A rumour the famous Austrian family the Von Trapp Family Singers performed at the Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral in the 1950s has inspired the Melbourne Welsh Male Choir.
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The choir and soprano singer Kate Amos will sing some songs from The Sound of Music at their performance at the cathedral on March 24.
"We heard a rumour that the Von Trapp Family Singers performed there but it took some keen sleuthing by the Diocese of Sandhurst’s Jordan Grantham to uncover the full story," choir director David Ashton-Smith said.
"Jordan first found the signatures of Baroness Maria Von Trapp, Maria Augusta Trapp and Agatha Trapp on the hand missal of Dorrie Smith, the housekeeper of Bishop Bernard Stewart.
"The Bendigo Advertiser’s microfilmed archives revealed that the Von Trapp Family Singers sang mass at the cathedral on October 16, 1955, a full decade before the film that made them world-famous.
"They (also) sang at a ceremony where Cardinal Gilroy placed the foundation stone for the completion of the cathedral."
During their visit, the Von Trapp Family Singers also performed at St Aidan’s Orphanage with their program including Ave Maria and Waltzing Matilda.
The Melbourne Welsh Male Choir is at Sacred Heart Cathedral on March 24 at 2pm. Tickets are $30. Visit https://melbournewelshchoir.com.au to book.
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