Robbinsville native entertains international audience
Rosenegg, Austria – Even though Slade Trammell has memories of riding on bulldozers with his grandpas as a child, he figured out early on that the piano stool was where he belonged.
“I don’t remember a period in my life when I wasn’t banging on the piano,” says Trammell.
Trammell recently performed at the International Kultursommer Schloss Rosennegg in Austria.
A Robbinsville native, Trammell could play the piano by ear at am early age. He would hear a song at church and go home and figure out how to play it. It just felt natural to him.
Graham County residents Charlotte Shope and Linda McConnell were his first piano teachers.
“They really helped me with the basics of reading music, learning about timing and much more,” Trammell said, adding that he realized the piano wasn’t a fad. “It was more like a calling.”
At age 10, he played his first public concert in Robbinsville. After the eighth grade, he and his mom moved to Knoxville, Tenn., where he enrolled at The Webb School and began studying piano with Dr. David Burnell of the University of Tennessee Piano Faculty. He became one of the few students in the world to be accepted to study with two of America’s most prominent and successful concert pianists: first with Earl Wild in Palm Springs, Calif., and later with Ruth Slencynska in New York City.
During his career, Trammell has performed concerts across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
At his concerto debut with the American Philharmonic Orchestra, critics noted his “technique and rhythmic excitement.” He was praised by the Knoxville Metro-Pulse for his “mastery of tone…coaxing velvety ripples, and solid clean statements from the slower and simpler ones”.
He made his Italian debut in 2018, cementing his standing as a world-class pianist by receiving recognition as the Winner of the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition in Rome. He has also performed in Paris and Taipei to name a few venues.
Locally, he has performed with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Roane (Tenn.) Choral Society.
As in summers past, he was invited this year by the Baroness Ilona von Ronay to appear as a guest artist at the International Music Festival, which was held at her family’s ancestral castle in Austria. The castle has stood for some 900 years and has hosted many nobles, including the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I many years ago.
Trammell was accompanied by his wife of three years, Dr. Sophie Wang, who is a concert pianist in her own right. She is currently on faculty at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss. The couple played separately throughout the week and also joined each other on-stage for a duet.
Trammell serves on the music faculty at Roane State. In addition to his college responsibilities and his demanding concert schedule, he also serves as the Grace Lutheran Church Director of Music in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He also teaches gifted students both in his home and online.
His roots run deep in Robbinsville. It was where he spent his childhood and where he sat at his first piano.
Could a concert in Robbinsville be in Trammell’s future?
“I would love to play Robbinsville sometime,” Trammell said. “Some people have mentioned it from time-to-time, though I believe some folks are concerned that a classic-only concert might not be that popular. But personally, I believe that sharing a little classical music is better than none at all. We could start off with some classical numbers and then possibly some patriotic, maybe some sing-along hymns and some show tunes – throw a little Elvis in.”
Many of Trammell’s performances – including those in Austria – are available for viewing at SladeTrammell.com.
He can also be contacted for appearances on his website.