George J. Trinkaus was a salaried staff arranger and editor for music publishing giant M. Witmark & Sons, and a prolific composer of all types of lighter music, from ballads to marches to waltzes to hymns. He used the pseudonym 'Harold Ivers' presumably as a way to add composer variety to the large Witmark output, and utilized this name for his comparatively few QRS hand-played rolls (his main instrument was violin - in fact, he was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra). He was also the first cousin of "March King" John Philip Sousa.

Born in Bridgeport to German immigrants, he composed his first piece of music at age 13, and studied at the Yale University 1896-1900 under Professor Horatio Parker (theory) and Professor Isidore Troostwyk (violin), and in his spare time enjoyed writing fugues. He was skilled at arranging for theatre orchestra and bands, and was incredibly versatile, arranging a variety of music from sentimental ballads to Chopin and Beethoven!

He met famed composer Victor Herbert through Witmark, and was a close friend. Herbert and Trinkaus were instrumental in helping found the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

The 1910 census shows him resident in Brooklyn, New York, and married to Jane. The WWI draft confirms his occupation as music editor for Witmark, and he describes himself as tall with brown eyes and blue hair. By 1920 he was resident in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with Jane and father to three daughters.

The WW2 draft card shows he was employed by Broadway School in Hackensack, NJ as the supervisor of the Music Activies of the Recreational project.and living at 327 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, NJ.

He died of a coronary thrombosis on 19 May 1960, aged 82.