Rufus Wainwright was born to perform. While he arrived at Millbrook as a teenager with recognized talent, his experiences in high school helped shape his artistic identity, allowing him the freedom to explore musical styles and sounds within a supportive, loving community.

Rufus credits his time at Millbrook, a pivotal period in his life, for saving him during an especially challenging period in his childhood. As a young teen in the late 1980s, he had an already emerging musical talent, a wanderlust, and a growing tendency to explore nightlife in his hometown of Montreal. After surviving some perilous circumstances, attending Millbrook provided him with everything that he needed at that time of his life—a rigorous academic experience within a safe and supportive community. Boarding school was not new to his father’s side of the family. His grandfather and great-grandfather both attended Trinity Pawling, and his father graduated from St. Andrew’s. Millbrook recognized great potential in him, and enrolling in 1987, he quickly came to feel protected and loved by Millbrook faculty and students. His four years at Millbrook shaped his perspective on the transformative power of a boarding school education.

“Going to Millbrook, for me, was arguably the most important step in my life—hands down in a lot of ways. There are certain forks in the road of my life where I could have gone one way or another, and going to Millbrook…it really saved my life. I’ll always be grateful to Millbrook for that.”