Alum Yuga Cohler Guest Hosts NPR’s From the Top in Boston

From the Top returns to our home concert hall, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, on Sunday, October 14 at 2PM. The show brings back alum Yuga Cohler as Guest Host. Yuga is a respected conductor, recently receiving critical acclaim for “Yeethoven” at Lincoln Center – a concert comparing the works of Kanye West and Beethoven.  At the Boston taping of Show 360, Yuga will be joined by Guest Artist, legendary jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch. They will perform alongside and interview outstanding young musicians from Boston and beyond. Read the full press release below. Tickets can be purchased here.

NPR’S HIT SHOW FROM THE TOP TAPES IN BOSTON OCTOBER 14 WITH GUEST HOST CONDUCTOR YUGA COHLER  & GUEST ARTIST JAZZ LEGEND FRED HERSCH

(August 23, 2018; Boston, MA)…NPR’s hit show From the Top, the preeminent showcase for young musicians heard on more than 220 stations nationwide and by podcast, will record a new broadcast Sunday, October 14 at 2PM at New England Conservatory (NEC)’s Jordan Hall in Boston. Guest host, conductor, Yuga Cohler and special guest artist, legendary jazz pianist and composer, Fred Hersch, will perform alongside, accompany, and interview extraordinary young classical musicians from Boston and beyond in this 90-minute concert recording.

Tickets start at just $15 for adults, and free for students of all ages. Get them here.

Talented young musicians include: 17-year-old pianist, composer, and cellist Avik Sarkar from Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, a senior at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, who performed with Lang Lang at Grand Central Station as a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation; 13-year-old violinist Hina Khuong-Huu from New York, New York who recently competed in the prestigious Menuhin Competition; and the award-winning Kairos Quartet from the Chicago-area, featuring Joshua Brown (violin/viola), Julian Rhee (violin/viola), Thompson Wang (violin), and Lydia Rhea (cello).

Orchestral conductor Yuga Cohler, a native of Lexington, Massachusetts, appeared on From the Top multiple times in his youth. Now 29, he is a creator of Yeethoven, an orchestral concert comparing the works of Kanye West and Beethoven presented by Lincoln Center in 2018. The project was hailed as a work of “musical genius” and received widespread acclaim from such media outlets as TIME Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, and Rolling Stone.

Cohler currently serves as the music director of the Ridgefield (CT) Symphony Orchestra, served as music director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles from 2015-2018, and studied conducting at Juilliard under New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert. Cohler graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he studied computer science. He is available on Instagram at yugaconducts@, and his website is yugacohler.com.

Fred Hersh; photo by Vincent Soyez

An exploratory artist, outspoken activist, influential educator, and possessor of one of the most personal and expressive pianistic styles in improvised music, Fred Hersch has led a singular life that has shaped one of the most acclaimed and influential voices in modern jazz. At the forefront of the music for more than three decades, he’s earned countless awards and accolades including 12 Grammy® nominations. Hailed by Vanity Fair as “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade,” he stands as a defining figure in several different contexts, credited with more than 40 albums that span breathtaking solo recitals, compelling duos, gold-standard trios and innovative chamber pieces. Hersch has told his inspiring story in his new memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz; in the feature documentary The Ballad of Fred Hersch; and on stage in the confessional jazz-theater piece My Coma Dreams. Hersch taught for many years at New England Conservatory; he is currently a Visiting Artist at Rutgers University. Learn more at www.fredhersch.com.

From the Top, one of the most popular weekly music programs on public radio, features stories and performances by America’s best young classical musicians. Young performers share their passion for classical music, and speak about their non-musical lives, from career goals and family traditions to hidden talents, school, and community life. From the Top appeals to diverse audiences, but is especially suited for ages 7 and up.

The 2018–2019 recording season is the first without long-time host Christopher O’Riley, who made his last recording on June 5, 2018.

Tickets are on sale now at fromthetop.org/boston-tickets.

The show will air nationally and by podcast during the week of November 26, 2018.

This taping of From the Top is supported by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.