THE FRANCESCO TRIO
Cellist Bonnie Hampton started the Francesco Trio in 1964 with violinist David Abel and pianist Nathan Schwartz. “The first year we played a few concerts, the second year a few more, and then we got invited to do a tour in Alaska and British Columbia. We won the Naumburg Chamber Award which put us on the international map with management and touring, and we procured a part-time residency at Stanford University.”

The trio taught at Stanford for a few years but left for a full-time residency at Grinnell College in Iowa, which offered a better contract. Stanford was shocked that they would leave for such a small school, but eventually got them back by offering them a full-time residency with health insurance and retirement benefits.