Christmas Day at Schloss Leopoldskron

On Christmas Day Voices of New England concluded their Austrian tour with a performance at Schloss Leopoldskron with Elisabeth von Trapp. It was another beautiful performance to cap an amazing trip. The patio overlooking the lake at the Scloss (castle) was used in many iconic scenes in the film version of “The Sound of Music”.  The interior scenes of the family were filmed on studio lots but the inside of the Schloss was no less spectacular.

In addition to songs from their Vienna repetoire, including group favorite “Still, Still, Still” the group joined Elisabeth in singing “Ding, Dong Merrily on High”, a version of “Noel” arranged by Elisabeth and a beautiful version of “Edelweiss”, a most beautiful song written by Oscar Hammerstein as he was dying of cancer. An anthem for all that is not at all the national song of Austria as some think. Unfortunately the pictures do not do justice to the venue or the performance, but we did get some beautiful shots of our families.

As I wrote last night, this trip has meant something special to each of our families - John and Bonnie Wiegand traveled from Montana to join their son Theo on this trip. John and Theo (also known as Ted) participated in the choir while Bonnie cheered them on.

The Pampreen Family

At 85, Pat Pampreen of Michigan thought she had made her last trip to Europe many years ago but did not want to miss the chance to see her grandson, Philip, play organ in two of Austria’s most iconic churches. Her son, Frank and daughter-in-law, Lisa, joined their son Philip in the choir and today celebrate their 31st wedding anniversary in the city where they post honeymooned a lifetime ago. This author and her mom, Carole, never dreamed they would have the chance to visit Salzburg. I am in fact named for the musical so it seems a fitting pilgrimage. These are just a few of our stories.

The Lauer Family

But this trip may mean the most to the Lauer family. Nick Lauer, an alumni of Portsmouth Christian Academy and now a college sophomore, jumped at the chance to sing in Austria in a choir led by Mr. Stevens. His Mom, Bev, wanted in, too, although her experience singing in public was previously limited to her church choir at home. Dad, Scott and sister, Bryn, signed up to come along for support. It would be the first time the family would be away from home for Christmas.

Then, two weeks before they were scheduled to fly out, doctors discovered an aneurysm in Bev’s brain. The family feared the dream had died, but put it up to God. Doctors cleared Bev to travel and every moment here has meant even more to the family for it. Bev said it was extra special to sing with her son in these structures built for God.

On Dec. 28, Bev will undergo surgery at Lahey Clinic in Boston and she will have the prayers and love of this group with her when she does, as well as the memories of performing with her son in this country where even their greeting, Grüß Gott, is a greeting to God. 


As I said last night, I think each of us is feeling incredibly blessed to have had this experience together. Each of us have brought joy and love to the adventure and hope our audiences felt that, too. 
Today we fly home, but will continue to post clips, photos and anecdotes from our trip in the coming days!