Category: On the Road

This season, From the Top is recording in studios around the country, and we are giving some lucky fans access to watch the process in action! If you are in New York, Boston, Austin, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, please register here for your chance to access a guest pass and attend an exclusive behind-the-scenes […]

The charismatic violinist Charles Yang, member of the genre bending trio “Time for Three”, returns to From the Top this week to join Host Peter Dugan in collaborating with our young performers. He performs the music of Shostakovich with a teenager from Philadelphia and leaps into a quartet to perform the composition of an imaginative […]

This week, guest host Orli Shaham returns for another new episode, enjoying the moving experience of performing live chamber music for the first time during the pandemic. The program, recorded partly on stage at Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in New York, features a wonderful group of young people, like a young violist, […]

This week’s episode of From the Top marks the kick-off to our 2020-2021 radio season. It’s not easy producing radio with kids from across the country during a pandemic, but our faithful producers have found a way! This week’s amazing young musicians join guest host Orli Shaham for a unique show – some recorded virtually […]

What connects skateboarding and Paganini Violin Caprices? For Phillip Hammond, 17 year-old violinist from Bloomington, Indiana and a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, it’s all about taking risks. Being able to pull off these techniques, whether on a skateboard or on a violin, requires him to be committed and […]

On a Wednesday afternoon, eleven From the Top young musicians gathered in Boston to begin a 4-day residency. They arrived as strangers; some having traveled across the country to be there. One goal was clear – the young musicians had to prepare for a performance and recording for NPR’s From the Top radio show. (In fact, the group […]

This article was published by the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Young Maine musicians to perform in Portland for NPR’s ‘From the Top’ by Bob Keyes, Portland Press Herald Staff Writer Three young musicians from Maine will join seven peers from other parts of the country when the radio program “From the […]

This article originally appeared on The Harvard Crimson. On Sunday, October 6, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall was abuzz. A hustling production crew weaved through the audience as fans of all ages filed into their seats. As the house lights dimmed, the wooden paneling that soared above the stage on all sides took on a […]

Paul Katz is known to concertgoers the world over as cellist of the Cleveland Quartet, which, during an international career of 26 years, made more than 2,500 appearances on four continents. In 2011, declaring that “our art is passed from one generation to the next, not by books but by mentoring,” Katz launched CelloBello, a website […]

This week From the Top goes behind-the-scenes at the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (check your local listings or download our podcast here). Hosted by pianist Peter Dugan, this documentary style episode of From the Top features six of the 23 young pianists (age 13 to 17) chosen to participle in two weeks of high-level competition […]

This week’s episode of NPR’s From the Top, taped at Dartmouth College with Guest Host Jeremy Denk, features two Jack Kent Cooke Young Artists: flutist Subin Cho and cellist Nygel Witherspoon. The award helps young musicians with the high costs of studying classical music. Recipients must demonstrate exceptional musical ability, quality of character, and financial […]

One of America’s foremost pianists, Jeremy Denk, guest hosts this week’s episode of From the Top (check your local listings or download our podcast here). Winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, Denk was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. We were honored to have him join From the Top. […]

When we travel to hold auditions, we are as excited to meet new young musicians as we are to catch up with our fast-growing network of alumni in that area. This past July, Executive Director Gretchen Nielsen, Director of Development & External Relations Emily Borababy, and Scholarship and Recruitment Manager Javier Caballero held auditions at […]

Live recording events of popular NPR classical music show will feature special lineup of hosts and co-hosts Boston, Massachusetts (July 30, 2019) – From the Top, America’s largest platform celebrating the voices and talents of America’s brightest young classical musicians, announced the 2019-2020 tour dates and hosts for its nationally-distributed NPR radio program today. From […]

On a rainy day in March, six young artists (see bottom) gathered in Boston’s historic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was the day before their performance on NPR’s From the Top and, since they had all met each other the previous evening at an ISGM Third Thursdays event, the reunion was brief but full of […]

This week, From the Top airs Show 367 with guest host Peter Dugan featuring the talents of 6 inspiring young musicians from across the country. Their stories are compelling, from 17-year-old Zachary Potts’ inspiring story about leaving the U.S. for the first time to see his horn teacher perform with the Berlin Philharmonic, to Los […]

  Charles Yang, a maverick violinist whose musical taste ranges from Bach to the Beatles, first appeared on From the Top in 2002 at the age of 14, delivering a show-stopping performance of Zigeunerweisen and professing his love for the violin, “the violin is like caffeine” he said, “…you get addicted to it…if I put […]

NPR’S FROM THE TOP TO CONVENE IN LOS ANGELES FOR THREE-DAY RESIDENCY  Pianist Peter Dugan Guest Hosts Studio Recordings  Producer, Singer and DJ Alex Seaver (MAKO) leads music-making sessions  Leadership and Community Engagement workshops offer firsthand experience in creative career development FEBRUARY 23-25, 2019 From the Top (FTT), the nationwide program distributed by NPR that […]

From the Top Announces Pianist Simone Dinnerstein as additional Guest Host for 2018–2019 National Tour Boston, Massachusetts (February 7, 2019)– From the Top, the nationwide program distributed by NPR that showcases classically-trained young musicians, is very pleased to announce that American pianist Simone Dinnerstein, known for her “majestic originality of vision” (Independent), will guest …

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 […]