Born Gertrud Rittmann in Mannheim, Germany, in 1908, Trude Rittmann immigrated to the United States in 1937, where she was engaged by Lincoln Kirstein as concert accompanist and pianist for George Balanchine's American Ballet Caravan, the precursor to New York City Ballet. During her years as musical director for the troupe, she worked closely with composers such as Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, Virgil Thomson, Leonard Bernstein and Marc Blitzstein.