From the Top Heads to El Paso to Celebrate $1 Million in Scholarships

From the Top on El Paso's KTSM/NBC Channel 9.

This Saturday, From the Top’s taping at the El Paso Summer Music Festival will celebrate our partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which has supported $1 million in scholarships to young musicians with financial need. The broadcast taping will feature five new Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipients, and will include updates from some past Young Artists about where this scholarship has taken them. The episode will air nationally the week of October 19 on our partner stations.

From the Top’s partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has been one of the most transformative in our organization’s short history. Since 2005, we have awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to exceptional young musicians, who despite financial barriers, strive to attain excellence in music and other areas of their lives. In addition to providing young artists with an opportunity to perform on From the Top’s national broadcasts, the $10,000 award helps to offset the often-prohibitively expensive costs of studying classical music at a high level. Award recipients have used the scholarship for lessons, tuition at music camps, colleges, and conservatories, and to purchase new instruments.Cellist Nico Olarte-Hayes, who is now enrolled in the New England Conservatory/ Harvard University dual degree program, said after receiving his award, “If you hear my name in the future, know that you would not have, had I been left without financial assistance for my education.”

As the saying goes, “it takes a village” to raise our youth, and we are proud to be one of the forces helping these passionate and dedicated musicians along the way. From the Top is forever indebted to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation for their support and the opportunity to change the lives of so many deserving young people.