Blog/News

There are some great new items at the From the Top store. Check out our new mug (only $5), t-shirts and newest CD “From the Top at the Pops”. Order today to get your items before the holidays!

This week’s broadcast was taped November 13, 2009 at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, TX. Learn more about what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show: Sahun Hong, 15, piano Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor by Franz Liszt Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 shows a […]

Yesterday, Christopher O’Riley and Tour Producer David Balsom spent the day in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana State University College of Music and Dramatic Arts to announce the launch of a new partnership. LSU has named Chris its first Distinguished Visiting Artist from 2010 to 2013 and has invited From the Top to record an […]

For every holiday e-card you send to your friends, Fidelity Investments will donate $1 to buy instruments for public school students! So help music education, save 44 cents on postage, and Happy Holidays!

In case you missed it, last night From the Top alum Gabriel Cabezas performed with Yo Yo Ma on the Tavis Smiley Show. Check out their performance here.

On this week’s broadcast, Atlanta audience member Zhanna Arshanskaya dedicates a piece to Christopher O’Riley, whom she calls “the ambassador of music  for young people.” But it’s Zhanna’s story that we find truly moving. A holocaust survivor, Zhanna endured through her ability to play music. Following the war, she eventually went on to attend the […]

Hi all! I just returned home from Silicon Valley and the beautiful campus of Stanford University, where we taped a great show this weekend. We had the pleasure of being joined via phone by a very special guest –puzzle master extraordinaire Will Shortz! As a huge fan of the New York Times Sunday Crossword, I […]

This week’s episode of From the Top features violinist Melissa White, member of the Harlem Quartet. Quoted by the Lansing State Journal, Melissa says: “I’m living my dream because I’m playing my violin and getting paid for it,” she said. “I was so impressed with [the performers on the From the Top broadcast taped in […]

This week on From the Top, we feature a broadcast taped at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Learn more about what the performers feel about the music they are performing: Melissa White, alum, violin IV. Presto agitato from Sonata No. 3 in D minor by Johannes Brahms This […]

Calling all young composers! London’s Royal Opera House is asking 11-14 year-old composers to write a fanfare to replace the regular school bell that is run to mark the end of an interval. The winning fanfare will be played and recorded by the Royal Opera House orchestra. The deadline is February 12, 2010. So tell […]

Last night, among the Grammy nominations announced was a nod to From the Top alum, 17-year-old violinist Caroline Goulding for her self-titled debut album, recorded with our host Christopher O’Riley. The album is a collection of works by American composers, composers writing in this country and pieces inspired by uniquely American idioms, as well as […]

The folks at the Montgomery Symphony have opened applications for this year’s Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition held in Montgomery, Alabama on January 30 and 31, 2010. This is a great opportunity for classical musicians in grades 7 through 12 to show their chops in a prestigious competition with some great prizes. The first prize winner […]

In early November, From the Top spent a whirlwind week in Texas with radio tapings and school visits in Waco and Dallas. From the Top alumni and brother and sister team Robbie, 18, violin, and Allie Switala, 16, violin from Grapevine, TX, launched our Texas road shows with a visit to Lakeview Middle School in […]

On November 12, From the Top visited the G.W. Carver Academy in Waco, TX with performers Nathaniel Smith, 15, cello, Mia Orosco, 16, fiddle, and Simon Stipp, guitar. The 50 middle school students were engaged from the moment the musicians walked in to the classroom, pressing them with television theme song requests and questions about […]

To all our alums, keep sending us your news, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Congratulations to violinist Caroline Goulding (TV#103, Radio #s 189, 164, 142) and pianist Charlie Albright (Show #66) on becoming First Prize Winners of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York this weekend. An upcoming performance by the Bucks County […]

Our heartfelt condolences go out to our amazing producer Tom Voegeli and his family on the passing of his father, Don Voegeli. He was 89. Don was a pianist and composer, who wrote classical, jazz and experimental music. He taught in the music department at University of Wisconsin. He was also known for writing the […]

In early November, From the Top provided two Atlanta middle schools with an interactive demonstration before taping a From the Top broadcast at Emory University’s Schwartz Center. We brought Hally Davidson, 15, flute, from McDonough, GA and Bryan Anderson, 16, piano, from Stockbridge, GA,  members of the flute and piano duo “Music Two Share”, to […]

This week’s episode of From the Top was taped on October 9, 2009 at the Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with Utah Chamber Artists and KBYU-FM. Here’s what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show: Jossalyn Jensen, 17, viola Rhapsody by […]

As if you needed any more reasons to support the arts in schools! According to a study by the Center for Arts Education, New York City high schools that offer the most access to arts education have higher graduation rates than schools that offer the least access to quality arts instruction. According to the report: […]

Community MusicWorks (CMW) Fellowship Program is an opportunity for young professional violinists, violists, and cellists to spend two years performing, teaching, and mentoring alongside the Providence String Quartet in urban neighborhoods of Providence, Rhode Island. CMW is seeking qualified VIOLISTS and CELLISTS to apply by DECEMBER 1 for September 2010 through June 2012 fellowships. What …