Category: Arts Leadership

Here at Crossing Strings, I am teacher, friend, and mentor. After having the chance to work with younger kids at a summer music festival, violinist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Jisoo Kim (Show 240, Boston, Massachusetts) was inspired to start a lesson program in her own neighborhood. She created Crossing Strings: a program for […]

“I think that performing and sharing is crucial for young people like us. This concert definitely showed the parents and the greater Interlake community that its musical scene is full of life.” Dong Won (pictured above at his From the Top appearance in Washington D.C – Show 241) After receiving notice that the Interlake High […]

I have now been cancer free for 11 years. Music played an enormous part in my own healing process and has continued to be an incredibly important part of who I am. I can’t imagine my life without it. In January of 2001, six-year-old Hannah Moses (Show 241) was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphona. While being […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 252 was taped at the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, TN on Thursday, April 26, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Jerry Feng, piano, 17 Etude Op.10, No.12 in C minor, “Revolutionary” By: Frederic Chopin I just really think this […]

We love having the chance to meet with other young musicians whenever we’re on tour for a show. This past April brought us to Potsdam, NY, where we were able to meet with two groups of high school music students. Performers John Lee (cello) and Margaux Filet (flute) joined us for these events. We first […]

“(This event) made me realize what kids can accomplish when given the necessary support from role models in their community. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to enrich the lives of…youth in my own community.” Bassoonist Sandra Bailey understands the value of outlining goals to help achieve one’s dreams. Wanting to share this […]

  Towards the end of March, we taped a show at The Palladium – a beautiful, acoustically-ideal concert hall that’s part of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana. We had taped a show at the Palladium just last year and the excitement behind our return allowed us to make a number of […]

We had an exciting array of outreach events around our radio taping earlier last month in Ogden, Utah! Thanks to our presenter Weber State University (WSU), our staff and performers had the chance to make some inspiring connections with students, ranging from elementary school to college, in the Ogden community! Within hours of arriving in Ogden, […]

For the past few months, From the Top has been hard at work launching our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL)! This blog is the third in a series written by Linda Gerstle, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, chronicling the pilot year of this program. You can read the first post here […]

This past weekend, From the Top taped a radio show right here in our hometown of Boston, MA at Jordan Hall. With a wide array talent, from guest artist Eran Egozy (clarinetist with Radius Ensemble and co-founder of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc) to a wind sextet made entirely of Walnut Hill students, all of our […]

This past weekend From the Top visited sunny Napa to tape a radio show at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, CA! Our performers joined us the morning after the show for the Arts Leadership Orientation to explore how music can make a difference beyond the concert hall. All seven from the West Coast, the group […]

This is a recently addition to our Arts Leadership map that you don’t want to miss! In early 2008 Ben Werdegar saw a story about Iraqi children needing wheelchairs and knew he had to find a way to help. Two years and $18,500 later, 13-year-old Ben is truly making a difference through his music. “I’m […]

A little variety is always nice, so today we are posting an article by guest blogger Joy Paley, who writes for My Dog Ate My Blog. While education is a large part of From the Top’s core values, this post touches on a subject that we don’t often talk about – music as it relates to […]

Last week, From the Top taped a show at Lehigh University in the beautiful town of Bethlehem, PA. Our four soloists joined us the following morning at the Arts Leadership orientation, where we explored the way music can make a difference and shared inspiring examples of arts leadership. We were truly fortunate to have one […]

Last week, From the Top traveled to Abilene, TX to tape a very special radio show in the beautiful First Baptist Church. Read more about the show here. The morning after the show, the fantastic five performers got together for the arts leadership orientation and explored the power of music to create positive change in the world. […]

This week, From the Top traveled to Baton Rouge to tape a radio show at Louisiana State University’s College of Music and Dramatic Arts. Our ten young artists brought a variety of genres and personalities to Tuesday’s show, and gave an unforgettable performance! Six of the ten joined us the following morning for the Arts […]

We believe that Music is Powerful Stuff and that young people can make an important contribution to the world by sharing who they are and what they love to do. This year we’ve launched a Campaign for Arts Leadership – a national call for compelling stories that will inspire musicians, young and old, across the […]

From the Top’s Arts Leadership Program empowers young artists to make a difference in their communities through what they love to do most: music. This past Monday, seven performers from our Boston taping joined us for the Arts Leadership Orientation, where they explored what Arts Leadership means to them. Every show presents a different cast […]

Last week the From the Top crew and nine performers gathered together in Davenport, Iowa to tape a radio show. The following morning was the Arts Leadership Orientation, during which performers reflect on using music for positive change. Upon naming themselves “The Rave,” the performers designed a video for From the Top’s Green Room which […]

Tuesday, October 5th, was the first in a series of Boston Arts Leadership gatherings From the Top is hosting to bring together local musicians – high school, college and beyond – who are passionate about using music to make a difference. We met with some of last year’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award recipients […]