About Us
For 25 years, From the Top has celebrated and empowered young musicians. Our robust platform includes broadcasts distributed by NPR, digital content, learning and fellowships, and awards.
- Our Mission and Vision
From the Top empowers and celebrates young musicians.
We envision a more empathetic and connected society through the contributions of young musicians.
- Broadcast and Digital Content
From the Top celebrates classically-trained young musicians through its broadcast/podcast and social media platforms. In 2025, From the Top was recognized as a Webby Honoree and From the Top Producer Megan Swan received a Gracie Award for her contributions to the program.
- Learning and Media Lab Fellowship
From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship provides young musicians a space to explore life as an artist, content creation, and the power of community engagement.
Fellows also have the unique opportunity to share their performances and perspectives with a large national broadcast and digital audience.
- Awards
From the Top’s Awards programs support young musicians with financial need, thanks to the support of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and a donor-funded program.
- Celebrating Musicians with Disabilties
From the Top first delivered a multi-pronged special initiative devoted to increasing inclusivity and transparency for disabled artists in 2023. We continue to celebrate musicians with disabilities each March and we are excited to produce a new broadcast special in 2026.
- Music and the Brain
From the Top believes that connecting music to ideas and societal issues is a powerful tool to help us better understand our world. We partnered with our friends at USC Brain and Creativity Institute & USC Center for Music, Brain and Society to explore the science behind music’s impact on the brain and its connection to wellness, with a series of transformative activities and media.
- Funding
From the Top is an independent non-profit organization. Though our radio show is distributed by NPR, we are not a public radio organization, and receive less than 8% of our revenues from radio carriage fees. Thanks to generous individual, corporate, and foundation support, our media and education programs are offered to our musicians and the general public at no charge. We welcome contributions of all levels; visit our Support page to learn more.
