Category: Alumni

Big news for 18-year-old From the Top alum and violinist Caroline Goulding! On March 14, she was one of three recipients of the 2011 Avery Fisher Career Grant, awarded at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The other recipients were pianists Benjamin Hochman and Chu-Fang Huang. They join a distinguished […]

Last year we featured From the Top alum and pianist Stephanie Nilles as part of our 10th Anniversary Series. These days, Stephanie is based in New Orleans and has continued her musical shift away from the classical and towards jazz and punk. She recently released her fourth album, F*** Off Grizzly Bear (WARNING: adult language […]

Welcome to the fifth installment of The Parents’ Perspective – a mini blog series for parents by parents, to lend advice and share stories about raising musical children. For this post we’ve taken a slight detour in format. Blogger Katheryn Rivas approached us with an idea that we adapted for The Parents’ Perspective. Katheryn wrote […]

This week’s V-POW post from Music Producer Tom Vignieri will be slightly different. You’re likely to be blown away, but not for the reasons you’d expect. From the Top alumnus Michael Thurber is one of the most enterprising guys we know. Whether he’s emerging from a practice room with his double bass at Juilliard, recording […]

This past weekend, From the Top traveled to beautiful Athens to tape a radio show at the University of Georgia’s Performing Arts Center. Our four stellar young artists were joined by special guest flutist Sir James Galway, making for an unforgettable performance! The next morning, three of the four young performers joined us for the […]

From the Top Alum and past Roving Reporter and violinist Caeli Smith just sent us another great update. These days Caeli is studying at Juilliard and is a founding member of Rayos de Canción (Rays of Music), a group of students committed to raising awareness about the power of music to facilitate healing, especially in […]

We recently received an email from Kurt Anderson, a cellist who appeared on Show 009 in November, 1999. Kurt told us that he just had re-met From the Top host Christopher O’Riley at a concert in Huntsville, Alabama – Kurt’s hometown! On November 22, 1999, Kurt performed Allegro Appassionato by Camille Saint-Saëns on From the […]

As you might imagine, the music production team at From the Top is constantly reviewing recordings and music videos submitted by outstanding young musicians from across the country. We’re frequently blown away by the performances we see, and thought it might be fun to share some of these videos with you! These V-POW posts will […]

Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, who recently appeared on Show #226 in Boston, MA, was a participant in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in Miami and was selected to receive their YoungArts Silver Award! Back in January, Samantha participated in YoungArts Week in Miami. She was one of 150 artists selected from 5,000 applicants […]

The Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition is a prestigious annual competition open to students of strings, winds, brass, percussion, and piano, who are in seventh through twelfth grades. This year it took place January 29-30, and at the invitation of Helen Steineker, Executive Director of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, From the Top Music Producer Tom Vignieri […]

We just heard that From The Top alum Arianna Körting (Show 175 in Boston, MA) snagged First Prize in the first ever David D. Dubois International Piano Competition! 16-year-old Arianna is currently a student of Gerardo Teissonnière in the Preparatory Division of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The Dubois International Piano Competition was held at […]

15-year-old organist Karen Christianson has been busy since appearing on Show 223 in Abilene, Texas! This Saturday, February 5, Karen is featured on WWFM’s “Cadenza” with David Osenberg at 3pm. Karen’s From the Top show will also be rebroadcast on Saturday at 12pm, so if you’re in Eastern Pennsylvania or New Jersey, definitely tune in! […]

This just in – From the Top alum and soprano Megan Bell (Show 62, January 2002) recently sang with the touring educational outreach company “Opera for the Young.” Below she shares her arts leadership experience: Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Opera for the Young (OFY) is dedicated solely to performance outreach, which is part of what […]

Last week we shared a fantastic article on preparing for college auditions, written by From the Top alum Ren Martin-Doike. In the article, Ren mentioned a technique from violinist William Harvey, From the Top alum and founder of Cultures in Harmony. When William reappeared on From the Top in 2009 as part of our 10th […]

January means college auditions, so this post features a great article written by From the Top alum and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Ren Martin-Doike. Ren shares tips and hints for preparing for those college auditions, as well as interesting links and ideas for practicing. We hope you enjoy, and good luck if you’re auditioning […]

The semi-finalists for the 14th annual Sphinx Competition have been announced, and among them are several From the Top alums! The Sphinx Organization is a non profit that works to “overcome the cultural stereotype of classical music, and to encourage the participation of Blacks and Latinos in the field.” Each year their competition gives diverse […]

Symphony in C, a New Jersey symphony training orchestra, just announced its appointment of From the Top alum Megan Emigh as Principal Flautist beginning this season! Megan has appeared twice on From the Top, first on Show 070 in New York, New York and again on Show 085 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Megan recently graduated […]

We just received some updates from pianist/composer Neara Russell, who appeared on Show 132 in Boston, Massachusetts. Neara graduated from Berklee College of Music this year with a dual degree in Composition & Piano/Voice Performance. She has been a featured soloist in the Berklee Performance Center, Steinert Hall, Institute of Contemporary Art, Agganis Arena, and […]

We are really excited to announce that multiple From the Top alums have made it to the final round of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra! Voting ends tomorrow so please click over and vote for our alums (links below). The YouTube Symphony Orchestra is a global endeavor devoted to sharing the love of music and celebrating […]

From the Top alum and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Clifton Williams will give a performance in Boston next week! You may remember this young pianist from Show 195 in Boston in March 2009, where he performed Suggestion Diabolique by Sergei Prokofiev. Next Monday Clifton will join the Berklee College of Music’s Reverance Gospel Ensemble and […]