Category: Behind the Scenes

This is the second installment of our Parents’ Perspective blog series, which is meant to share information, hints, and knowledge about raising musical kids. You can read the first blog about musical beginnings here. Today’s topic: Your kid wants to study an instrument – now what? Our parent panel gives some tips on finding music […]

Because From the Top tapes radio shows across the country, we often fly in young musicians from different states to appear on broadcast tapings. If you’re a musician, you know traveling with your instrument can sometimes be tricky. The American Federation of Musician recently launched this petition to make air travel more friendly for musicians. […]

As you know, From the Top showcases the best young musical talent from across the country. But what about the support behind these amazing kids – the parents? We’ve set out to tap into the rich knowledge base of From the Top performer parents in an effort to share information, stories, and encouragement on raising […]

Although From the Top doesn’t tape many radio shows during the summer, our staff keep busy during these hot months with an important and exciting task – holding live auditions for our NPR radio show. Live auditions are an opportunity for us to hear young musicians in a different and fun capacity; most of our auditions come […]

I can’t believe we’re already kicking off our 11th season of radio shows, and what better way than a fantabulous piano extravaganza! We taped the first show of the season earlier this week at the Young Artist World Piano Festival on the beautiful campus of Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was an exciting […]

Hi everyone! My name is Anne Gregory, and I am new this summer at From the Top. As the intern with the From the Top Marketing and Communications department, I will be posting a number of blog entries on this site that will range from interviews with performers/alums to a column we’ve titled “Links we […]

Hi everyone! We were in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania last week, taping a show at the Majestic Theater, a beautifully restored 1920’s vaudeville house. We kicked off the Gettysburg Festival, an annual celebration of art and culture. As you might imagine with a production such as ours, sometimes the unexpected happens, and this show marked one […]

This week’s show is a rebroadcast from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but we hadn’t posted a listening guide when it first aired.  Keep reading to learn what each of the musicians think and feel about the pieces they perform. Rhys Lloyd Talbot, 18, bass voice “Honor and Arms” from Samson by Handel When I sing this […]

If you’ve listened to this week’s show, you probably heard Christopher O’Riley talking to oboist Bryanne Presley about the pranks she likes to pull on her dad, Wade, who is also her school band director.  Well we’ve got a treat for you – great pictures of past pranks and video of Dad getting back at […]

This week’s From the Top show was taped at the Fisher Theater at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Caroline Weeks, 18, viola I. Impetuoso; poco agitato from Sonata for Viola and Piano by Rebecca Clarke […]

This week’s From the Top broadcast was taped in Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday February 6, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Bobby Chen, 18, cello Pezzo Capriccioso by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky “I enjoy playing Pezzo Capriccioso because it […]

This week’s From the Top broadcast was taped at the Lunalilo Center at the Kamehameha School in Hilo, Hawaii on January 22, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Lilia Xie, 16, flute IV. Allegro con moto from Sonata for Flute & Piano, Op. 94 by […]

Greetings from my flight back from Iowa City, where we had a taping last night at the Englert Theater. I must say I feel quite lucky to be on a plane right now! Some of my colleagues’ flights were cancelled due to a blizzard that’s about to hit the northeast. Assuming you are reading this […]

On Saturday night we taped an episode of the radio show at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. It was bittersweet for us because we dedicated the show to one of the major forces behind From the Top, Francis Hunnewell, who passed away last week. He was a huge supporter of young musicians, and […]

Greetings from somewhere high above the clouds on my flight back to Boston. This has been quite the tour! After spending over a week in Hawaii and then the past few days in California, I’m almost frightened to be going back to the wintry conditions at home. We taped a wonderful show last night at […]

Aloha from one of the most magical places on earth – Hawaii’s Big Island, where we just completed two tapings of the radio show, plus a week of educational visits in local schools with our partner Hawaii Public Radio. The Big Island is such a fascinating place. I’ve been told there are eleven different climate […]

On January 3, 2010 From the Top taped a special program dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston, MA. Here is what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show, which airs this week. Boston Children’s Chorus Kasar […]

This week’s broadcast was taped November 13, 2009 at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, TX. Learn more about what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show: Sahun Hong, 15, piano Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor by Franz Liszt Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 shows a […]

On this week’s broadcast, Atlanta audience member Zhanna Arshanskaya dedicates a piece to Christopher O’Riley, whom she calls “the ambassador of music  for young people.” But it’s Zhanna’s story that we find truly moving. A holocaust survivor, Zhanna endured through her ability to play music. Following the war, she eventually went on to attend the […]

Hi all! I just returned home from Silicon Valley and the beautiful campus of Stanford University, where we taped a great show this weekend. We had the pleasure of being joined via phone by a very special guest –puzzle master extraordinaire Will Shortz! As a huge fan of the New York Times Sunday Crossword, I […]