Blog/News

Two From the Top alums are performing in Singapore this week as part of the Great Eastern International Kids Performing Festival: violinist Simone Porter and cellist Nathan Chan. Simone appeared on From the Top’s Highland Park, Illinois show in 2007 when was eleven years old, at which point she was basically a veteran violinist – she […]

From the Top alum Ren Martin-Doike, who appeared on Show #192 in Indianapolis, Indiana,  just got back from an incredible 3 week concert tour to Argentina with Indiana University’s Violin Virtuosi.  They traveled the country, playing in concert halls such as the beautiful Teatro El Circulo.  Ren says, “meeting with audience members after concerts — […]

We have been following Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award recipients Michael Reichman and Brian Kaufman for quite some time now on their emerging concert series, Musical Diplomacy. Their most recent event was this May at the Fenway Center, and was titled A Concert and Discussion on Race and Culture in the Age of Obama. […]

Hi everyone! My name is Anne Gregory, and I am new this summer at From the Top. As the intern with the From the Top Marketing and Communications department, I will be posting a number of blog entries on this site that will range from interviews with performers/alums to a column we’ve titled “Links we […]

This week From the Top alum Hilda Huang, who perfromed on Show #180 in Berkeley, CA, appeared on Episode 12 of From the Top at Carnegie Hall, and was the highest ranking musician in the Seventh International Würzburg J. S. Bach Competition, updated us on a couple cool opportunities she’s had. Hilda recently appeared in a full-length […]

From the Top’s Arts Leadership Program is all about young artists using their talent and passion to make a difference in the world.  Every show is new and different, bringing together a diverse group of musicians with a wide range of experiences – that’s what makes it so exciting!  The Arts Leadership Orientation, held the […]

We just got a neat update from composer Daniel Bernard Roumain (aka DBR).  A few weeks ago we featured a blog he wrote on Musical Diplomacy and Good, Long Hugs.  These days he’s been collaborating with the Boston Pops to work with young musicians in Boston area schools.  Check out this video for an overview […]

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 […]