Category: Behind the Scenes

Spring is a notoriously busy time here in From the Top land, but this spring has been, without a doubt, the extra-crazy-busiest! In the last few weeks we’ve crisscrossed the country from northern New York to sunny Tennessee to way out west in Oregon, all the while as we prepared for our annual gala which […]

  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 taped a show last week in the heart of the Big Apple at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall for a an audience packed with music teachers from all over the US. The teachers were in town for the Music Teacher’s National Association convention, and as you might expect, they made for a wonderfully enthusiastic audience! Opening […]

Hello everyone! Sorry to be a bit behind with blogging – we’ve been in the middle of a whirlwind spring tour, and now that we’re back home and settled in Boston for a bit I’m ready to catch you up. A little over a week ago we were in Carmel, Indiana to tape a show […]

We were in Ogden, Utah last week to tape a show at Weber State University’s Austad Auditorium.  Ogden was gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains. The taping included some truly outstanding performances. Opening the show was 17-year-old oboist Nick Tisherman who played Mozart and went on to talk about his clarinet-playing family and the challenges […]

Last week we taped a show at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The show was taped in a converted recital hall that used to house the college’s swimming pool. The architects made sure to keep playful vestiges of the past, such as a sign at the stage entrance that reads, “Please make sure to shower […]

This past weekend we taped a wonderful show at our home base, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. We featured five fantastic teenage musicians who were warmly welcomed by the hometown crowd. First up was 17-year-old mandolin player Gordon Neidinger who performed an energetic piece called “Doina and Variations on the E-flat Sirba” written […]

Greeting from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where we just taped a show at the Western Michigan University School of Music. It was a wonderful show with one of the most exuberant live audiences ever. Kicking off the fun was local pianist, 17-year-old Marissa Uchimura, who performed Prokofiev’s Sonata No.3 in A minor Op.28 and spoke with Chris […]

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I wanted to tell you about a special show we taped recently at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a wonderfully moving show, filled with exceptional performances and stories. It featured the superb Boston Children’s Chorus […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 241 was taped in East Building Auditorium at the national Gallery of Art, Washington, DC on Sunday, October 16, 2011. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Jehshua Karunakaran, violin, age 17 Danse Espagnole from “La Vide Breve” By: Manuel de Falla […]

Greetings from high in the sky somewhere over the U.S. I’m flying back right now from beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we taped a show at the Lensic Performing Arts Center – and what a show it was! It was one the liveliest tapings I can recall. Kicking it off was 16-year-old pianist Hugo […]

We had a fantastic show this past weekend at NEC’s Jordan Hall in Boston. The kids were all great musicians and full of personality. Among them, we featured both a flute quartet and a cello quartet. They went head to head in an entertaining grudge match where they were quizzed on each other’s instruments. Opening […]

Hello everyone! We’re back home in Boston after taping a show last week in Ocean City, New Jersey. The Music Pier, where the show was held, is located on a charming old-fashioned boardwalk teeming with amusement parks and overlooking a gorgeous stretch of beach. We rode the Ferris wheel, ate our fill of funnel cakes, […]

We taped a wonderful show this past weekend at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, Illinois. It was a special show for all of us at From the Top because it kicked off our 12th taping season! It was also special because the taping took place at the National Education Association convention before an audience […]

Last weekend we were in the town of Katonah, New York taping an episode of the radio show at the most beautiful venue – the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts located on a Mediterranean-inspired estate surrounded by gardens. It was a gorgeous day, and our show took place in the outdoor Venetian Theater. […]

We just taped a show in Rockport at what may have been the most beautiful concert hall I’ve ever performed in – the Shalin Liu Performance Center. The back of the stage featured a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking a sparking blue bay – a stunning backdrop for the show’s talented performers! Opening the show […]

Hi everyone! Last week we were in Oklahoma City, where we taped an episode of the radio show at Kirkpatrick Auditorium on the beautiful campus of Oklahoma City University. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel, which happened to have a bright red grand piano in the lobby, right outside of a sports bar, and it […]

We’re back in Boston for a short stretch following our taping last week at the beautiful Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach, where we met six terrific teenage performers. Kicking off the show was a cello duo comprised of 17-year-old Naomi Benecasa and 18-year-old Richard Mazuski. They performed from Menotti’s Suite for […]

Hi everyone! We’re back from Carmel, Indiana, where we taped a show with a very special guest – singer and interpreter of the Great American Songbook Michael Feinstein. He was warm and wonderful with our young performers, and they were all excited to work with him. The show opened with 16-year-old cellist Matthew Liversedge who […]

We had a wonderful taping this past weekend in College Park, Maryland with a talented and diverse group of teenage musicians. First up was 16-year-old pianist Kimberly Hou, who did something never before accomplished during a From the Top rehearsal – she played so passionately she broke a piano string! We were very lucky because […]