tiffan University in Ohio and sang in the college choir. August, who legally changed his birth name, Justin, when he turned 18, is taking online college courses in design and software technology.

These days they occasionally will sing a “Sound of Music” song, typically “Edelweiss” if asked, but since convening in Portland in 2013, they’ve been focused on the next phase of their career. These days they are simply The von Trapps, one of Portland’s newest indie bands.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published Feb. 10, they described their new sound as “super fresh, personal and fun ... How each of us blend our styles together is both a challenge and a thrilling discovery for us.”

August, who recently started playing the ukulele, composed several of the songs on “Dancing in Gold.” He noted Pink Martini founder and pianist Thomas Lauderdale; Robin Pecknold singer and principal songwriter for Fleet Foxes; and Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg among his musical heroes.

“Generally I think the best reason to write a song is to communicate a specific emotion,” August said in a phone interview from Portland. “They are personal experiences you need to get out for your own sake.”

His song, “Storm,” is a melding of his reactions to the crazy weather patterns of the Pacific Northwest and a poignant visit to an old temple area in Japan. “These amazing statues really captured the sense of standing in rain and thunderstorms,” he said.

August, too, marvels at his parents’ ability to “pull everything off” as they accompanied the four siblings around the world, knowing little about the music business in the beginning.

Melanie said invariably they will be asked what it’s like to perform together and how they get along with one another.

“I think it’s not as hard as it seems when you all love the same things,” Melanie reflected. “It’s been an interesting road, absolutely an adventure. Since we were kids we all felt a lot of gratitude that we could be together.”

The von Trapps try to get back to the Flathead Valley every summer if their schedule allows. And they’re still connected with members of the von Trapp family, many of whom still live in Vermont.

“We could keep touring all the time, but each year changes,” Melanie said. “This move to Portland has helped us find a home base for now.

Their full focus is on their music.

“It’s still so much fun, and an adventure,” she added.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.