Hometown:
Clarksville, Maryland
Education:
Northwestern University, B.M. in Trumpet Performance and B.A. in Statistics, graduating 2024
Bio:
Originally from Clarksville, MD, Megan Radcliffe just completed her final year at Northwestern University, where she received a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics. While at Northwestern, she studied with David Bilger, Thomas Rolfs, Michael Sachs, and Channing Philbrick. In previous summers, Megan has attended Round Top Music Festival and Miami Music Festival.
What inspired you to become a musician?
The first time I played in an orchestra – we played Dvorak 9, and I knew that it was the only thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life
Name three of your favorite composers:
Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade – I played it in the final concerts of both my All State and my high school youth orchestras. Other than that, I'm a trumpet player so I love Mahler and Strauss
What is an interesting fact about you and/or your instrument?
For a lot of my life, I was more of a singer than I was a trumpet player
When taking a break from music-making, what is your favorite thing to do?
Go to concerts with my friends
Why did you choose the NRO?
I haven't been able to get much orchestral playing experiences in undergrad – Northwestern is more of a band school than it is an orchestra school, and so I've often been in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble with Mallory Thompson just because there are more trumpets in a band. NRO plays so much repertoire, and so frequently, that it's the perfect opportunity for me to do some orchestral playing with similar-length cycles to a professional orchestra.