She played on the show, at live concerts, on tour, and at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday evenings. Welk asked her to appear as a guest cellist on two of his upcoming television shows and, after the second show, asked her to join the orchestra-the first and only woman to do so. She asked him to hum a few bars, recognized them and played the pieces in the upbeat “Champagne Music” style of the orchestra. He asked her to play several popular songs, none of which she could remember by name. In 1961 Harris auditioned for the Lawrence Welk Orchestra by Welk himself. She even appeared in the 1956 production of Around the World in 80 Days as a musician. She worked as a session musician for several bands and other venues, including the motion picture industry. Seeing few prospects for a musical career in Chicago, she moved to Brentwood, CA, in 1956. With the degree and other accomplishments in hand, she tried to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra but was denied because female musicians were not allowed. That same year, despite having no diploma, she met all the requirements and passed an entrance exam for Northwestern University four years later, she received a Bachelor of Music degree. With all these commitments, she chose to drop out of OPRFHS in her junior year. Charlotte played in symphony orchestras in Chicago and San Antonio and taught music and piano with her sister during World War II.
#WHO IS STILL ALIVE FROM THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW PROFESSIONAL#
Even before her years at Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRFHS), she turned professional and performed at local events.
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When Charlotte accidentally broke the violin her mother decided she should play a more durable instrument, thus beginning her lifelong affinity for the cello-all before the age of five.Ĭharlotte was extremely active in her schools’ music programs, attended multiple fairs and contests, bringing home 32 medals, and playing in a jazz combo throughout her childhood and teenage years. Charlotte’s mother started each of her pitch-perfect children on a musical instrument with Charlotte learning the piano before switching to her older sister’s violin. The daughter of a music teacher/professional violinist mother and a business executive and amateur baritone father, her lifelong passion and artistry as a musician came early-at the age of three. Charlotte Perry Harris, the only female member of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, was born in Oak Park, spent her early years in Maywood and her teenage years in River Forest.