Alumni in Action: Competitions, Senior Recitals, Weddings and More!
As usual, From the Top’s amazing alumni are out and about and accomplishing great things. Here are just a few examples of recent news we have heard:
Nicky Schwartz performs on From the Top in Aspen in 2007
The 2009 Annual Stulberg String Competition was held on Saturday in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
From the Top alumni soared to the top of the competition. They include: Gold Medal winner Nicholas Schwartz, 19, Double Bass, who was featured on two past From the Top radio episodes and is now in his second year at Boston University; and Bronze Medal winner Tony Rymer, 19, cello, who was a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award and studies at New England Conservatory in Boston. Congratulations Nicky and Tony!
Yumi Man, who appeared on From the Top back in one of our first seasons at 13 and again when she was 17, performed her senior Bachelor of Music recital at New England Conservatory on Wednesday, March 4. In her very few moments of spare time, Yumi volunteers in From the Top’s office. Congratulations to Yumi for delivering a fantastic 2 hour solo recital!
Lydia Dahling, who performed on From the Top at 16, is now in her second year as a vocal performance major at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Emily Ondracek-Peterson and Erik Peterson met on From the Top when they were in high school in one of our early seasons. They later reconnected when they both entered the Juilliard School. Emily and Erik have recently married and are living in New York.
Ren Martin-Doike performs with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra
Violinist Ren Martin-Doike, recently performed with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Charles Latshaw, as the winner of their 2009 Youth Concerto Competition. Ren appeared on From the Top’s taping in Indianapolis in December 2008 and is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. You can hear Ren on From the Top broadcasts this week!
Sean Hennessey, who was profiled in one of our recent highlight shows, says, “I am now out in California writing music for films. I love it!”
Yuqing “Damon” Meng, a past From the Top Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, recently dropped by our office on his way to audition for New England Conservatory. Damon is a National Merit Finalist and has been named a winner in the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts 2009 YoungArts program. Damon is currently considering where he will attend college next year having already been accepted to Princeton and Yale.
Another season 1 alum, Andre Dubelsten, now 24, writes, “I’m currently in Toronto playing with the Canadian Opera Company. Besides that, I travel to NY quite often to do concerts. I’m trying my best to get my career pointed towards solo performance, and am putting together a regular concert series here in Toronto.”
Brittany Sklar performing on From the Top at age 12.
Violinist Brittany Sklar got to meet her musical role model Isaac Stern when she first appeared on From the Top at age 12. She is now finishing up her fifth year at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and recently soloed with the New Jersey Symphony and the Omaha Symphony. She says, “I have such amazing memories from the two times I have been on the show.”
Are you a From the Top alum with news to share? Send us a note at enewsletter@fromthetop.org and join our Facebook fan page and Classical Kid profile.
