Blog/News

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 […]

Earlier this month NBC’s Brian Williams interviewed From the Top at Carnegie Hall alum Nikki Yanofsky about her exploding career. Watch the segment now. And we just heard from Germany’s ZDF Television that they will be airing a segment on her too! Violinist Lindsay Deutsch, 24, is included in this month’s issue of Symphony as […]

We were honored to receive citations today from the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate in honor of From the Top’s tenth anniversary. From the Top alum Yuki Beppu, 12, of Lexington, Massachusetts played Bach and Paganini in the Grand Staircase filling the State House with beautiful music during the lunchtime hour. Yuki also received […]

On January 3, 2010 From the Top taped a special program dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston, MA. Here is what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show, which airs this week. Boston Children’s Chorus Kasar […]

Hi everyone! I just returned from a special taping of the radio program, recorded in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and held at the incredibly beautiful Bethel AME Church in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. There was some fear regarding whether we’d all make it to the show as it’s been snowing […]

Thanks to From the Top friend Kathryn B. for pointing out that today is/was Beethoven’s birthday and showing us this exciting performance.

The day after our taping at Stanford University’s Dinkelspiel Auditorium, From the Top had the opportunity to visit the Boys & Girls Club of East Palo Alto for a special family performance. 16-yr-old cellist Nathan Chan, 16-yr-old pianist Jade Huang and 13-yr-old violinist Stephen Waarts , all performers on the show, were joined by local […]