Blog/News

Pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Clifton Williams has had an extraordinary year. After performing on From the Top in March 2009, he was profiled in the Washington Post and attended summer programs at Indiana University, Berklee College of Music, and Princeton University. This winter, Clifton experienced another set of amazing opportunities. He was […]

Pianist Arianna Körting, 15, recently presented a benefit concert that raised over $2,000 for Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization that supports disaster relief efforts. “Love Notes for the World,” held at the Solon Center for the Arts in Solon, Ohio, featured works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, performed by […]

Kanu o ka ‘Aina, one of the schools we visited in Waimea, recently received a large federal grant from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund’s Native American assistance initiative. The program supports native institutions that address the development and needs of native communities. Kanu o ka ‘Aina is a bilingual, Hawaiian-focused charter school that integrates […]

Four From the Top alumni were recently named U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. From what we have heard, the high school seniors were the only four students in the nation to receive this honor in the music category. The scholars include baritone Sean Plumb from Los Angeles, CA; cellist Bobby Chen from Newton, MA; […]

We sat down with Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award, to talk about their upcoming Concert and Discussion on Race and Culture in the Age of Obama, which will be held at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center on Friday, May 14 at 7:30 pm. Admission is […]

In January, From the Top partnered with Hawaii Public Radio to bring our radio show and education programs to the island of Hawaii. It was the first time a program like ours has been recorded on the Big Island for national broadcast, and we were greeted with open arms and that famous Aloha spirit. During […]

This week’s From the Top broadcast was taped at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine on March 24, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Wilson (Will) Bristol, 17, piano IV. Toccata from Sonata No. 1, Op. 25 by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee Dianne Rahbee’s Toccata from her […]

In March, From the Top joined forces with Portland Ovations to tape a radio show at Merrill Auditorium (broadcasting this week), but that was just one part of our fabulous experience in Portland, Maine… Sharing the power and excitement of the arts with a broader community, especially students who might not otherwise have access, is […]

Last Friday, we gathered 3-5th grade students from our Boston Public School partners (Philbrick, Edison and Winthrop elementary schools) for a special concert at Boston’s Roland Hayes School of Music. The goal was to link the  elementary students who have participated in our three year program, Turn it Up!, funded by the Wallace Foundation, with […]

This guest post is from Jacob Shack of the Andover Lawrence Strings Program, a recipient of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. “Pedro, what note is a fifth above a G?” “D?” “Right!” “Oh, I get it now. The musical alphabet ends at G!” This exchange characterizes a typical music theory class […]

This guest post is from Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. It is the first of a series of updates about their project: Musical Diplomacy. Hi everyone! Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman here at New England Conservatory in Boston! We are both really interested in […]

This morning we were heartbroken to learn that one of our alumni, pianist Emily Stearns, lost her battle with acute leukemia. Emily touched all of us at From the Top with her passion, humor, quirkiness, and amazing musical talent. A native of Butte, Montana and a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young […]

The Menuhin Competition was held last week in Oslo, Norway and as usual From the Top alumni came out on top!  The Menuhin is an international competition open to violinists of all nationalities under the age of 22 and is one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world. In 2008 (the competition is […]

Kids teaching other kids—what could be more powerful? That’s exactly what happens every Wednesday afternoon at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, when elementary and middle school students from the Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund Charter School and the Leonard School in Lawrence, MA arrive for free instrumental lessons, taught by Phillips Academy students through […]

Violinist Jenny Lee and violist Ren Martin-Doike, both of Bloomington, Indiana, are the two winners of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Side-By-Side Concerto Competition. On April 21, Jenny will perform the fourth movement of Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and Ren will perform the first movement of William Walton’s Viola Concerto with the ISO at the Hilbert […]

We are pleased to announce the first recipients of the Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Awards, a new program that encourages high school and collegiate musicians to give back to their communities through the arts. Through this program, From the Top will provide grants and mentoring for three community projects this year. A shared grant […]

– by Lauren Chipman “Look at her hair!” “I think she’s in a rock band.” “Whoa….” I don’t look like your typical classical musician getting ready to work with a group of 4th grade violinists, but my appearance reflects who I am and what I do for a living. I lead a very eclectic life […]

Today is National Arts Advocacy Day! Our friends at Americans for the Arts have organized hundreds of dedicated arts supporters from across the country to come together in Washington, DC to tell Capitol Hill how important culture is to our communities, how much arts education means to our children, and how much the arts improve […]

From the Top’s broadcast this week was taped at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California on January 27, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they played on the show: Jonathan Miron, 17, violin “The Foundation of Arethusa” from Myths, Three Poems for Violin & Piano by Karol Szymanowski “When […]

Last week, From the Top alums Nathan Chan, 16 (Radio show #207) and Simone Porter, 13, (radio show #165 and From the Top at Carnegie Hall‘s Episode 206) performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of 17-year-old conductor Alexander Prior.  The concert was held at the Barbican in London and raised money for […]