Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/20776
that even include wearing some of Maria’s dirndls, but also have a full repertoire that includes folk, pop, and gospel music while dressed in con- temporary outfits. The von Trapp Children have grown up in front of audi- ences across the globe since they began touring in 2002 and the world became their classroom. Annie makes sure that bookings include enough time for them to experience people and place. They often end up putting a lot of their earnings back into this effort, but for them it was never about the money. It was about the music, the family learn- ing together, and about reaching out to others. They sing at local hospitals and take field trips to view the area’s high- lights and to interact with the community. Sofia says, “I think it has made us more enlightened and more accepting. The children recently spent two months teaching music in a Rwandan orphanage and presented a keyboard to the school. They also sang their own arrangement of the coun- try’s new national anthem to Rwandan President Kagame, who was so moved by their singing that he gave Justin a cow from the royal herd. The children say that witnessing the Rwandan’s tremendous resiliency and willingness to forgive was one of the most potent of all their experiences. Amanda says, “It shaped me in a way I didn’t expect.” Annie loves that through it all, the children have not lost themselves. She says, “I think it is because we went through it as a family.” The four children are away at different schools now, finding their own voices. Annie says, “It is important that they go to college where they can soak up knowledge and have the freedom to be themselves.” The von Trapp Children still sing together once or twice a month in the U.S. and across the world and are in the process of recording their sixth CD. They have sung at the Grand Old Opry, the Sydney Opera House, with the Boston Pops, and numerous other American symphonies, and at dozens of locations worldwide. They have been featured in television programs, newspapers, and magazines across the globe, and recently taped a show with Oprah, which broad- cast on October 29. (visit www.vontrappchildren.com) But they all agree, there’s no place like home —the place where everything seems so real, honest, and free. 132 E Main Street, Bozeman, MT 406-582-0166 www.Darirasatrunkshow.com www.distinctlymontana.com 47 They arrived home after a six-month tour and Sofia found herself so full of emotion that she rushed through the door and went straight to the piano. All the love, the longing, and appreciation for home poured out of her in a beautiful song, “Montana Home.” I have seen the faces of the different worlds I have seen the castles with their flags unfurled I have seen the jungles I always have dreamed of But now I am finally going home.... The mountains are welcoming back my soul My heart will finally rest in peace— in my own Montana home... Kay Bjork shares the dream with the von Trapps of growing with our families in the wide, open magnificence of Montana where ideas and spirits soar. Kay lives and plays with her husband on Swan Lake while waiting for their two grown daughters to return home (even if for just a visit). Worldly Treasures. A Collection of