Reflections 2009:Reflections v4 - Manlius Pebble Hill School

MPHGrammyMUSICIANS GETGigjazz virtuosos NickMPHFrenay and NoahKellman are among only 30 highschool students in the country whowon coveted spots in the 2009 GrammyJazz Ensembles.In February, after soaring to the top in amassive nationwide audition process,the two Seniors found themselves inLos Angeles performing at GrammyWeek events for the public and formany of the music industry’s mostnotable artists. Noah, at the Grammysfor the first time, played piano in theGrammy Jazz Combo. It was,remarkably, Nick’s third consecutivetrip to the Grammys as trumpet playerin the Grammy Jazz Band.Good pals since Fifth Grade, the boyshave each been selected over the yearsto attend highly competitive musicprograms and have amassed animpressive string of honors and awards.Nick, for instance, was awarded the2008 Downbeat Magazine StudentMusic Award for outstanding perfor -mance by a high school jazz soloist.Noah, who has won seven individualDownbeat Awards as a pianist andcomposer, is also the recipient of lastyear’s Young Jazz Composer Award,bestowed by the esteemed AmericanSociety of Composers, Authors, andPublishers. Together, Nick and Noahwon the 2008 Downbeat Award for bestjazz duo.The two give a generous share of creditfor their success to MPH and to JoeColombo, who has taught them sinceSixth Grade. “MPH helps studentspursue what truly sparks their fire,”they say. “The MPH community hassupported our love for jazz andprovided a program that has seamlesslyunited academics and our passion formusic.”With that comment, Nick and Noahpoint to precisely why, over the lastdecade, MPH has enjoyed a burgeoningreputation as a school where theperforming arts flourish. MPH is not aperforming arts school. It is a schoolwhere students’ talents and passionsmatter greatly, where students aresupported in simultaneously pursuingexcellence in academics and the arts.Nick and Noah are among the lateststars of the MPH music program, butthe School has long graduated studentswho have gone on to professionalcareers in music, like musician/composer Patrick Wolff ’98, whosePatrick Wolff Trio is based in New YorkCity. In 1999, the School’s musicprogram began a rebuilding process,when Head of School Baxter Ball,determined to develop a truly stellarmusic program at MPH, hired highlyaccomplished professionals to teachstudents from Pre-K through UpperSchool and launched the SuzukiEducation Program in Lower School.The reinvigorated music program hasproduced legions of students who knowthe lifelong joy of hearing and makingmusic – and some who have gone on tomake music the focus of their lives.Nick Frenay ’09 and Noah Kellman ’09Among the latter, to name just a few, areBroadway singer/actress CarrieManolakos ’02; pianist Andrew Carroll’05, who preceded Nick and Noah as aGrammy Ensembles musician; andmezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sutphen ’08,now studying opera at Juilliard.Having discovered jazz at MPH, Noahcredits the “talented, enthusiasticmentors” he has found here withnurturing his interest and helping himachieve his ambitions. He and Nickare now trying to “give back” byinspiring younger students to developan appreciation of jazz. To pique theirinterest in music, the two Seniors areperforming small jazz concerts thisspring for Lower School children. Thefirst of those mini-concerts, for Pre-Kand Kindergarten students, took placein the Center for Early Learning thisspring.These enormously gifted musiciansinsist they are far from the last MPHjazz musicians who will find success.They know the School will do for otherswhat it has done for them. It is one ofMPH’s strengths, says Nick, that it isattentive to the needs and interests ofeach student, “to what really captivatesand inspires each of us.”MPH REFLECTIONS 2009 19