Blog/News

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 236 was taped in the Shalin Liu Performance Center on Saturday June 4, 2011. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Sarina Zhang, 15, cello I. Zapateado By: Pablo de Sarasate When I play this piece, I can imagine being in […]

Hey classical musicians – do you like making people laugh? New York City’s classical music station, WQXR 105.9FM, encourages all humor-inclined classical musicians to enter their Classical Comedy Contest! Contestants (anyone who can mix comedy and classical music) must submit a five-minute video of their act by 11:59 PM on October 10. Finalists will perform […]

From the Top alum Emi Ferguson may have just had the performance of a lifetime! This past Sunday she joined musicians Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor to perform at the 9/11 Memorial Service in New York, honoring those who died ten years ago. The flutist, who appeared on Show 121 in New York […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 235 was taped in the Kirkpatrick Auditorium at Oklahoma City University, on Sunday, May 15, 2011. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Randall Goosby, 14, violin I. Allegro from Concerto No.3 in G major KV 216 By: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart […]

Attention working musicians and composers! The non-profit Future of Music Coalition (FMC), a national organization dedicated to “education, research, and advocacy for musicians,” just released an online survey for musicians and composers regarding how they make money from music. We are helping FMC spread the word as they want to reach a wide range of […]

Hello everyone! We’re back home in Boston after taping a show last week in Ocean City, New Jersey. The Music Pier, where the show was held, is located on a charming old-fashioned boardwalk teeming with amusement parks and overlooking a gorgeous stretch of beach. We rode the Ferris wheel, ate our fill of funnel cakes, […]

This past June two of our alums competed in the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia! Violinist Nigel Armstrong, who appeared on Show 077 in 2003, was awarded fourth place in the violin category. 17-year-old cellist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Anna Litvinenko (Show 156 in 2007) was the youngest competitor in the […]

From the Top alums Simone Porter and Arianna Körting have just been named 2011 Davidson Fellows! Each year the Davidson Fellows Scholarship program awards $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships to extraordinary young people, 18 and under, who have completed a significant piece of work in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, music or literature. “The Davidson […]

If you listen to Alabama Public Radio, you’re in for a treat! Effective Thursday, September 1, Alabama Public Radio (WUAL-91.5 FM, Tuscaloosa, AL) will add From the Top, Thursdays from 7-9 p.m., Central time. In addition to airing the weekly show at 7 p.m., APR will also air an archived program at 8 p.m. So […]

Summer updates from our alumni keep pouring in – this time we heard from 13-year-old pianist Michael Davidman, who appeared on Show 234 in Virginia Beach this past May. On August 7, Michael won first prize in the Mary Smart Concerto Competition at the Summit Music Festival! He performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in […]

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, From the Top will rebroadcast Show 196, featuring violinist William Harvey, the week of September 5. A few days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, William was performing with a Juilliard quartet at a military building in lower Manhattan where the families of missing person were awaiting […]

We are excited to announce that From the Top has been added to Classical South Florida’s weekly schedule! Starting this Sunday, August 21 our show will air Sundays at 12pm on Classical South Florida: WKCP 89.7 FM and 101.9 FM (Fort Lauderdale), and WPBI 90.7 FM (West Palm Beach). Click here to see the coverage […]

18-year-old Mezzo Soprano and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Samantha Hankey visited her old school, Eames Way Elementary, to put a new spin on classical music for younger kids. Over 150 third through fifth grade students were in the audience! After a program with music from Mozart to Amazing Grace, Samantha talked about how music […]

We are thrilled to announce that Driven: Six Incredible Musical Journeys by Nick Romeo is now available on Amazon!  Over the past few months we’ve been working with Mr. Romeo to publish this book, which follows the musical careers of six exceptional From the Top alumni: violinist Charles Yang, soprano Nadine Sierra, pianist Greg Anderson, trumpet player Matthew Muckey, […]

For From the Top alum Stephen Waarts (Show 207 in Stanford, CA), this has been one musical summer, chock-full of performances! In early June he performed Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor with Silicon Valley Symphony in California – See Stephen in action below. On June 15 Stephen left California for a two month musical journey that […]

Two-time From the Top alum Katherine Siochi recently received one of the best emails of her life – an acceptance to The Juilliard School for this fall! Katherine, who appeared on Show 197 in Cedar Rapids and Show 214 in Iowa City, was driving in the car with her mom when she got the email. […]

A big congratulations to accordionist Danielle Renzi (Show 229 in Cedar Falls, Iowa) who won the Roland National Electronic Accordion Championship on July 29! The competition, which was held in Orlando, Florida, featured ten of the best young American accordionists. It was hosted by Chris Halon, Roland US Director of Product Management. The Accordion USA website […]

18-year-old harpist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Angelica Hairston wanted to share her music with visually impaired children from her community. She had become acquainted with the Georgia Organization of Parents of Blind Children (GOPBC) as a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and wanted an opportunity to meet and work with these […]

This is a great example of Arts Leadership! We love how teens took the initiative and then won support from a major symphony. The West High Symphony Club has teamed up with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (US | UO) to create a “template” for classical music and opera clubs as a way to get teens […]

Calling all Baltimore residents! We just learned about From the Top alum and clarinetist Matthew Dykeman‘s upcoming benefit concert supporting “United for Uganda” – a project that provides the TORUWU (Training of Rural Women in Uganda) Community Brass Band with instruments and financial aid. He’ll be joined by musicians from the Peabody Conservatory and the […]