Violinist Isabel Trautwein was born in Huntsville, Alabama where her father worked as a rocket scientist. When she was 12, her mother, exasperated with Alabama, decided that they would move back to their native Germany. Isabel, after much homesickness, surrendered to being a German teenager. In retrospect, this was the ideal time to be a young violinist in Germany. Opportunities abounded: she received free private lessons, participated in well-run national solo and chamber music competitions and played in outstanding youth orchestras under very famous conductors which traveled to exotic places such as Israel, Africa and India.
After completing undergraduate studies in Germany, Isabel received grants to study abroad and, subconsciously still homesick for the US, chose CIM in Cleveland. After two exciting years at the institute studying with Donald Weilerstein it was time to leave and seek better weather. Isabel moved to Miami to be a Concertmaster of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. The weather was great. But a real job seemed suddenly attractive, so she moved to the Houston Symphony. The weather was good, but the city was not so good. Next the movers took her to St Louis, where she had a dream-position: 50 % orchestra playing and 50% outreach in the city. The following year she found herself elected to be the Principal Second Violinst under a grumpy conductor and therefore decided it was time to take a break from orchestra playing. Isabel joined the Pacifica String Quartet for one year. They played about 60 concerts all over the US, and even in Hawaii and Greece. While quartet music is the Greatest, all the travel was exhausting and she missed having 100 other people around. So, she joined the Cleveland Orchestra in 2002, moved to Cleveland Heights and put the moving boxes on the tree-lawn. She happily lives here now in a beautiful bungalow with her deaf dog and is an enthusiastic violin teacher to her young students. She is a board member of Heights Arts and brings great chamber music to a wide spectrum of Cleveland audiences in a fun and casual style.