Sally Spring here from the Goldsboro, NC group
I used to sing everywhere I went – my parents would have to ask me to please stop singing at the dinner table so when George Trautwein appeared in my life, he put the sun in my sky.
He’s influenced everything I’ve done on a personal level, as well as in business, art and music. Just last year I released a CD that charted #1 in Europe and #2 worldwide on Americana radio and #2 on international Folk radio. It was included in many critics’ and DJ’s’ 2010 “Best Of The Year lists” throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia.
I don’t think I could have achieved this had I not known Mr. Trautwein. I concur with all of you that he instilled his sense of professionalism, excellence, enthusiasm, energy, creativity, and integrity in everyone with whom he worked. He made us a part of something bigger than ourselves and brought magic into our lives through music.
I was in his chorus starting from when I was in the 5th grade. In the 9th grade, he invited me to sing in the high school Touring Choir which was pretty exciting. I’d rehearse early in the morning with them at the high school and then run over to jr high for my regular classes.
One of the greatest things was to see his productions when I was too young to be in them. The first one I saw was Amahl and the Night Visitors. Linda Mercer with her sparkling blue eyes and pristine soprano voice was Amahl and I can’t recall the name of who played the mother that year but she had reddish hair and the most gorgeous contralto I ever heard. It was so wonderful and inspirational that I couldn’t sleep a wink that night.
Mr. Trautwein included everyone possible in his productions and choruses. Woe be to the curious shy one who might sneak in the upstairs area of the auditorium to listen while we were rehearsing! Trautwein would demand his name (if he didn’t already know it) and order him downstairs to join the chorus.
Hey Matt, in Goldsboro, Mr. Trautwein didn’t throw plastic chairs (not sure they made plastic chairs back then!), they were the metal ones, wooden ones – whatever was available. He’d occasionally sling one spinning out into the auditorium over the permanently installed chairs while we were on stage. It sure got our attention!
I recall once Terry Piercal (sp) stepped down from the risers during rehearsal to misbehave and George ran back there and ordered him to go to the principal’s office, When it was time for Terry’s solo, Mr. Trautwein demanded to know where Terry was and of course we all said that he’d sent him to the principal’s office. George did his “theatrical and abrupt turn on his heel” (remember that?), ran to the principal’s office ordered Terry back to the auditorium for his solo.
Remember when we’d have to turn our hands side ways, put them in our mouths to open wide, jiggle our jaws and to get a better sound? He’d have us take one hand to touch his sternum and take the other hand and touch his rib cage while he puffed his chest out so we’d understand how to breath. He’d often stand balanced on the arms of a chair in the auditorium while conducting us. Occasionally he’d slip and wave his arms around to gain his balance. One day the Touring Choir or Mixed Chorus was singing flat so he had us all follow him while he ran around the auditorium then outside all around the auditorium. Needless to say, when we returned, we were a little breathless but we weren’t flat!
He cared so much about us! Once he drove me to Wilson to help me pick out my new Martin guitar. We played every single guitar in the store and finally picked out the D-28 I still have today.
Another time he drove me out of town to a voice contest and as usual he was speeding in the green jaguar. I was wearing one of those popular “baby doll” dresses that has no waste line. When the policeman pulled him over and tried to give him a ticket, he told him that I was pregnant and he needed to get me to the hospital to have that baby right away!!
My first part in a musical production was when I was a sophomore and I played a fairy in Iolanthe. I have only one hand, so during musicals I wore my artificial hand. In this musical, I carefully positioned the wand in the artificial hand. It was one week before the production and Mr. Trautwein was quite agitated (remember he always got wild a week or so before production). We were not very good that day and he had just finished yelling at us and throwing something. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop! Well, all of a sudden, my artificial hand lost its grip and the wand went spinning in the air across the gym floor and Mr. Trautwein came running up to me with this ferocious look (I thought I was going to die) and then realized what had happened. It was one of those rare moments when he was speechless! Lucky for us it broke the ice and “on we went”.
Only one other time did I see him speechless. I had the leading female role of Angelina in Trial By Jury and Terry Piercal (sp) was the Judge. During one of the scenes, the Judge writes a note to me and I slip it down my dress. Well Terry had written a hilarious note and when he handed it to me during rehearsal, I started laughing. George came running over and demanded the note. I was so flustered that I quickly tucked it down my dress. This brought him to screeching halt.
I was fortunate to have leading roles in several musicals such as “Katisha” in the Mikado and to play my favorite role of the “Mother” in Amahl for two years in a row. This meant I could be around Mr. Trautwein more and more.
It didn’t stop there. For two summers after high school, I was in his chorus in the outdoor theatre, The Lost Colony. What an amazing experience! We socialized a lot as now I was an adult. Everyone there called him “George” which was not easy for me as he’d always been “Mr. Trautwein”. We performed in special productions in addition to the outdoor theatre. Once I had the good fortune of spraining my foot and had to sit and watch the Lost Colony instead of participate. I couldn’t believe it! The colors of the costumes (Rene was in charge of costumes – she was a two-time Tony award winning costume designer), the way everything flowed, the chorus, the dancing, the acting – it was spectacular!
It was here where first I met Michael Penter who is also a very special person and very dear to George. My heart goes out to him during this time.
There’s so much more – so many great memories – we are all so fortunate to have known him and as Matt Miller so perfectly stated, “We can’t really miss Mr. Trautwein because he’s always been with us, and always will be.”
I used to sing everywhere I went – my parents would have to ask me to please stop singing at the dinner table so when George Trautwein appeared in my life, he put the sun in my sky.
He’s influenced everything I’ve done on a personal level, as well as in business, art and music. Just last year I released a CD that charted #1 in Europe and #2 worldwide on Americana radio and #2 on international Folk radio. It was included in many critics’ and DJ’s’ 2010 “Best Of The Year lists” throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia.
I don’t think I could have achieved this had I not known Mr. Trautwein. I concur with all of you that he instilled his sense of professionalism, excellence, enthusiasm, energy, creativity, and integrity in everyone with whom he worked. He made us a part of something bigger than ourselves and brought magic into our lives through music.
I was in his chorus starting from when I was in the 5th grade. In the 9th grade, he invited me to sing in the high school Touring Choir which was pretty exciting. I’d rehearse early in the morning with them at the high school and then run over to jr high for my regular classes.
One of the greatest things was to see his productions when I was too young to be in them. The first one I saw was Amahl and the Night Visitors. Linda Mercer with her sparkling blue eyes and pristine soprano voice was Amahl and I can’t recall the name of who played the mother that year but she had reddish hair and the most gorgeous contralto I ever heard. It was so wonderful and inspirational that I couldn’t sleep a wink that night.
Mr. Trautwein included everyone possible in his productions and choruses. Woe be to the curious shy one who might sneak in the upstairs area of the auditorium to listen while we were rehearsing! Trautwein would demand his name (if he didn’t already know it) and order him downstairs to join the chorus.
Hey Matt, in Goldsboro, Mr. Trautwein didn’t throw plastic chairs (not sure they made plastic chairs back then!), they were the metal ones, wooden ones – whatever was available. He’d occasionally sling one spinning out into the auditorium over the permanently installed chairs while we were on stage. It sure got our attention!
I recall once Terry Piercal (sp) stepped down from the risers during rehearsal to misbehave and George ran back there and ordered him to go to the principal’s office, When it was time for Terry’s solo, Mr. Trautwein demanded to know where Terry was and of course we all said that he’d sent him to the principal’s office. George did his “theatrical and abrupt turn on his heel” (remember that?), ran to the principal’s office ordered Terry back to the auditorium for his solo.
Remember when we’d have to turn our hands side ways, put them in our mouths to open wide, jiggle our jaws and to get a better sound? He’d have us take one hand to touch his sternum and take the other hand and touch his rib cage while he puffed his chest out so we’d understand how to breath. He’d often stand balanced on the arms of a chair in the auditorium while conducting us. Occasionally he’d slip and wave his arms around to gain his balance. One day the Touring Choir or Mixed Chorus was singing flat so he had us all follow him while he ran around the auditorium then outside all around the auditorium. Needless to say, when we returned, we were a little breathless but we weren’t flat!
He cared so much about us! Once he drove me to Wilson to help me pick out my new Martin guitar. We played every single guitar in the store and finally picked out the D-28 I still have today.
Another time he drove me out of town to a voice contest and as usual he was speeding in the green jaguar. I was wearing one of those popular “baby doll” dresses that has no waste line. When the policeman pulled him over and tried to give him a ticket, he told him that I was pregnant and he needed to get me to the hospital to have that baby right away!!
My first part in a musical production was when I was a sophomore and I played a fairy in Iolanthe. I have only one hand, so during musicals I wore my artificial hand. In this musical, I carefully positioned the wand in the artificial hand. It was one week before the production and Mr. Trautwein was quite agitated (remember he always got wild a week or so before production). We were not very good that day and he had just finished yelling at us and throwing something. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop! Well, all of a sudden, my artificial hand lost its grip and the wand went spinning in the air across the gym floor and Mr. Trautwein came running up to me with this ferocious look (I thought I was going to die) and then realized what had happened. It was one of those rare moments when he was speechless! Lucky for us it broke the ice and “on we went”.
Only one other time did I see him speechless. I had the leading female role of Angelina in Trial By Jury and Terry Piercal (sp) was the Judge. During one of the scenes, the Judge writes a note to me and I slip it down my dress. Well Terry had written a hilarious note and when he handed it to me during rehearsal, I started laughing. George came running over and demanded the note. I was so flustered that I quickly tucked it down my dress. This brought him to screeching halt.
I was fortunate to have leading roles in several musicals such as “Katisha” in the Mikado and to play my favorite role of the “Mother” in Amahl for two years in a row. This meant I could be around Mr. Trautwein more and more.
It didn’t stop there. For two summers after high school, I was in his chorus in the outdoor theatre, The Lost Colony. What an amazing experience! We socialized a lot as now I was an adult. Everyone there called him “George” which was not easy for me as he’d always been “Mr. Trautwein”. We performed in special productions in addition to the outdoor theatre. Once I had the good fortune of spraining my foot and had to sit and watch the Lost Colony instead of participate. I couldn’t believe it! The colors of the costumes (Rene was in charge of costumes – she was a two-time Tony award winning costume designer), the way everything flowed, the chorus, the dancing, the acting – it was spectacular!
It was here where first I met Michael Penter who is also a very special person and very dear to George. My heart goes out to him during this time.
There’s so much more – so many great memories – we are all so fortunate to have known him and as Matt Miller so perfectly stated, “We can’t really miss Mr. Trautwein because he’s always been with us, and always will be.”
