Blog/News

Soprano Andrea Carroll, who performed on Show #172 at Daytona Beach, Florida in 2008, has more on her plate than her studies at the Manhattan School of Music. As a 2012 Filene Young Artist she will play Zerlina in the Wolf Trap Opera Company’s production of Don Giovanni this summer, and will also take the […]

We were in Ogden, Utah last week to tape a show at Weber State University’s Austad Auditorium.  Ogden was gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains. The taping included some truly outstanding performances. Opening the show was 17-year-old oboist Nick Tisherman who played Mozart and went on to talk about his clarinet-playing family and the challenges […]

On a recent episode of From the Top, the show explored the struggles and successes of two teenage musicians who have faced learning disabilities. Told through the personal stories of 18-year-old violinist Carson Marshall and 17-year-old violist Alexia DelGiudice, this piece is sure to provoke and encourage those facing the same challenges. Listen to these […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 247 was taped in the Studzinski Recital Hall at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine on Wednesday, February 29, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Gloria Ferry-Brennan, violin, 15  I. Allegro con fuoco from Violin Sonata, Op. 119 By: Francis […]

Last week we taped a show at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The show was taped in a converted recital hall that used to house the college’s swimming pool. The architects made sure to keep playful vestiges of the past, such as a sign at the stage entrance that reads, “Please make sure to shower […]

From the Top’s Show 246 was taped at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, in celebration of the 100th anniversary celebration of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. Check out their video scrapbook! We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Grant Jameson, […]

When From the Top is out on the road taping our radio broadcasts, we make it a community experience. In addition to filling concert halls, we bring our performers to visit schools and community centers to share the power of music. Our performers are wonderful role models for the value of hard work, focus, and […]

From the Top’s Show 245 was taped at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, February 4, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Gordon Neidinger, Mandolin, 17 Doina and Variations of the E-Flat Sirba By: Charles Rappaport I think the most important thing […]

If you followed all of the Grammy news from this past week, you may have heard that Robert Aldridge won the Grammy for best contemporary classical composition. As it turns out, he’s the father of alumna Micaela Aldridge, who recently performed an excerpt from his opera on From the Top’s Show 242 in Santa Fe, […]

Hi everyone! We’re back from Pittsburgh where we taped our show in Carnegie Music Hall at Carnegie Mellon University, in celebration of their School of Music’s 100th anniversary. Did you know that Christopher O’Riley grew up in Pittsburgh? His family was friends with another famed Pittsburgh resident – children’s television legend Fred Rogers – and […]

Recently on Highlight Show 019, we hinted at an overarching concern in the musical world with composer Gunther Schuller: where has the spark in technically “perfect” musicians gone? Has it died out, or is it just dwindling? One of our listeners writes that he asked this question of his daughter, an opera singer and pianist, […]

We recently heard that the South Florida Classical Review gave alum Nadine Sierra a glowing review for her performance with the Florida Grand Opera, saying she brings a “gleaming voice” to her role in Rigoletto. Nadine, who first appeared on Show 095 in Atlanta, Georgia at 15 and again on Show 213 in Burlington, Vermont, […]

When Ray Ushikubo was on our show last year at the tender age of nine he wowed the audience with a jaw-dropping performance of Frédéric Chopin’s Grand Valse Brilliant, Op. 18. Recently we heard from Ray with some exciting updates. In January, he performed from Beethoven’s Piano Concert No. 1 with the Young Musicians Foundation’s […]

This past weekend we taped a wonderful show at our home base, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. We featured five fantastic teenage musicians who were warmly welcomed by the hometown crowd. First up was 17-year-old mandolin player Gordon Neidinger who performed an energetic piece called “Doina and Variations on the E-flat Sirba” written […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 244 was taped at the Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, January 15, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Marissa Uchimura, Piano, 17 Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28 By: Sergei Prokofiev This […]

At From the Top, we recognize the benefits of musical therapy and find that there can be powerful healing in music (it’s powerful stuff!). But one composer at MIT is taking it to the next level: combining musical therapy with technology to help people with disabilities discover the joy of music, according to the Los […]

We’ve recently received updates on alum Jeremy Jordan, a Chicago pianist who appeared on Show 083 in Norton, Massachusetts and again on Season 1, Episode 5 of From the Top at Carnegie Hall. Jeremy graduated from Juilliard last year and is now working on his master’s degree there. Jeremy has also performed at the Symphony […]

Greeting from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where we just taped a show at the Western Michigan University School of Music. It was a wonderful show with one of the most exuberant live audiences ever. Kicking off the fun was local pianist, 17-year-old Marissa Uchimura, who performed Prokofiev’s Sonata No.3 in A minor Op.28 and spoke with Chris […]

This week 152 young artists gathered in Miami for the 2012 YoungArts Week, a core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Nine of them are current or soon-to-be From the Top alumni and include: Noah Dugan, trumpet – Show 235 Kimberly Hou, piano – Show 232 Sirena Huang, violin – Show […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 243 was taped at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain, MA on Sunday December 18, 2011. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Boston Children’s Chorus, featuring the Premier Choir & Young Men’s Ensemble “Alleluia,” by Randall Thompson […]