Blog/News

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 […]

11-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Victoria Young (Show 235 in Oklahoma City) just returned from an exciting trip to Germany! The Cooke scholarship allowed Victoria and her mom BeeLee to travel overseas so Victoria could attend a masterclass with Professor Inge Rosar. Professor Rosar is the organizer of the International Bach Competition […]

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I wanted to tell you about a special show we taped recently at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a wonderfully moving show, filled with exceptional performances and stories. It featured the superb Boston Children’s Chorus […]

This week’s From the Top’s broadcast (Show 242) was taped at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, in Santa Fe, on October 25, 2011. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Hugo Kitano, piano, 16 IV. Finale: Presto non tango; Agitato from Piano Sonata No. 3  By: Frédéric […]

What a wonderful year it has been — rich in awe-inspiring acts of arts leadership, jaw-dropping performances, laughter, and the abundant promise of youth! From the Top thanks our fans for your support in helping us share this joy with millions around the world! Watch the video below to see just a few of our […]

Hello from CalTeamDelta!!! We are Maddie, Tiffany, Dante, John and Will. This past year we have been working at the Goddard House, an assisted living facility in Brookline as part of From the Top’s Year-Long Arts Leadership Program. “What are you doing at an assisted living facility?” one might ask. What probably pops into your […]

Pianist Adria Ye, who performed on Show 201 in Boston, Massachusetts when she was 11, is flourishing as a freshman at Council Rock High School South in Pennsylvania. She plays a ton of instruments in her school’s orchestra: piano, marimba, xylophone, celesta, maracas, glockenspiel, and triangle! And now, Adria will be one of 26 members […]

A recent fan comment inspired this next installment in The Parents’ Perspective. A few weeks ago, Jenni asked us: “How do you handle a child who is very gifted musically but hates it? My 13 year old son hates to practice and has no real desire or motivation to excel, but has a talent and […]