Tag: education

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 […]

“Jump right in!” a young lady with long brown hair belts out from the stage, her foot tapping as she dances along with the music, “Let the music pull you in, jump right in!” The more than 500 middle and high school students in the audience here in Hazard, Kentucky are very familiar with this […]

This post is Part 3 of a three-part series about From the Top’s Fall 2014 residency at the Conservatory Lab Charter School (CLCS), an elementary school in Boston with a music-intensive curriculum. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.     It was a Friday afternoon at Conservatory Lab Charter School. A large room filled to the brim with elementary […]

To everyone who supported From the Top this past year, we want to express our thanks by sharing some of our favorite moments from 2014. Let’s take it From the Top. 1. In May, violinist Yuki Beppu, who performed most recently on Show 292, appeared on Good Morning America to reenact her viral rendition of a Lady […]

Growing up in Denver, Colorado, Trey Pernell was a student with many talents. Despite some significant challenges in his home life, Trey decided that he would not let that hardship keep him from achieving his goals. For him, “not achieving was not an option.” Beyond his academic pursuits, Trey has very diverse interests that include but also go beyond […]

Music is often referred to as the “universal language.” 17-year-old violinist Chelsea Kim knows this is true. Having moved several times throughout her childhood, Chelsea performed in retirement centers, hospitals, and churches in every new community. This gave her a sense of music’s power to connect people, a theme that would become very important to her life’s […]

Pianist Phuong-Nghi Pham, from Dorchester, MA, was 14 years old when she wrote a letter to Dr. Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools District, appealing for a spending increase on the city’s musical education programs for the following school-year budget. The letter was part of Phuong-Nghi’s Arts Leadership project, associated with her […]

Backstage at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 8-year-old pianist Oscar Paz-Suaznabar has his head bent over a cell phone, launching angry birds at stubborn pigs, and From the Top alum Clifton Williams reaches over to show him a trick. Clifton has recently graduated college and moved to Los Angeles to build a career composing and […]

Eric Goldberg, originally from the Chicago area, is an accomplished percussionist who not only performs, but also inspires others beyond the concert hall. He first appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley Show 206 in Dallas, Texas. His most recent appearance on Show 271 in New Albany, Ohio, coincided with his receipt of the From the Top Jack Kent Cooke […]

It’s that time again! The leaves are changing color, the air is getting crisper, and Boston’s young musicians are in the midst of another academic year. Lots of music is yet to be made, some in a formal concert hall, some out in our community. We find it’s the unexpected encounters with music that often have the most […]

It’s that time again! The leaves are changing color, the air is getting crisper, and Boston’s young musicians are in the midst of another academic year. Lots of music is yet to be made, some in a formal concert hall, some out in our community. We find it’s the unexpected encounters with music that often have the most […]

On July 16, we recorded a show with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYOUSA). Our friends at Carnegie Hall bring this orchestra of amazing young musicians together each summer, and the result is pretty incredible. (You can listen to the show here, if you’d like. We highly recommend it!) The next day, From […]

“Arts Leadership” is an important phrase at From the Top. But what does it mean, really? For 33 members of the Center for the Development of Arts Leadership (CDAL), it has meant a year of sharing music with different generations, and learning valuable lessons along the way. Through CDAL’s Community Performance Series, our young musicians/leaders […]

NAME: Mira Williams AGE: 16 HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois INSTRUMENT: Viola PERFORMED ON: Shows 277 and 287 Mira Williams is a dedicated and passionate young musician with strong beliefs and a firm commitment to improving her music. In April, she stepped up to the microphone at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida, and stunned […]

UPDATE! Here’s the clip of Yuki on GMA this morning. We had so much fun and are so proud of Yuki! Tune in to Good Morning America between 7:30–8:00 AM on Thursday, May 1, to see From the Top alum Yuki Beppu talk about Lady Gaga, classical music, and how she is on a mission […]

For the past three years, From the Top has enjoyed a partnership with Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, Massachusetts. Conservatory Lab is the only music-infused public elementary school in the state and provides all students free vocal and instrumental instruction. However, the students at Conservatory Lab don’t have access to playing in small ensembles, […]

NAME: Gregorio Lopes AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: Bloomington, Indiana INSTRUMENT: Violin and viola PERFORMED ON: Show 283 “My favorite part about playing music has come to be its healing quality,” says 18-year-old violinist/violist Gregorio Lopes. When his ensemble, the Violin Virtuosi, traveled to Brazil, Gregorio remembers playing for children who lived in shanty towns and being […]

Each of the performers on Show 280 attended an Arts Leadership Orientation Workshop, where they explored their own personal leadership pathways. Learn how they are taking their music beyond the concert hall in their own communities: Hannah Wang is reigniting an idea that she tabled in the fall. She plans to bring together local musicians […]

Vietnam was the unlikely location where violist and Princeton Sophomore Devon Naftzger (Show 256) of Lincolnshire, IL had a profound musical experience brought about when she played her viola for a classroom of Vietnamese students. This past summer, Devon participated in a three-week program called Coach For College which brought her to southwestern Vietnam and […]

Vietnam was the unlikely location where violist and Princeton Sophomore Devon Naftzger (Show 256) of Lincolnshire, IL had a profound musical experience brought about when she played her viola for a classroom of Vietnamese students. This past summer, Devon participated in a three-week program called Coach For College which brought her to southwestern Vietnam and […]