Two PA Music Students to Appear on NPR's "From the Top"

Clare Monfredo ’09 and Rainer Crosett ’10 chosen as outstanding high school classical musicians

October 20, 2008 — Performances by two highly respected student cellists from Phillips Academy will be broadcast nationwide on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” this weekend. The popular show features inspiring musical performances and highly entertaining interviews with young students selected from among the top classical musicians in the country. Both Clare Monfredo ’09 and Rainer Crosett ’10 were students at the prestigious Heifetz International Music Institute in Wolfeboro, N.H. last summer where “From the Top” taped the show on July 9 at Brewster Academy’s Andover Hall.

The program will be broadcast across the country beginning Saturday, October 25. In the Boston area, WGBH will carry the broadcast on Saturday, October 25 at 11 a.m. and Sunday, October 26 at 6 p.m. Local broadcast times will vary across the country, but the show will be available any time on the Web beginning Wednesday, October 22.

Show host Christopher O’Riley, himself an acclaimed pianist who studied at the New England Conservatory, often performs with his guests, as he did with Crosett on the program that will air this weekend. Together they performed Requiebros by Gaspar Cassado. Monfredo performed a work by Robert Schumann for a piano and stgrings quintet.

Monfredo, a senior from Seal Harbor, Maine, also won a special award for her participation on “From the Top.” The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award will provide $10,000 toward her further musical education, provide training in cultural leadership and require that she do some type of outreach project, which could mean various involvements from playing in schools to lobbying for music education funds. Monfredo loved the experience with the show, she said, and particularly was impressed with O’Riley’s assistance with the Schumann quintet. “He gave us some really good suggestions about interpreting the piece,” she said. Monfredo said she knows music will always be a part of her life, but she is not sure about making a career of it.

Crosett, who lives in North Andover, Mass., was drawn to the cello at the age of eight, but didn’t begin lessons until four years later. He described the taping of “From the Top” as “so much fun, especially playing with O’Riley.” He said that the show’s staff was so friendly and supportive that it made the experience much less stressful than he expected. “It was so exciting. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to play on the radio.” Crosett, who also is a pianist, hopes to carve out a career as a solo cellist.

“From the Top” was founded in 1997 to celebrate young classical musicians the same way the American culture makes heroes of young athletes. Since then, the show has become the nation’s most popular weekly classical music program; it is broadcast on more than 250 stations each week, and reaches more than 750,000 listeners. “From the Top” has developed bonds with various sponsors to offer scholarships, instructional music programs in struggling neighborhood schools, and a school-based residency program that allows students to produce their own radio shows modeled on the NPR classic. The program’s mentoring and training programs also help young musicians connect with new audiences, serve as positive role models, and find ways to give back to their communities.