The Sound of Christmas comes to the Larcom Theatre in Beverly!

T’was the night after Thanksgiving and all through Beverly there was crowd gathering at the Historic Larcom Theatre to hear that amazing sound. What was the sound they were there to hear? Well it was the historic sound of Elisabeth Von Trapp bringing her Sounds of Christmas to the masses. This coming Friday night Elisabeth Von Trapp brings her historic family name and talents to the Larcom Threatre on Willis Street in Beverly. “The Sound of Christmas” will entertain the audience and allow you to escape your friends and family for a night of celebration. For the 50th anniversary ofThe Sound of Music, Maria von Trapp’s granddaughter, Elisabeth, brings her stunning voice to the historic Larcom Theatre for one intimate performance of classic carols, songs from “The Sound of Music” and pieces from Bach to Broadway ... Schubert to Sting. Accompanying herself on guitar with Douglas Major on grand piano (former choral director/organist at the Washington National Cathedral), von Trapp’s voice will soar in The Larcom’s gorgeous acoustics. You can expect to be awed by the beauty of her voice (called “hauntingly clear” by New York Times), moved by their gorgeous musical arrangements and touched forever by the astonishing sound of her remarkable new music.

Important Show Information!
Friday, November 27, 2015
TIME
7:00PM (Doors 6:00PM)
VENUE
Larcom Theatre
13 Wallis Street
Beverly, MA 01915
OPENER
Brian King & Nathan Cohen
TICKETS
ALL AGES RESERVED SEATS
$19, $29, $39
http://gimmelive.com/?c=61

Video: https://youtu.be/mLdOwlRteCc



ABOUT ELISABETH VON TRAPP
For Elisabeth von Trapp, “the sounds of music” are part of her earliest memories. Born and raised in Vermont, Elisabeth is the granddaughter of the legendary Maria and Baron Von Trapp, whose story inspired The Sound of Music. Singing professionally since childhood, Elisabeth has enthralled audiences from European cathedrals to Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center.
Inspired by her father Werner Von Trapp’s guitar playing and singing, Elisabeth has carried on the legacy of the internationally renowned Trapp Family Singers. She began taking piano lessons when she was eight and by the age of sixteen she was playing guitar and traveling the back roads of New England performing with her siblings at weddings, gospel meetings and town halls.

Building on her famed family’s passion for music, Elisabeth has created her own artistic style, at once ethereal and earthy, delicate and powerful. listeners have likened her to Judy Collins and Loreena McKennitt. critics have called her voice … “hauntingly clear”, “joyfully expressive” and “simply beautiful.”
Elisabeth’s concert repertoire ranges from Bach to Broadway … Schubert to Sting. With equal ease and eloquence she sings timeless wonders like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Favorite Things and Edelweiss, Lieder by Mozart, Puccini’s o Mio Babbino Caro, soaring gospel tunes, pop classics like a Whiter Shade of Pale and her own stunning compositions.
Her cathedral program includes sacred and secular music extending from Gregorian chants, songs by 12th century mystic Hildegarde of Bingen, early American hymns, spirituals and psalms set to her own compositions. She is accompanied by the elegant arrangements of her guitar and acclaimed cellist and longtime musical colleague, Erich Kory.

In the spring of 2001 Elisabeth was granted permission from Robert Frost’s publisher, Henry Holt & co., to sing parts of the poet’s oeuvre. Poetic License, released in June 2004, features the musical settings of poems by frost and Shakespeare, a Japanese haiku and interpretations of Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World, Sting’s Fragile and Schubert’s an Die Musik.
On her summer 2005 release, Love Never Ends /Sacred Sounds, Elisabeth has collected, arranged and recorded some of her favorite hymns, psalms and chants with influences from jazz and gospel, contemporary and classical musical styles.

Elisabeth has released five self produced albums, and has performed across the United States, Austria and Russia. her music has been featured on National Public Radio, BBC-Radio, Japanese national radio and CNN Spanish radio. She has appeared on CBS’s eye on people, ABC’s Good Morning America and BBC-TV.
No one leaves an Elisabeth Von Trapp performance unchanged … audiences of all ages are drawn by the promise of her famous name … awed by the beauty of her voice and musical arrangements … their hearts touched forever by the astonishing sound of her unique new music.

ABOUT DOUGLAS MAJOR
Born in 1953 in Berwick, Pennsylvania, Douglas Major studied organ at Webster College, St. Louis, MO earning a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance. In 1974 he was appointed by the late Paul Callaway as assistant organist at the prestigious Washington (DC) National Cathedral, when Major was just twenty-one years of age. He succeeded Richard Wayne Dirksen as organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral in 1988, where his first career as a church musician continued to 2002. During his 28 years of service there, he conducted daily choral services, played for presidents, kings and queens, and administered one of the country’s largest church music programs and concert schedules, frequently televised nationally. In 1995, Major was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary in Wisconsin, in recognition of his contributions to the American/Anglican choral tradition. Since 2003, Major has served as Music Director of St. Michael’s Church in Marblehead, MA.

As an internationally recognized organ solo artist, Douglas Major has toured throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. Dr. Major plays many recitals and concerts each season, as well as concerts with the Empire Brass Quintet and as accompanist for Elizabeth Von Trapp. During the last 30 years, his appearances have taken him all over the United States, from California to Maine, and Florida to Washington and Canada. During the last five seasons, Major has toured the US with Elizabeth Von Trapp and the Empire Brass Quintet, playing in over 35 American cities. His career has afforded him the opportunity to perform with many great musicians, including Leonard Bernstein,

Msistislav Rostropovich, Ravi Shankar, Wynton Marsalis, Aretha Franklin and Yo Yo Ma.
Dr. Major’s solo recordings include eight organ compact discs, recorded on the Washington Cathedral’s magnificent 186-rank Skinner organ. With the Empire Brass of Boston, Major has recorded A Bach Festival for Angel/EMI, now in its fourth release, and one of the all-time best-selling brass and organ recordings. A CD entitled “Songs of Heaven” of the St. Michael’s Church Choir, Marblehead was released in 2012.

Show covered and produced by: Mark Allen Wood
Wood Media Staff Writer