Category: z-News

[Music] is such an underrated resource, yet people use music every day. We have it in our cars, on our phones, in the grocery store – it is everywhere we go and it is used to alter or encourage our own moods. My hope is that people will be able to recognize music not only […]

From the Top alumni are speaking out about the state of orchestras today, emphasizing the value that these cultural institutions offer to their communities. For Jingxuan Zhang it is a personal issue affecting his hometown of Indianapolis, while Stanford Thomson takes a look at American orchestras and provides some thought-provoking solutions to some of the […]

On this week’s episode of From the Top, host Christopher O’Riley interviews Broadway and television star Audra McDonald, touching on her musical beginnings, training at Juilliard, and learning to follow her instincts into a career path she loved. McDonald is currently starring in Broadway’s The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Listen to the interview.

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 254 was taped in the Brown Theater at Wortham Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday May 12, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Houston Youth Symphony Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 from Fidelio By: Ludwig van Beethoven Meghan […]

We have had an unusually busy summer here at From the Top. We were in China very recently (look out for a blog about that adventure next week!), but right before leaving the country we taped a show at the famous Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. What a gorgeous place to spend the summer! […]

Last week, we teamed up with the folks at NPR Classical to give a good look at the wide world of music for students and their families through their blog Deceptive Cadence. From practice tips to audition tips, we’ve had a lot of fun hearing from alumni and parents. We even had a couple of […]

“It’s important for me, as well as others, to see and give back to those who are not as fortunate as we are. I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are. My motto is to keep things in perspective, because there are people out there who don’t have as much as you.” When flutist […]

We had an action-packed visit to Chattanooga this past April (Show 252) where we were able to connect with a wide range of audiences from across the community! The day before the show, we traveled with the Camerton String Quartet to visit patients and staff at the Memorial Hospital. The group played in two of the hospital’s central […]

“The experience of performing in the senior centers makes my heart feel warm.  I am so thankful that they enjoy and share my love of classical music.  Every smile shows me that I have brightened someone’s life that day with my performance.” – Victoria Young 12-year-old pianist Victoria Young (Show 235) believes sharing her love of music […]

Calling all Illinois fans! Violist Stephanie Block (Show #238) will be hosting a benefit concert next Wednesday in support of the Histiocytosis Association of America: a non-profit organization dedicated to research, providing support, and raising awareness on histiocytic disorders. Having been diagnosed with the disease as a child, Stephanie is extremely passionate about the cause – …

…if we don’t give back and get active in our community, then classical music is not going to survive. We have to support our craft and our generation. -Evan Ritter What do you get when two close friends join forces to make a difference through music? A talented duo dedicated to sharing their passion throughout […]

At From the Top, we say that “Music is Powerful Stuff.”  In some ways, our experience in Colombia last week was powerful in ways we could never have expected. Our first international show, From the Top Colombia, a collaboration between From the Top, Batuta (Colombia’s national youth music program) and the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia […]

At Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, arts leader Anna Deloi, along with her team partner Nash Ryder, shadowed the Boston Public Quartet and aided in their after-school chamber music program called musiConnects, whose mission is to create social change through chamber music. Anna stayed on after their project was finished and continued to work with […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 251 was taped in Hosmer Concert Hall at Crane School of Music-SUNY Potsdam on Saturday, April 21, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: John Lee, cello, 17 Dance of the Green Devil By: Gaspar Cassado I knew what a […]

From the Top’s broadcast for Show 249 was taped in was taped in The Palladium at The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Nathan Meltzer, violin, 11 Hejre Kati, Scènes de la csárda, […]

Today we are spotlighting the work of 2 of our 2011 Arts Leaders: Anna & Nash, who shadowed the Boston Public Quartet and aided in their after-school chamber music program called musiConnects, whose mission is to create social change through chamber music. The two bright young leaders had the opportunity to observe and take part […]

This week’s From the Top’s broadcast (Show 248) was taped at Weber State University’s Austad Auditorium in Ogden, Utah on Thursday, March 8, 2012. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Nick Tisherman, oboe, 17 I. Allegro from Sonata in F major, KV 370 By: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart I like to […]

For many around the world Easter is an important date on the religious calendar. And for music lovers it’s an opportunity to experience some of the most beautiful music ever written. Perhaps above all, the St. John and St. Matthew Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Recently our music producer, Tom Vignieri, added a work of […]

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Soprano Andrea Carroll, who performed on Show #172 at Daytona Beach, Florida in 2008, has more on her plate than her studies at the Manhattan School of Music. As a 2012 Filene Young Artist she will play Zerlina in the Wolf Trap Opera Company’s production of Don Giovanni this summer, and will also take the […]