Blog/News

From the Top is pleased to announce the 2020 recipients of the Alumni Leadership Grant. The Alumni Leadership Grant, generously funded by the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, seeks to support alumni of From the Top’s media and arts leadership programs who have created projects using music and the arts to impact their local […]

From the Top’s Alumni Leadership Grant, generously funded by the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, seeks to support alumni of From the Top who have created projects that use music and the arts to impact their local communities. Pianist Amir Siraj was awarded the Alumni Leadership Grant in 2019 for his project to advocate […]

The “lazy days of summer” is not an expression that applies to From the Top’s industrious alumni who are accomplishing a lot during these hot months. From benefit concerts to providing virtual access to music and arts education, our network is BUSY, and we have a lot to report in today’s update. As a reminder, […]

From the Top musicians teach the world daily about compassion, the power of voice and action, and most of all, unity – values critical for urgent change in our country. To the From the Top musicians, especially our young artists of the black community and all of our young artists of color: You are our family.  We believe […]

Recently, we started this column as a way to highlight the inspiring work of alumni during this global pandemic. We’re here today with a few more incredible updates, keep your tissues handy! Alumni, please continue to send updates to info@fromthetop.org. Dr. Rachel Easterwood appeared on From the Top in 2001 on Show 46 performing from […]

Here at From the Top, we’ve used this time to check in on our extended family of alumni. We have been delighted to receive updates from many alumni who have inventively shifted their work to help others during this pandemic. Their leadership is inspiring. Many others are calling on musical projects to offer hope and […]

This week on From the Top’s podcast, we have a special performance of Peter Dugan’s own arrangement of Holst’s “Jupiter: The Bringer of Jollity” from The Planets, recorded at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Calderwood Hall on February 6, 2020. From the Top · BONUS TRACK: Host Peter Dugan performs his arrangement of “Jupiter” If […]

What connects skateboarding and Paganini Violin Caprices? For Phillip Hammond, 17 year-old violinist from Bloomington, Indiana and a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, it’s all about taking risks. Being able to pull off these techniques, whether on a skateboard or on a violin, requires him to be committed and […]

We are pleased to announce our upcoming Daily Joy Facebook Live events. Join us at Facebook.com/FromtheTopFans/Live. Upcoming Facebook Live Events: Wednesday April 29th – 8PM ET – Facebook Live: Inside the Episode with Peter Dugan and Philadelphia-based double bassist Braden Ellis. They will discuss From the Top’s new “Blanket Fort Show”, a program recorded remotely in […]

This week’s show is the re-broadcast of Show 364 taped in Beaver Creek, Colorado last January 2019. We asked the show performers for their favorite memories of recording with co-hosts Charles Yang and Peter Dugan at the beautiful Vilar Performing Arts Center. Flutist Scott Quirk from Los Angeles kicks things off with his reflections and […]

We are thrilled to invite you to another From the Top Daily Joy Facebook Live concert, this Friday, April 17, at 6 PM ET featuring “Needham State of Mind”: Ilana and Eric Zaks from Needham, Massachusetts. The duo will play a program featuring music of all genres. Ilana appeared on the show at age 14. She and Eric were […]

Helen Bryant was one of the performers on this week’s show, recorded at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, GA. Recently, she reflected on the powerful experience she had connected with this show and shared a recording of one her favorite works – the fifth movement of Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op.12, “In der […]

This post is meant to serve as a resource to our alumni. We are aware of some relief funds for artists affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but we will update it as we learn of opportunities. Artist Relief Coalition Fund Tarisio Strings Gives Back YoungArts Alumni Emergency […]

We are thrilled to invite you to another From the Top Daily Joy Facebook Live concert, this Friday, April 10, at 6 PM ET with the amazing Pogossian Family Quintet, featuring three FTT alums: Anoush, Cara, and Eddie, and their talented parents Varty and Movses. About the Pogossian Family: Varty Manouelian made her American debut in […]

13-year-old Harpist Olivia Lee is one of the outstanding young artists featured on this week’s From the Top episode from Boston, Massachusetts. All of the performers on this show participated in a four-day residency where they used their artistry to connect with the community. Here, Olivia reflects on that powerful experience: A few years ago […]

Join us this Friday, April 3 at 6pm ET for a From the Top Facebook Live Concert with the Sempre Sisters String Duo – featuring Olivia (20) and Charlotte (18) Marckx of Bellevue, Washington. You may remember Charlotte from our popular take on “Shake it Off”. For Day 16 of Daily Joy, Charlotte and Olivia […]

Reflections on this week’s podcast from Announcer Joanne Robinson: Over my nearly twenty years as From the Top’s announcer, I’ve had the good fortune to continually have the best seat in the house. From my perch onstage, just to left of the performance area next to our towering “On the Air” sign, I’ve gotten to […]

Join guitar duo Jack and Elle Davisson for a very special From the Top Facebook Live performance from their home in Palo Alto, California this Friday, March 27, 2020 at 6 PM ET. Visit Facebook.com/FromtheTopfans. See you there!

This article was adapted from a blog post published by Eunice Lee in August 2019. It is part of our ongoing series exploring the projects launched by the recipients of our Alumni Leadership Grant. Special thanks to the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation for their support of From the Top’s Alumni Leadership Grants. Eunice Lee is […]

Violinist Elena Urioste recently joined From the Top as co-host of the NPR’s From the Top show recorded in Key West in January 2020. Elena’s career has spanned from soloing with major orchestras in the United States and abroad to chamber music performances at major festivals, and extensive recital performance. Last week, she released her […]