Category: Arts Leadership

This past May From the Top alum and cellist John-Henry Crawford (Show 206 in Dallas, TX and Show 219 in St. Paul, MN) performed with Dr. Hung Sung, a collaborative pianist for the Curtis Institute of Music, at the City Center Academy (a high school) in Philadelphia, PA. John-Henry said “I wanted to do this […]

From the Top alum and violinist Karen Cueva, who performed on Show 187 in Boston, MA in October 2008, had a remarkable summer participating in the Teen Arts Performance Camp (T.A.P. Camp) in Maryland as a teaching artist. Below, Karen explains the idea behind T.A.P. Camp and discusses some of the amazing experiences she had with music and […]

From the Top alum Leeza Ali has been embarking on quite the Arts Leadership project for the past few years. She’s been holding concerts to raise money for P.E.C.A. – Partnership for the Education of Children in Afghanistan. We will cover her work in a blog series – below you can read about Leeza’s inspiration […]

We are excited to announce a special grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to launch From the Top’s Center for Arts Leadership! Housed in Boston, the Center (CAL)  empowers young musicians towards action and service in their communities, inspiring them to take it beyond the concert hall. Arts Leadership has been part of our […]

14-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, Hyung-Do Kim recently performed on our show in Gettysburg, PA. During the Arts Leadership orientation held the following morning, we learned that he and his sister, a violinist, have been performing regularly for the residents of Waterford Towers, a retirement center located in Edgewater, New Jersey, for […]

9 year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Umi Garrett (who appeared on last week’s From the Top broadcast with the Boston Pops) joined the Desert Symphony on their Children’s Music Discovery Series to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.23 in A Major. The concert was held on April 16, 2010 at the McCallum Theatre […]

Hopefully you’ve been following harpist and From the Top alum Anna DeLoi’s summer Arts Leadership project – she got together an ensemble and has been touring, raising money for CureSearch. You can read more about her ensemble, Heartstrings, and what they’ve been doing this summer here. We just got an update from her on Heartstrings‘ […]

Phuong-Nghi Pham, a 14-year-old pianist from Dorchester, MA and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient, wrote a letter to Dr. Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools District, appealing for a spending increase on the city’s musical education programs for the following school-year budget. Phuong-Nghi shares her letter to Dr. Johnson below: Dear […]

Simon Estes is a perfect example of a true Arts Leader. This Iowa native and world-renowned opera singer has established not only a school in South Africa for some of the continent’s poorest children, but also the Simon Estes Iowa Educational Foundation, “a multiracial, nonprofit organization that provides positive minority role model programs and scholarships […]

This spring, 17 year-old composer/bassoonist Tim Woos, a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, held composition workshops at two different schools in Vermont – the Integrated Arts Academy in Burlington and the North Branch School in Ripton. For each school, he created  a “composing game”: a program that engaged the students as composers using visual aids and noisemakers. […]

As a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, 17 year-old vocalist Kara Sainz, along with three peers from the Murrieta Valley High School choir, organized an interactive program demonstrating classical music for a group of nearly 75 elementary school children at the Ysabel Barnett Elementary School in Temecula, CA. The program was titled the “Joy of Opera” […]

In May, we posted the inspiring ambitions of harpist Anna DeLoi, who has spent the summer traveling and performing with her ensemble Heartstrings to raise funds for CureSearch, a children’s cancer research foundation. The group has achieved a great deal these past two months. Anna joined forces with two musician friends, Nash Ryder and Keith […]

17 year-old violinist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Yurie Mitsuhashi (Show #205) explored the relationship between music and dance with second through sixth grade students at two elementary schools in her hometown of Fort Lee, NJ this spring. She shared a wide range of music, portraying dances from many different cultures and time periods, […]

After appearing on From the Top, 16 year-old slack-key guitarist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Sean Robbins of Pahoa, HI organized a series of interactive performances at the Hilo Union Elementary School. He gave three 45-minute performances for fourth graders at the school, with about twenty students per group. Sean hoped to inspire these children to […]

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” […]

Earlier this year, 16-year-old John Ringor (Show #202 and #206 ) and 17-year-old Joshua Jones (TV Episode 201, Show #171 and  #206), both Chicago percussionists and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipients, gave a performance and demonstration for children and their families at the Chicago Symphony Center. They were joined by eight of their colleagues […]

After every radio taping, the performers come together for the Arts Leadership Orientation to explore how they can use their talent and passion to make a difference in their communities and the world. The performers on the St. Paul show named themselves the “Louisasota Zirths” – a play on the two states represented (10 performers […]

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, […]

We have been avidly following the progress of Musical Diplomacy, the brainchild of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Grant recipients Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman. After an entire year of planning and organizing, their dream of using music to bring together leading policymakers, teachers, musicians, and concerned citizens was finally realized at the […]

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 […]