Category: Alumni

Violinist Stephen Waarts, who appeared on our 2009 show in Stanford, California, has been busy this summer! After winning second place in the Menuhin Competition earlier this year, Stephen performed with two symphonies in California – on May 23rd he played Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Prometheus Symphony and on June 6 he performed Brahms Violin Concerto […]

We just got word that 14-year-old violinist Stephen Kim, who appeared on our radio show in Mobile, Alabama in January 2009, recently won two musical awards. He received the Gold Medal in the 11th California International Young Artists Violin Competition in San Diego on June 13, which he shared with a 24 year old violinist. […]

We love when From the Top performers take Arts Leadership to the next level – 14 year-old violist Isabella Markham, a Jack Kent Cook Young Artist, has done just that by organizing a small concert series for a retirement center with the help of her brother and seven friends.  She titled the performance “Bella Palooza” […]

From the Top alum William Harvey‘s musical organization, Cultures in Harmony, is hosting a student music group from Zimbabwe August 4-25, 2010 in New York City and Washington D.C. Onias Horiwa and William Harvey, July 2006. Photo courtesy of Cultures in Harmony Cultures in Harmony has worked with this group, comprised of leader Onias Horiwa, […]

In the beginning of June we updated you on From the Top alum Nicholas King.  This week we received more information about his summer plans to share with you. You may remember that Nicholas mentioned throwing a private concert in July to fundraise so he can continue his studies at the world-renowned Royal Conservatory of […]

Arts Leadership is an important part of From the Top’s experience for young musicians. We encourage all our performers to give back to their communities through their music. Sahun “Sam” Hong who performed on Show #206 in Dallas, Texas, has been doing Arts Leadership outreach continually since his show taped in November, 2009.  He’s setting a […]

Two From the Top alums are performing in Singapore this week as part of the Great Eastern International Kids Performing Festival: violinist Simone Porter and cellist Nathan Chan. Simone appeared on From the Top’s Highland Park, Illinois show in 2007 when was eleven years old, at which point she was basically a veteran violinist – she […]

From the Top alum Ren Martin-Doike, who appeared on Show #192 in Indianapolis, Indiana,  just got back from an incredible 3 week concert tour to Argentina with Indiana University’s Violin Virtuosi.  They traveled the country, playing in concert halls such as the beautiful Teatro El Circulo.  Ren says, “meeting with audience members after concerts — […]

This week From the Top alum Hilda Huang, who perfromed on Show #180 in Berkeley, CA, appeared on Episode 12 of From the Top at Carnegie Hall, and was the highest ranking musician in the Seventh International Würzburg J. S. Bach Competition, updated us on a couple cool opportunities she’s had. Hilda recently appeared in a full-length […]

From the Top’s Arts Leadership Program is all about young artists using their talent and passion to make a difference in the world.  Every show is new and different, bringing together a diverse group of musicians with a wide range of experiences – that’s what makes it so exciting!  The Arts Leadership Orientation, held the […]

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the Andover-Lawrence Strings Program of the Philips Academy. They just had their final student performance of the 2009/2010 school year, wrapping up yet another successful season for the 14-year old educational program. We last reported on their progress back in April following a collaborative performance with their […]

At 17 years old, Caroline Goulding has already accomplished a lot.  You may recall her performances from three of our radio shows, one of our TV episodes, and a variety of mentions on this blog (not to mention that she’s already got a CD out!)  On July 1, 2010, Caroline will appear with the Cleveland […]

Pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Nicholas King appeared on From the Top in May 2008 in New Albany, Ohio, where he performed the opening movement of Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata.  If you don’t know the story of how Nick got started on the piano, listen to his From the Top appearance. Nick emailed us […]

You may remember 11-year-old Natalie Dungey on Show #202 in Salt Lake City, where she blew the audience away with incredibly polished sounds from a difficult brass instrument – the trumpet!  If you missed the show, you can listen here and watch a video of her rehearsal the night before here. We just got an […]

We were pretty thrilled to see this video posted on our Facebook wall this morning. Octet Abbraccio (or Seven Chicks and a Dude) of the Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio filmed themselves during their travel home from taping their From the Top radio episode. Way to go! You can hear their radio broadcast from […]

Horn player Catherine Turner recently won the second horn position with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She moved from San Antonio, Texas (where she played fourth horn with the San Antonio Symphony) to Canada in January. On May 6, she performed with members of the orchestra at an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game in Montreal. The […]

Pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Clifton Williams has had an extraordinary year. After performing on From the Top in March 2009, he was profiled in the Washington Post and attended summer programs at Indiana University, Berklee College of Music, and Princeton University. This winter, Clifton experienced another set of amazing opportunities. He was […]

Pianist Arianna Körting, 15, recently presented a benefit concert that raised over $2,000 for Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization that supports disaster relief efforts. “Love Notes for the World,” held at the Solon Center for the Arts in Solon, Ohio, featured works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, performed by […]

Four From the Top alumni were recently named U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. From what we have heard, the high school seniors were the only four students in the nation to receive this honor in the music category. The scholars include baritone Sean Plumb from Los Angeles, CA; cellist Bobby Chen from Newton, MA; […]

This morning we were heartbroken to learn that one of our alumni, pianist Emily Stearns, lost her battle with acute leukemia. Emily touched all of us at From the Top with her passion, humor, quirkiness, and amazing musical talent. A native of Butte, Montana and a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young […]