Category: Alumni

  • If you like to stay in the loop on the classical music, a cappella, or even popular music scenes these days, you’ve almost certainly heard of From the Top alum, Kevin Olusola. First featured as a saxophonist on Show 144 when he was 17, Kevin was invited back to perform on From the Top at […]

  • There’s no doubt about it; being on NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley is a big deal for our young musicians. They work very hard to perfect their playing, and they even get a chance to rehearse their interviews before stepping up to the microphone. When it’s over, there’s a palpable sense of […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • This interview is part of This Land/Our Land, a music video project bringing together six young musicians from immigrant backgrounds to perform a new arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The arrangement is by From the Top host Christopher O’Riley. Watch the video here. Want more stories like this? Scroll down to […]

  • Friends, Federal support for the arts, humanities, and public broadcasting has been getting a lot of attention these days, and, unfortunately, it’s not because of all the wonderful things we do. If you’re wondering what you can do to help, check out our 3 Actions You Can Take Right Now. (And, Alumni – we need you!) What’s Happening The […]

  • In every city or town that we visit to record an episode of NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley, we work hard to celebrate the power of music in the hands of young people. But what does that mean, exactly? Well, it depends on the community. No matter where we go, we seek […]

  • Photo: Chantell Ziegler From the Top alum Molly Yeh (pronounced “yay!”) went to Juilliard to study percussion but came away with a love for food that has spawned a career in culinary writing. Her blog, my name is yeh, chronicles her life on a sugar-beet farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border with her farmer husband, eggboy (a […]

  • We believe in the power of music in the hands of young musicians. Do you? Join From the Top alumni, fans, and family in trumpeting (pun intended) the awesomeness that young musicians bring to the world by adding your note to our #Note4Note online giving campaign. Here’s how it works: 1. You give a dollar, […]

  • Happy #ArtsMatterDay, Massachusetts!  Arts & culture drive the economy, enhance education, build community, and embrace diversity & inclusion. They encourage us to explore new and unfamiliar ideas in safe spaces. Karen Cueva, a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship and a From the Top alum, writes: “The arts matter because they offer multiple entry points to […]

  • What would it look like to launch a new orchestra from the ground up while trying to be accessible, appealing, and, most importantly, social? That is the question that From the Top alum and conductor Matthew Szymanski posed to a group of like-minded friends back in 2014. Over time, the answer became clear and Matt […]

  • Violinist Suliman Tekalli, an alum who was 12 years old when he appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley on Show 22, is now a 28-year-old prolific performer and composer who is involved in several important areas of the classical world. We caught up with him to hear about his musical adventures. What do you […]

  • 24-year-old pianist, Clifton Williams appeared on NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley on  Show 195, recorded in March 2009 at age 19, and then again on Show 296, recorded in October 2014 at age 22. In conjunction with his first performance on the show, he also received From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Here […]

  • 22-year-old violinist Kenneth Renshaw appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley most recently on Show 228, recorded in February 2011. Previously he appeared on Shows 211 and 186. In conjunction with his first performance on the show in 2008, he received From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Here is what he has been up to since […]

  • 24-year-old clarinetist Matthew Dykeman appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley on Show 199, recorded in June 2009. On the show, he received From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Here is what Matthew has been up to since then, along with some of his thoughts on how the award has impacted his […]

  • Hello readers! It’s only been two weeks since I started the Klarman fellowship but I feel like I’ve done so much already! Last week I went on a trip to Michigan where the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp is in session, where I actually spent my summers as a tiny fourth grader skipping around campus singing […]

  • 24-year-old soprano Natanya Washer appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley on Show 199, recorded in June of 2009. On the show, she received From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Here is what she has been up to since then, along with some of her thoughts on how the award has impacted […]