Category: Radio/podcast

Live recordings of popular NPR classical music show will feature a variety of hosts, co-hosts, and guest artists Boston, Massachusetts (October 30, 2018)– From the Top, the nationwide program distributed by NPR that showcases young classical musicians, is very pleased to announce that actor Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (The Wire, The Walking Dead, The Deuce) and […]

“Kairos” – the decisive time for opportunity and action – captures the essence of ambition and boldness found in these four young artists. Kairos Quartet was formed in September of 2017 when all four students were scholarship recipient Fellows at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a pre-college training program for gifted musicians. They won the […]

An exploratory artist, outspoken activist, influential educator, and possessor of one of the most personal and expressive pianistic styles in improvised music, Fred Hersch has led a singular life that has shaped one of the most acclaimed and influential voices in modern jazz, and he’ll share that experience with From the Top in an upcoming taping in […]

Live recordings of popular NPR classical music show will feature a variety of hosts, co-hosts, and guest artists Boston, Massachusetts (Updated February 7, 2019) – From the Top, the nationwide program distributed by NPR that showcases young classical musicians, announced today the lineup of renowned artists who will host, co-host, or appear as special guests […]

From the Top returns to our home concert hall, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, on Sunday, October 14 at 2PM. The show brings back alum Yuga Cohler as Guest Host. Yuga is a respected conductor, recently receiving critical acclaim for “Yeethoven” at Lincoln Center – a concert comparing the works of Kanye West and Beethoven.  At […]

Dear fans, Below is a press release we released earlier this morning regarding Christopher O’Riley’s contract. This is a big change, and we welcome you to submit questions or feedback at info@fromthetop.org, or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/fromthetopfans. Sincerely, All of us at From the Top From the Top announced today that the organization will not […]

From the Top performers are more than just impressive musicians—many of them are just as accomplished in their other areas of interest! This week, we were privileged to speak with one of these multitalented individuals: 16-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient, Coco Ma. Coco, a Juilliard pre-college student, was recently featured […]

Fall has just begun, and we already have lots to catch up on! We’ve produced four shows over the past few weeks, and it’s been quite the whirlwind of activity. We started out in Atlanta, Georgia, where we recorded a show at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The Schwartz Center is home […]

Yesterday – Sunday October 4 – was a pretty special day for us here at From the Top. In addition to having our Board of Directors and Overseers in town for our annual meeting, we also recorded episode 313 of our radio show, NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley, in celebration of our 15th […]

Jason Lewis is a modern day Renaissance man: an award-winning classical guitarist who loves to skateboard, a poet who plans to study neuroscience. Directed by: Dillon Buss Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more cool music videos. Hear more from Jason on NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley Show 307. Jason’s website is www.Jasonblairlewis.com.

Guitarist Jason Lewis appeared on NPR’s From the Top Show 307, recorded at a private home in Boston’s Back Bay, which you can hear on public radio stations nationwide the week of September 7. We discovered that Jason has a passion for skateboarding as well as guitar. Here’s a sneak peek of an upcoming video featuring Jason, […]

We’re visiting some really amazing concert halls and venues this season, and we want to see your smiling faces in the audience! Join us at one of our upcoming tour stops near you: Saturday, September 19, 2015: Atlanta, Georgia Schwartz Center for Performing Arts Presented by Emory University Sunday, September 27, 2015: Big Sky, Montana […]

We’re back from our week-long trip to Colorado which was packed to the brim with all sorts of events. Colorado is home to two of the best summer music festivals in America, and we were lucky enough to be invited to participate in both. We started out in Vail, as part of the Bravo! Vail […]

July 9, 2015: Tonight we recorded Episode 309 of NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley at the Vilar Center at the wonderful Bravo! Vail Music Festival. You can hear this show on stations nationwide during the week of October 5, 2015. One of our featured young musicians, 17-year-old violinist Mira Yamamoto, is also a […]

Oh Chautauqua, how I miss you already! I’m home in Boston now, but just days ago I was at the Chautauqua Institution in Southwestern New York, where we recorded an episode of our radio show. If you haven’t heard of Chautauqua, let me paint a quick picture for you: imagine a huge, private summer resort completely […]

We have heavy and grateful hearts here at From the Top today as we remember Gunther Schuller, who passed away over the weekend. Mr. Schuller appeared twice on From the Top; the first early in our history (Show 48) and then in 2011 on a very special “highlight show”, during which he and Christopher O’Riley discussed some of his favorite pieces from […]

This is a special look into Show 305. To listen, click here. When 14-year-old Matthew Hakkarainen pulled the bow across the strings of his violin and the last note of the Kreisler Praeludium and Allegro rang out through Gusman Concert Hall at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, the audience erupted in applause. […]

NEW SHOW: From Denver, Colorado, this week’s episode features a special guest appearance by one of America’s finest living film composers, Danny Elfman. Our young musicians perform arrangements of his music from the soundtracks of Milk and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Mr. Elfman also shares stories from his own colorful teenage years, and a phenomenal […]

NEW SHOW: From Wellesley, Massachusetts, this week’s From the Top pays tribute to Jewish composers and Jewish music. A precocious 12-year-old violinist performs the music of George Gershwin, a young tenor performs his own composition inspired by the great twentieth century Jewish poet Hannah Senesh, and the show’s finale features the great sound of Klezmer […]

REPEAT SHOW: From the Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney, Maine, this week’s From the Top features one of the strongest teenage oboists From the Top has encountered in the past few years performing a gorgeous Élégie by Francis Poulenc; a 14-year-old violinist performs Vieuxtemp’s virtuosic showpiece, the Yankee Doodle Variations; and we […]