Blog/News

From the Top’s Arts Leadership Program empowers young artists to make a difference in their communities through what they love to do most: music. This past Monday, seven performers from our Boston taping joined us for the Arts Leadership Orientation, where they explored what Arts Leadership means to them. Every show presents a different cast […]

Just got some great news from Pianist Michael Brown, who appeared on Show 109 in Lancaster, PA in November of 2004. He just won first prize in the prestigious 2010 Concert Artists Guild (CAG) competition in New York! The CAG’s mission is to discover, nurture and promote young musicians. What’s especially cool about this concert is that winners […]

Hi everyone. Sunday we taped a wonderful show at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. Let me dive right in and tell you all about it! The show opened with teenage violinist Francesca Bass, playing one of my all-time favorite pieces, Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen. After that exciting start, trumpeter Baldvin Oddsson took the […]

We just got wind of a cool From the Top alum collaboration. Soprano Hailey Markman (Show 209 in Waimea, Hawaii) got to know guitarist Tim Callobre (Shows 090 in Lubbock, Texas and 150 in Malibu, California and From the Top at Carnegie Hall) after a From the Top fundraiser in Los Angeles, and they ended […]

As you can see from Joanne’s On the Road blog, we had a great time in Davenport and Parkersburg, Iowa! It turns out that one of our performers, alto saxophone player Justin Moser, has a father who loves do to video as a hobby. Mark Moser was kind enough to tape the performances from the […]

We are celebrating the achievements and future developments of our 2010 Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award recipients. These five individuals represent the first cohort of From The Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Award (MSL) projects and are all inspiring examples of leadership. Now, one year after it all started, we ask our MSL recipients to reflect […]

6 years have passed since Brian Heveron-Smith was on our Show #097 in Iowa City, where he performed the third movement of Concertino for Marimba by Paul Creston. In that time he’s graduated school, played drums on a Caribbean cruise ship, toured the east coast with jazz pianist Solomon Douglas, explored Africa, and more (if you can […]

We are excited to partner with Carnegie Hall to announce the Big Break – a new online contest that offers young musicians the chance to compete for a spot on NPR’s From the Top  radio broadcast, hosted by Christopher O’Riley, as well as an opportunity to grace the stage at Carnegie Hall, performing in a […]

Last week the From the Top crew and nine performers gathered together in Davenport, Iowa to tape a radio show. The following morning was the Arts Leadership Orientation, during which performers reflect on using music for positive change. Upon naming themselves “The Rave,” the performers designed a video for From the Top’s Green Room which […]

Tuesday, October 5th, was the first in a series of Boston Arts Leadership gatherings From the Top is hosting to bring together local musicians – high school, college and beyond – who are passionate about using music to make a difference. We met with some of last year’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award recipients […]

    Hi everybody! I’m writing to you from backstage at the Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa where we are about to go onstage for the show. We taped a show last night in Davenport, and then went on the road to bring the same show to Parkersburg, a small town in central Iowa that […]

From the Top alum and Roving Report Caeli Smith recently wrote a great blog for Juilliard’s Office of Admissions. Caeli’s a first-year violinist at Juilliard, and in this piece she talks about the transition from pre-college to college. Below is a short excerpt. To read more, click over to the Office of Admissions Blog. During […]

This past May From the Top alum and cellist John-Henry Crawford (Show 206 in Dallas, TX and Show 219 in St. Paul, MN) performed with Dr. Hung Sung, a collaborative pianist for the Curtis Institute of Music, at the City Center Academy (a high school) in Philadelphia, PA. John-Henry said “I wanted to do this […]

Today we’re turning the spotlight on From the Top alum and violist Nadia Sirota. Nadia initially appeared on From the Top during our first season – Show 013 to be exact – which we taped at Symphony Hall in Boston on March 4, 2000.  She performed the Viola Sonata, Mvt. Impetuoso by Rebecca Clarke. Later that same […]

Welcome to our third installment of the Parents’ Perspective – a mini blog series for parents, by parents, to lend advice, share stories, and more about raising musical children. You can also read past posts on music resources and musical beginnings. Today’s topic is on practicing: How’d you get your kids to do it? What schedule […]

This week’s From the Top show was taped in Benson Great Hall at Bethel University during the Young Artists World Piano Festival in St. Paul, MN on Tuesday July 13, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: William Yang, 9, piano Scherzo No. 1 in B […]

Last week we introduced you to Leeza Ali’s concert series that is raising money for P.E.C.A. – Partnership for the Education of Children in Afghanistan. Below you can read about the second and third concerts that she’s put on so far. You can listen to Leeza’s performance on From the Top at the Young Artist […]

We are proud to announce that the 50th Anniversary Season of the Young Concert Artists Series (YCA) will include two From the Top alums! Violinist Caroline Goulding, who’s appeared on three From the Top radio broadcasts as well as an episode of From the Top at Carnegie Hall, will be performing at the Gala Opening […]

From the Top alum and mandolin player Solly Burton (Show 197 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) will be sharing his music next weekend (Oct 8 and 9) through radio appearances and live performances with Gibbs & Main, a Rochester, New York chamber music ensemble. Solly will also be giving a workshop “Kidsemble” with Terry Smith, Music […]

From the Top alum and violinist Karen Cueva, who performed on Show 187 in Boston, MA in October 2008, had a remarkable summer participating in the Teen Arts Performance Camp (T.A.P. Camp) in Maryland as a teaching artist. Below, Karen explains the idea behind T.A.P. Camp and discusses some of the amazing experiences she had with music and […]