Blog/News

Hi everyone! We were in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania last week, taping a show at the Majestic Theater, a beautifully restored 1920’s vaudeville house. We kicked off the Gettysburg Festival, an annual celebration of art and culture. As you might imagine with a production such as ours, sometimes the unexpected happens, and this show marked one […]

This week’s show is a rebroadcast from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but we hadn’t posted a listening guide when it first aired.  Keep reading to learn what each of the musicians think and feel about the pieces they perform. Rhys Lloyd Talbot, 18, bass voice “Honor and Arms” from Samson by Handel When I sing this […]

Hi everyone! We have brought back a favorite for the summer – Links we Like. Once a week, we’ll post a series of links to stories, articles, etc. that we find interesting and believe you will enjoy as well. Stay tuned for next week’s post! The Rite Revived: When Disney’s Fantasia chose to portray the […]

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the Andover-Lawrence Strings Program of the Philips Academy. They just had their final student performance of the 2009/2010 school year, wrapping up yet another successful season for the 14-year old educational program. We last reported on their progress back in April following a collaborative performance with their […]

If you’ve listened to this week’s show, you probably heard Christopher O’Riley talking to oboist Bryanne Presley about the pranks she likes to pull on her dad, Wade, who is also her school band director.  Well we’ve got a treat for you – great pictures of past pranks and video of Dad getting back at […]

This week’s From the Top show was taped at the Fisher Theater at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Caroline Weeks, 18, viola I. Impetuoso; poco agitato from Sonata for Viola and Piano by Rebecca Clarke […]

At 17 years old, Caroline Goulding has already accomplished a lot.  You may recall her performances from three of our radio shows, one of our TV episodes, and a variety of mentions on this blog (not to mention that she’s already got a CD out!)  On July 1, 2010, Caroline will appear with the Cleveland […]

Here in the From the Top office, we’re still on a high from the incredible taping Tuesday night at Symphony Hall, where we teamed up with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops! What an exciting show this was. From start to finish, it featured one phenomenal performance after another. Four of the young musicians who […]

Earlier this week, we introduced you to a pair of young musicians who were successful in raising more than $5,000 for Alzheimer’s research. Today we’re going to give you the scoop on the other projects Iowa musicians are working on through From the Top’s Arts Leadership program. Meet Hayley – a high school clarinetist from […]

Pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Nicholas King appeared on From the Top in May 2008 in New Albany, Ohio, where he performed the opening movement of Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata.  If you don’t know the story of how Nick got started on the piano, listen to his From the Top appearance. Nick emailed us […]

For the past two years, From the Top and Orchestra Iowa have collaborated on a project called Iowa Makes Music. One component of this residency is our Arts Leadership program, which provides high school age classical musicians with intensive arts leadership training and one-on-one mentoring to help them develop and lead their own music-inspired service […]

You may remember 11-year-old Natalie Dungey on Show #202 in Salt Lake City, where she blew the audience away with incredibly polished sounds from a difficult brass instrument – the trumpet!  If you missed the show, you can listen here and watch a video of her rehearsal the night before here. We just got an […]

The week’s From the Top broadcast was taped at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, on February 24, 2010.  We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Thomas Burrill, 14, piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, I. Grave – Doppio movimento by Frederic […]

We just got word of yet another amazing success from one of our alums!  Nadine Sierra, soprano, who first appeared on From the Top six years ago at the age of 15 and was featured this year as one of our 10th Anniversary guests, just won first place in the 38th Annual Grand Finals Concert […]

From the Top isn’t just about broadcasting phenomenal music.  An integral part of our program is the Arts Leadership Orientation, which follows every performance. What’s that, you ask? The performers gather with From the Top’s Education staff after the show to reflect on their experiences – what were they thinking before the show started? What were their favorite moments […]

Harpist Anna DeLoi (click to hear her show!) impressed our audience with the unique harp piece she played on the show. She may be only 14 years old, but we already know she’s got great things ahead of her.  Last month the Eagle-Tribune (NH) featured a story on her, and just a few days ago […]

Last month we featured an interview with Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, founders of Musical Diplomacy, and recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. On May 14th, they hosted a “Concert and Discussion on Race and Culture in the Age of Obama” which featured Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side […]

Hi everyone! We just got back from Iowa, where we taped a show at Iowa State University in Ames. One of the school’s most celebrated graduates was in our audience – the great American baritone Simon Estes! He introduced the first performer, 18-year-old violist Caroline Weeks, who played a beautiful piece by Rebecca Clarke. Next […]

We were pretty thrilled to see this video posted on our Facebook wall this morning. Octet Abbraccio (or Seven Chicks and a Dude) of the Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio filmed themselves during their travel home from taping their From the Top radio episode. Way to go! You can hear their radio broadcast from […]

Horn player Catherine Turner recently won the second horn position with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She moved from San Antonio, Texas (where she played fourth horn with the San Antonio Symphony) to Canada in January. On May 6, she performed with members of the orchestra at an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game in Montreal. The […]