From the Top

From Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week's program includes one of the only teenage euphonium players From the Top has featured performing a gentle, lyrical piece by Simon Mantia ... We'll also meet a 14-year-old pianist who, in addition to being a phenomenal classical musician, creates wonderfully entertaining arrangements of American popular songs for the Pittsburgh Pops ... and a young ensemble from Philadelphia performs from Schubert's famous "Death and the Maiden" quartet.

The Colorado Symphony welcomes From the Top to Denver this week for a show that combines amazing teenage musicians with the Symphony’s superb sound. A brilliant young violinist from Denver performs the music of Sarasate with the orchestra … and discusses what it's like to grow up as an "orchestra brat"  -- both her parents are members of the Symphony.  We’ll also hear the symphony accompany the superb Colorado Children’s Chorale in a performance of the music of Randall Thompson.

This week, we're broadcasting from New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall in Boston, Massachusetts where a fantastic 16-year-old flutist from Las Vegas performs the music of Paul Taffanel, a young violinist delivers a nuanced performance of the music of Frederick Delius ... and where we'll meet two teens who have struggled with learning disabilities and yet have become extraordinary young musicians.

From the Top collaborates with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra this week to bring you a big, Texas From the Top.  We’ll hear a teenage cellist perform the stirring music of Ernest Bloch with the orchestra, we'll meet a young violinist who is perhaps the Dallas Symphony's biggest fan (playing with them is a dream come true for the boy) and a teenage piano trio performs the music of a young Texan composer  -- a piece imaginatively inspired by the Greek Gods.

This week, From the Top is broadcasting from Kalamazoo, Michigan! We'll hear a brilliant teenage pianist from right in Kalamazoo performing the music of Prokofiev, we'll meet a thrilling percussion duo from Chicago, and a very original 14-year-old boy cellist who proudly wears yellow clothes pretty much every single day.

From Sarasota, Florida this week's From the Top features an outstandingly expressive and precise 14-year-old guitarist performing the music of Augustin Barrios  … a teenage horn player whose practice regimen has inspired the invention of a new word … and a teenage pianist whose family is part Lebanese, part Guatemalan, part Japanese and part Floridian.

From Davis, California, this week's From the Top features young performers who are all major competition winners. We enjoy their superb performances including a fearless 11-year-old violinist performing the music of Sarasate, a teenager classical guitarist from Tennessee performing a transcription of the music of Chopin and a wonderful young flutist who won a competition by beatboxing on the instrument. There's also a playful music trivia quiz customized for these high achievers. A competition about...competitions.

This week From the Top takes the stage in Chicago as part of the National Education Association’s Annual Conference to present a great group of musicians who all attend public school. You’ll hear from an 18-year-old baritone, a teenage septet, and more!

From Greensburg, Pennsylvania this week's From the Top features one of the strongest teenage string quartets in America performing the beautiful music of Leos Janacek, a local 12-year-old pianist plays one of Aaron Copland’s most playful pieces, and we'll meet a tenacious 16-year-old who was invited to the prestigious Menuhin International Violin Competition and though she received no honor there, found that the experience really sealed her future as a violinist.

This week, From the Top comes to you from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, where you’ll hear a gregarious 11-year-old play the music of David Popper and an outstanding piano trio from Cleveland perform a lively piece by Astor Piazzolla. You'll also hear the piano music of Olivier Messiaen performed by a 17-year-old from Washington State.

This week From the Top returns to its home, Jordan Hall, in Boston with a line up of superb young musicians including a teenager who, having stuck with the recorder since the 4th grade, has become a young virtuoso on the instrument ... a 13-year-old cellist who performs the music of Tchaikovsky and then shares with us his unusually in-depth knowledge about mushroom harvesting ... and a jaw-droppingly good 9-year-old violinist who's read pretty much every Nancy Drew book written.

This week From the Top is the special guest of Portland Piano International, the celebrated piano festival in Portland, Oregon. As such, the show is a bit more piano centric than usual with a 16-year-old pianist from the Portland area performing the music of Chopin, two young sisters from New Jersey performing a piano duo arrangement of Gershwin's music from Porgy and Bess, and we'll talk about the challenges a young pianist faces when trying to collaborate with French horn and violin.

From Troy New York, this week's From the Top features master cellist, Matt Haimovitz as our special guest artist. Maestro Haimovitz performs one of the most gorgeous pieces of chamber music written for the cello--David Popper's Requiem--with two wonderful teenage cellists and host Christopher O'Riley. We test his wits against some of the young performers on the show in a humorous cello trivia competition, and the program culminates with some of the genre bending Maestro Haimovitz has become famous for-—a rousing finale arranged for 5 cellos.

From Chattanooga, Tennessee this week's From the Top features a teenage quartet performing the music of Shostakovich. We'll hear an audio collage that reveals the role of faith, community, music, and ultimate Frisbee in a talented young singer's life, as well as the touching story of a family from St. Louis who decided to bring a young cellist from Mongolia into their lives...without ever having met her.

From SUNY Potsdam, this week's From the Top features a totally endearing 10-year-old pianist performing the music of Aaron Copland, a beautiful story about the relationship between music teacher and student shared with us by a young flutist from California, and a raucous performance of the music of Alberto Ginastera by a superb teenage string quartet from the Chicago area.