Category: Alumni

We recently heard that the South Florida Classical Review gave alum Nadine Sierra a glowing review for her performance with the Florida Grand Opera, saying she brings a “gleaming voice” to her role in Rigoletto. Nadine, who first appeared on Show 095 in Atlanta, Georgia at 15 and again on Show 213 in Burlington, Vermont, […]

When Ray Ushikubo was on our show last year at the tender age of nine he wowed the audience with a jaw-dropping performance of Frédéric Chopin’s Grand Valse Brilliant, Op. 18. Recently we heard from Ray with some exciting updates. In January, he performed from Beethoven’s Piano Concert No. 1 with the Young Musicians Foundation’s […]

We’ve recently received updates on alum Jeremy Jordan, a Chicago pianist who appeared on Show 083 in Norton, Massachusetts and again on Season 1, Episode 5 of From the Top at Carnegie Hall. Jeremy graduated from Juilliard last year and is now working on his master’s degree there. Jeremy has also performed at the Symphony […]

This week 152 young artists gathered in Miami for the 2012 YoungArts Week, a core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Nine of them are current or soon-to-be From the Top alumni and include: Noah Dugan, trumpet – Show 235 Kimberly Hou, piano – Show 232 Sirena Huang, violin – Show […]

11-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Victoria Young (Show 235 in Oklahoma City) just returned from an exciting trip to Germany! The Cooke scholarship allowed Victoria and her mom BeeLee to travel overseas so Victoria could attend a masterclass with Professor Inge Rosar. Professor Rosar is the organizer of the International Bach Competition […]

Pianist Adria Ye, who performed on Show 201 in Boston, Massachusetts when she was 11, is flourishing as a freshman at Council Rock High School South in Pennsylvania. She plays a ton of instruments in her school’s orchestra: piano, marimba, xylophone, celesta, maracas, glockenspiel, and triangle! And now, Adria will be one of 26 members […]

We recently heard from alum Lauren Chipman, a violist who first performed on Show 041 in Austin, Texas at age 17 (and later on Show 046 in Boston, Massachusetts and was a 10th anniversary alumni performer on Show 204 in Granville, Ohio). It turns out that things are going very well for her in Los […]

15-year-old cellist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Matthew Liversedge has always believed that music can be enjoyed by anyone, and wanted to share that view with other high school students in his community. So on the morning of September 30th, Matt and his friend Stephen Wright (violin) visited the Oakdale Christian Academy, a boarding […]

With praise from the New York Times and the BBC Music Magazine, pianist and From the Top alum Natasha Paremski has been making a name for herself! Her debut recital album, featuring works by Kahane, Prokofiev, and Brahms, was released November 8 and made the top 10 in the Billboard Classical Charts! Natasha performed on […]

It’s been a while since violinist Siwoo Kim was on Show 159 in Columbus, Ohio in 2007. Now, Siwoo tells us he’s a senior at The Juilliard School and it seems like he’s becoming a flourishing performer! As the winner of  Juilliard’s violin concerto competition, he will be performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with […]

18-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Yifan Wu wanted to find a way to reach out to the elderly in his hometown of Flushing, New York. He was introduced to the Korean American Senior Center, and reached out to their event coordinator in hopes of taking part in one of their weekly programs […]

Last month we posted information about alum George Li’s Boston debut recital at Jordan Hall on October 29–one of the recitals awarded him as the first place winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions. But we’ve only just caught wind of the wonderful reviews that Li’s tour through Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. […]

Canadian pianist Marika Bournaki, who appeared on Show 181 in Portland, Oregon, will perform in Carnegie Hall on Thursday, November 18 at 8pm for a recital benefiting the Glenn Gould Foundation. The concert, honoring Gould’s legacy, will feature Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and Ravel. Marika has done a lot of work with the Glenn Gould Foundation, […]

We’re excited to hear from our friends at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) that three From the Top alums were chosen for APAP’s Young Performers Career Advancement Program (YPCA) this year! Cellist Sebastian Bäverstam (Show 011 in Cambridge, MA, Show 115 in Southborough, MA, and Show 144 in Boston, MA), pianist Michael Brown (Show […]

From the Top alum Annika Jenkins, a 17-year-old violinist who studies at the Juilliard Pre-College Division, will perform Tchaikovsky masterpieces this month in the Virginia Beach building that made her a local hero. At 10 years old, Annika convinced the Virginia Beach city council that despite budget restrictions, they should build a new performing arts […]

Anna DeLoi (harp) and Nash Ryder (violin), two arts leaders of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders, will be presenting a benefit concert this Sunday, October 30th at 3pm at the Unitarian Universality Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Click here to view the invitation (PDF). Donations given will directly support MusiConnects, the […]

It’s been ten whole years since we’ve heard from alum Andrew Roitstein, a bassist who played on Show 051 in Lenox, Massachusetts alongside his twin brother, flutist Matthew Roitstein. These days Andrew lives in New York and plays with another From the Top alum, violinist Pala Garcia (Show 068 in Portland, Oregon), in the Toomai […]

We are thrilled to announce that starting November 6, From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley will air weekly on Sundays at 12pm on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)! We’ve been off the air in Minnesota for some time, and this very exciting news that we just received yesterday. On a related note, Classical MPR’s Artist-in-Residence […]

Four-time radio show alum Sarina Zhang will perform with the New York Philharmonic next month! Sarina appeared as a pianist on Show 112 in San Diego, CA and Highlight Show 011, and as a cellist on Show 163 in Lewiston, NY and Show 236 in Rockport, MA. Sarina’s appearance with the NY Phil is part […]

From the Top alums Karen Christianson (organ) and George Li (piano) are giving concerts in the Boston later this month! Karen, a junior in high school, will perform at Harvard University’s Adolphus Busch Hall in Cambridge at 12:15 pm on Thursday, October 27. The concert is presented by the Harvard Organ Society, with the Harvard […]