Blog/News

From the Top’s radio broadcast this week, taped at the El Paso Summer Music Festival this past June, celebrates our partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and more than $1 million in scholarships awarded. The radio episode features five new Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipients and offers updates from past Young Artists […]

This week’s broadcast was taped at the Plaza Theatre in El Paso, TX on June 13, 2009. Here is what the performers had to say about the music they played: Sage Po, 15, harp III. Sarabande and IV. Courante from Classical Suite for Harp Alone by Lynne Wainwright Palmer “This is a piece I like […]

In early October, From the Top traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to tape a radio broadcast at Libby Gardner Hall with Utah Chamber Artists. While we were there, From the Top had the opportunity to visit the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah and introduce students to 16-year-old violinist Will Hagen, a From the Top […]

Sixteen-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient Jingxuan Zhang feels strongly about advocating for elementary music education. Jing is featured on From the Top’s broadcast from El Paso this week and recently wrote a letter to his governor in Indiana to address his feelings about the importance of arts education. “I want […]

If you are a From the Top alum with news to share, send us a message at enewsletter@fromthetop.org! Clifton Williams (Show #195), a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist from Washington, D.C. captured the hearts of millions of listeners with his moving story on our radio show last spring. Clifton’s appearance on From the Top also […]

For those of you who are fans of Alex Ross’ “The Rest is Noise” blog, we thought we’d point out that he’s moved his daily blog to the New Yorker’s website, check out “Unquiet Thoughts” here. Commuting is now a musical experience in Stockholm, Sweden where they turned a subway stairway into a piano keyboard […]

This past spring Allen Yu, seventeen-year-old pianist from Cohoes, NY and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient, performed for all of the fourth grade students in his school district! Even more exciting, he enlisted the help of his From the Top friends from his radio taping in Northfield, MA! With the help of seventeen-year-old […]

Hi everybody! I just got back from Salt Lake City, Utah, where we had a blast taping an episode of the radio show. As usual, the show featured an amazing array of talent. One of the standouts for me was ten-year-old trumpet player Natalie Dungey. She is by far the youngest trumpet player we’ve ever […]

Get involved in National Arts and Humanities Month! Here are three things you can do right now: Go to the American for the Arts “Arts Action Center” to tell your senators and representatives to support a funding increase for the National Endowment of the Arts (it takes two minutes!). Click on the National Arts and […]

From the Top’s broadcast this week was taped at the Heifitz International Music Institute in Wolfeboro, NH in July 2009. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Ben Fried, 17, cello Variations on a Theme of Paganini by Gregor Piatigorsky “This piece was written as a satire […]

17-year-old violinist Caeli Smith, From the Top alum and Roving Reporter,  has produced a very fun look behind the scenes at From the Top’s 200th radio show taping at the Heifetz International Music Institute in Wolfeboro, NH this past July.  Be sure to tune in to the broadcast on stations this week (and online at […]

Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of my travel blog. Sunday’s From the Top taping took place at our home base, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, which, for those not from the area, happens to be located directly across the street from our office. So travel was particularly non-eventful. The taping, however, was […]

Congratulations to violinist Mindy Chen, who appeared on From the Top’s Show 157 in 2007 as an 11-year-old, on winning the junior division of the 11th International Competition of Young Violinists in Honor of Karol Lipiński and Henryk Wieniawski in Lublin, Poland.  Mindy is now 13 but she competed against violinists up to the age […]

From the Top was pleased to give the first Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award to violist Griffin Gaffney at our show in Boston yesterday. Margaret Stewart Lindsay inspired many by overcoming her personal challenges and for her generous compassion. She turned her life experience into a desire to help others. She had a passion […]

Last spring, listeners heard host Christopher O’Riley tell 15-year-old cellist Aaron Wolff from Newton, MA “I hate you!” He didn’t actually mean it. But he was confessing  that he was seriously jealous that Aaron Wolff would be appearing in the latest feature film from the Coen brothers. Aaron plays Danny Gopnik, the son of a […]

DoSomething.org has done it again! They are teaming up with Vh1 Save the Music and giving students an exciting opportunity to bring music back to their schools! Sign up for their Save Our Music Campaign to get ideas on how to become a music advocate and win the grand prize of $2500 for your school! […]

17-year-old cellist, Khari Joyner, from Atlanta, GA, is passionate about music’s power to heal. During his interview on From the Top’s live taping in El Paso, TX (airing the week of October 19), Khari spoke about his experience overcoming lymphoma cancer last year and how music and the power of positive thinking helped get him […]

Last year 17-year-old flutist Chaz Salazar performed on From the Top’s Mesa, AZ taping in November as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient. These days, Chaz is involved in several projects, including leading flute sectionals and giving private lessons to a few students at his old elementary school in Phoenix, AZ. As a […]

This just in… an exclusive interview with Christopher O’Riley is now on the Chopin Society of Atlanta’s web site. Get the inside scoop from our host. If you are in New York this weekend, be sure to check out From the Top alum Anna Lee performing with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. Fellow alums Sirena […]

Interested in starting your own community project?  Check out DoSomething.org ‘s Social Action Bootcamp where you’ll learn tons of valuable skills like building a website for $10, writing a business plan and online fundraising. On Saturday September 26th from 9am-5pm, Do Something will be streaming LIVE! from our Boston Social Action Boot Camp into your […]