Category: On the Road

Hi everyone! We just got back from taping a show in Abilene, Texas, and it was an unforgettable experience. From the place we stayed to the venue we played, to the terrific kids and unexpected music, it was definitely one-of-a-kind! Special thanks to the folks at KACU Abilene Public Radio for their warm welcome and […]

We just got home from taping a show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the Shaver Theatre at LSU. It was our first time in Louisiana and it was a fantastic experience! The show was full of standout moments. It opened with a dazzling performance by 15-year-old cellist Jean Kim, a wonderfully expressive musician, who played […]

    Hi everybody! I’m writing to you from backstage at the Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa where we are about to go onstage for the show. We taped a show last night in Davenport, and then went on the road to bring the same show to Parkersburg, a small town in central Iowa that […]

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 […]

We are pleased to announce our 2010-2011 national tour dates for taping our popular NPR radio program hosted by acclaimed concert pianist Christopher O’Riley. The tour will include concert events at From the Top’s home base at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and cities from Athens, GA to Yountville, CA and will mark From the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

This week on From the Top, we feature a broadcast taped at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Learn more about what the performers feel about the music they are performing: Melissa White, alum, violin IV. Presto agitato from Sonata No. 3 in D minor by Johannes Brahms This […]

In early November, From the Top spent a whirlwind week in Texas with radio tapings and school visits in Waco and Dallas. From the Top alumni and brother and sister team Robbie, 18, violin, and Allie Switala, 16, violin from Grapevine, TX, launched our Texas road shows with a visit to Lakeview Middle School in […]

On November 12, From the Top visited the G.W. Carver Academy in Waco, TX with performers Nathaniel Smith, 15, cello, Mia Orosco, 16, fiddle, and Simon Stipp, guitar. The 50 middle school students were engaged from the moment the musicians walked in to the classroom, pressing them with television theme song requests and questions about […]

In early November, From the Top provided two Atlanta middle schools with an interactive demonstration before taping a From the Top broadcast at Emory University’s Schwartz Center. We brought Hally Davidson, 15, flute, from McDonough, GA and Bryan Anderson, 16, piano, from Stockbridge, GA,  members of the flute and piano duo “Music Two Share”, to […]

Our monster two-week tour has finally come to an end, and from Atlanta to Granville to Waco to Dallas, it’s been a great one! On Friday night we taped at the exceptionally beautiful AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House in Dallas. Two From the Top alums, percussionists Joshua Jones and John Ringor from Chicago, […]

Howdy from the Lone Star State! Do you know we’ve done more tapings in Texas than anywhere else in the country? We just drove to Dallas, where we have a taping tomorrow, from Waco, where we had a show at Baylor University’s Jones Concert Hall last night (thanks to the folks at KWBU). It was […]

I’m coming to you today from several thousand feet off the ground on my flight back to Boston, and I’m still on a high (no pun intended) from yesterday’s taping at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. It was an all-alumni show featuring some incredible performers from past seasons. I had such a blast reconnecting with […]

Sheila P. of Winchester, MA, who attended the Boston October 4 live radio taping, and Rosie S. of Provo, UT, who attended the Salt Lake City October 9 live radio taping, have been selected as the winners of From the Top CD packs. Congratulations! For your chance to win a CD pack of your very […]

This week’s broadcast was taped at the Plaza Theatre in El Paso, TX on June 13, 2009. Here is what the performers had to say about the music they played: Sage Po, 15, harp III. Sarabande and IV. Courante from Classical Suite for Harp Alone by Lynne Wainwright Palmer “This is a piece I like […]