Trudy Drummond Muegel, 86, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 12, 2022, at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 28, 1936, and raised in rural northern Illinois. She was a retired percussionist who played for fifty-one years in symphony orchestras around the United States. She was the third woman to hold a percussion position in a major American orchestra and was an active member of the Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity. 

She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts summer camp in 1954 and later studied at Fontainebleau Schools of Music and Arts summer program outside Paris, France. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1958 with a BS in Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Performance. In addition to undergraduate degrees, she holds a Master of Science degree in Percussion Performance from the Juilliard School where she studied with Saul Goodman and Morris Goldenberg. 

Prior to graduating from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music she began playing in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO). She started as an extra percussionist in 1956, and became a full-time member as Second Percussion when she graduated from the College-Conservatory of Music. With the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra she performed under the direction of Thor Johnson, Max Rudolf, Fausto Cleva, Leopold Stokowski, Pierre Monteaux, Julius Rudel, Thomas Schippers, and James

Levine. While in Cincinnati, she was a member of the Cincinnati Summer Opera and Cincinnati Ballet Orchestras. Her Broadway show experience includes ten years with the Shubert Theater orchestra in Cincinnati.

Mrs. Muegel has been the principal percussionist with the Modesto (California) Symphony, timpanist with the Mansfield (Ohio) Symphony and Central Ohio Symphony, and percussionist with the Columbus Symphony and Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio. In more recent years she was the Principal Timpanist with the Western Piedmont Symphony, Co-Principal Percussionist/Assistant Timpanist with the Roanoke Symphony, Percussionist/Assistant Timpanist with the Kingsport Symphony, and has appeared with the North Carolina Symphony during its summer residency in Boone, NC.

She taught at several universities including the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music, Northern Kentucky University, and Mt. St. Joseph University, and privately at home throughout her career.   

Although she retired from orchestral playing, Mrs. Muegel continued to do solo performances in smaller venues and accompany her husband (a violinist).

Following her retirement, Trudy Muegel began a new career as an award-winning art photographer. She and her husband, Glenn, loved traveling throughout the world and visited six of the seven continents and over 40 countries.  She shared these sights through her photography, and had exhibits in a number of galleries in the Carolinas.  

Trudy and Glenn moved to Charlotte, NC, in 2016 to be closer to their family. They quickly created new friendships at Sharon Towers, and Trudy enjoyed volunteering and many activities there. Most recently she computerized their library to an online system, played piano for residents multiple times each week, and participated with Knitter’s United by making hats to donate to Classroom Central, an organization that helps under-privileged children.  She received the 2019 Vitality and Well-being Award at Sharon Towers.  

She was most proud of her family who all followed in her footsteps by loving music and travel.  All children and grandchildren play musical instruments and sing.  The Muegel Family was named Ohio Music Family of the Year in 1982 and received a proclamation from the governor. Most of all, Trudy enjoyed seeing her children and grandchildren perform in various orchestras, choirs, marching bands, and musicals.  

Trudy is survived by her spouse of 63 years, Dr. Glenn Allen Muegel, three daughters and their spouses – Linda and Luke Connolly, Lisa and Rick Hammond, Laura and Jon Sippel, and her three grandchildren – Lindsay Hammond, Daniel Sippel, and Evan Sippel.