Blog/News

Greetings from my flight back from Iowa City, where we had a taping last night at the Englert Theater. I must say I feel quite lucky to be on a plane right now! Some of my colleagues’ flights were cancelled due to a blizzard that’s about to hit the northeast. Assuming you are reading this […]

On this week’s broadcast of From the Top, we honor Honolulu piano teaching legend Ellen Masaki and Honokaa High School Jazz Band (Hawaii) Director Gary Washburn. Tell us about a music teacher that has made a difference in your life. We’ll feature some of our favorite entries  right here on our Green Room blog. Send […]

From the Top has named Jeffrey F. Rayport, Operating Partner at Castanea Partners in Boston, as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Rayport has been a member of From the Top’s board since its inception in 2003 and replaces its Founding Chairman Francis O. Hunnewell who passed in late January. “We feel very fortunate to […]

This week’s show was taped at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, Hawaii on Wednesday January 20, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Daniel Tekunoff, 17, Guitar I. Allegretto from Sonatina by Lennox Berkeley The “Allegro” is a great piece of music that reminds me of […]

American Public Media’s Performance Today has partnered with the world-renowned Parker Quartet (featuring several From the Top alums) to offer an exciting national competition opportunity for young aspiring classical string quartets. Performance Today will award the winning quartet a Master Class with the Parker Quartet in APM’s state-of-the-art Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Music Studio in St. […]

We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of alum Aaron Pinsky after a battle with brain cancer. Aaron, 25, was a dedicated French Horn player who studied at New England Conservatory’s Prep School in Boston and performed twice in the Massachusetts All State Orchestra. He continued to perform as part of the Berkshire […]

As a high school student in South Bend, Indiana, LaMont Barlow had to make a difficult decision. Would he follow his passion for classical music down a path that would lead to conservatory studies and a career in music? Or would he pursue his interest in science at a liberal arts college and ultimately become […]

Hi all! This weekend we taped Show 213 in Burlington, Vermont at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, a beautifully restored vaudeville house right in the center of town. I was so excited for the taping because one of my favorite performers was invited back as a 10th Anniversary guest – soprano Nadine Sierra, who was […]

Seattle-based blogger Janet Peltz has done a two installment feature on From the Top alum (radio #165, TV #206 ) Simone Porter and her mother Deborah. Janet has done a nice job of capturing the intense, and sometimes challenging, commitment the two have made to pursue Simone’s passion in music. Here are the two links: […]

Following our taping at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on January 27, we gathered all the performers for our arts leadership workshop and asked them to reflect on the power of music. Here are some of the stories they shared both from their own personal experiences and from history: “When Renee Fleming sang in […]

On Saturday night we taped an episode of the radio show at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. It was bittersweet for us because we dedicated the show to one of the major forces behind From the Top, Francis Hunnewell, who passed away last week. He was a huge supporter of young musicians, and […]

On every broadcast, Christopher O’Riley performs a piece during the station break. Our live audiences are treated to the full performance, though on the broadcast only a portion of the performance is heard. Among the break pieces Chris is performing this season is the world premiere of “Falling Canons” by Grammy Award winner Kenneth Fuchs. […]

This week’s broadcast was recorded at the Mary Gibbs Jones Concert Hall at Baylor University in Waco, TX on November 11, 2009. We asked the performers to tell us about the music they performed. Here are their thoughts: Yurie Mitsuhashi, 17, violin Danse Hongroise by Sergei Rachmaninoff “This piece is very powerful and majestic. I […]

Approximately 70 young string players met in Montgomery, Alabama over the weekend to compete in the Montgomery Symphony’s annual Blount-Slawson Competition for string and percussionists in 7th through 12th grades. For the first time, From the Top’s Music Producer Tom Vignieri was among the panel of 9 judges. Congratulations go out to this year’s winners! […]

Greetings from somewhere high above the clouds on my flight back to Boston. This has been quite the tour! After spending over a week in Hawaii and then the past few days in California, I’m almost frightened to be going back to the wintry conditions at home. We taped a wonderful show last night at […]

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our Chairman and dear friend Francis O. Hunnewell. Read more about our fearless leader on our web site.

Like many, 15-year-old Bay-area pianist Rieko Tsuchida was deeply saddened by the disaster in Haiti and inspired to take action. With just three days of planning, she and friend Jonah Hopton, turned their musical talents into a means of raising money for the American Red Cross. We are so proud of her efforts. In her […]

Aloha from one of the most magical places on earth – Hawaii’s Big Island, where we just completed two tapings of the radio show, plus a week of educational visits in local schools with our partner Hawaii Public Radio. The Big Island is such a fascinating place. I’ve been told there are eleven different climate […]

Alum Lauren Chipman, who recently returned for an episode of From the Top, will be performing in this Friday’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon. Lauren, a violist and member of indie rock band The Rentals, will be working with Christina Aguilera and John Legend during the two-hour performance show. “I’m really looking forward to playing […]

Fans of the show are often asking about Christopher O’Riley’s laptop he uses to read music. Here’s what our host says about replacing traditional page-turners with the convenience of new technology: The means by which I receive my performance scores for From the Top, both televised and radio broadcasts, is the marriage of a tablet […]