From the Top Alums Perform in Singapore!

Simone Performs in Highland Park

Two From the Top alums are performing in Singapore this week as part of the Great Eastern International Kids Performing Festival: violinist Simone Porter and cellist Nathan Chan.

Simone appeared on From the Top’s Highland Park, Illinois show in 2007 when was eleven years old, at which point she was basically a veteran violinist – she started playing when she was just three. In March 2008 Simone appeared on our PBS series, From the Top at Carnegie Hall. Two years later, Simone has excelled greatly and is one of five young international musicians to perform at the festival in Singapore this week.

Nathan Performs in Stanford

Cellist Nathan Chan appeared on From the Top’s December 2009 show in Stanford, California. You may not know this, but Nathan originally got into classical music as a conductor – at the age of two! He used to mimic the movements of conductors on TV and was incredibly accurate at it. Three years later he picked up a cello and began his formal study of music. Nathan’s accomplishments are many – just check out his summary on the festival website – and performing in Singapore is yet another wonderful honor for him.

Simone and Nathan, along with From the Top alum Anna DeLoi, are also featured in a 2009 BBC 4 documentary series that’s about to air on WGBH. We mentioned this mini-series, titled “The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies,” back in April. It features a young composer and conductor from England named Alexander Prior. He’s on a mission to find the best young performing talent in the world, and he will write a multi-instrument concerto for them to perform with the Northern Sinfonia in England.

It’s a small world because Alex will actually be at Tanglewood this summer, along with our 10th Anniversary alum Keitaro Harada (saxophone/conductor).

Click here for air dates/times of this show.