Category: z-News

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 […]

The week’s From the Top broadcast was taped at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, on February 24, 2010.  We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Thomas Burrill, 14, piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, I. Grave – Doppio movimento by Frederic […]

We just got word of yet another amazing success from one of our alums!  Nadine Sierra, soprano, who first appeared on From the Top six years ago at the age of 15 and was featured this year as one of our 10th Anniversary guests, just won first place in the 38th Annual Grand Finals Concert […]

From the Top isn’t just about broadcasting phenomenal music.  An integral part of our program is the Arts Leadership Orientation, which follows every performance. What’s that, you ask? The performers gather with From the Top’s Education staff after the show to reflect on their experiences – what were they thinking before the show started? What were their favorite moments […]

Harpist Anna DeLoi (click to hear her show!) impressed our audience with the unique harp piece she played on the show. She may be only 14 years old, but we already know she’s got great things ahead of her.  Last month the Eagle-Tribune (NH) featured a story on her, and just a few days ago […]

Last month we featured an interview with Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, founders of Musical Diplomacy, and recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. On May 14th, they hosted a “Concert and Discussion on Race and Culture in the Age of Obama” which featured Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side […]

Hi everyone! We just got back from Iowa, where we taped a show at Iowa State University in Ames. One of the school’s most celebrated graduates was in our audience – the great American baritone Simon Estes! He introduced the first performer, 18-year-old violist Caroline Weeks, who played a beautiful piece by Rebecca Clarke. Next […]

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 […]

Kanu o ka ‘Aina, one of the schools we visited in Waimea, recently received a large federal grant from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund’s Native American assistance initiative. The program supports native institutions that address the development and needs of native communities. Kanu o ka ‘Aina is a bilingual, Hawaiian-focused charter school that integrates […]

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; […]

We sat down with Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award, to talk about their upcoming Concert and Discussion on Race and Culture in the Age of Obama, which will be held at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center on Friday, May 14 at 7:30 pm. Admission is […]

In January, From the Top partnered with Hawaii Public Radio to bring our radio show and education programs to the island of Hawaii. It was the first time a program like ours has been recorded on the Big Island for national broadcast, and we were greeted with open arms and that famous Aloha spirit. During […]

This week’s From the Top broadcast was taped at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine on March 24, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Wilson (Will) Bristol, 17, piano IV. Toccata from Sonata No. 1, Op. 25 by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee Dianne Rahbee’s Toccata from her […]

In March, From the Top joined forces with Portland Ovations to tape a radio show at Merrill Auditorium (broadcasting this week), but that was just one part of our fabulous experience in Portland, Maine… Sharing the power and excitement of the arts with a broader community, especially students who might not otherwise have access, is […]

Last Friday, we gathered 3-5th grade students from our Boston Public School partners (Philbrick, Edison and Winthrop elementary schools) for a special concert at Boston’s Roland Hayes School of Music. The goal was to link the  elementary students who have participated in our three year program, Turn it Up!, funded by the Wallace Foundation, with […]

This guest post is from Jacob Shack of the Andover Lawrence Strings Program, a recipient of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. “Pedro, what note is a fifth above a G?” “D?” “Right!” “Oh, I get it now. The musical alphabet ends at G!” This exchange characterizes a typical music theory class […]

This guest post is from Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, recipients of From the Top’s Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Award. It is the first of a series of updates about their project: Musical Diplomacy. Hi everyone! Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman here at New England Conservatory in Boston! We are both really interested in […]