Category: Uncategorized

After being on From the Top, Tommy Topper went to college at NEC, won several competitions, and then brought music lessons to shelter dogs in Ontario. And then there’s Tanya Topper… We haven’t heard anything from Tanya Topper. She’s probably doing amazing things, but we’re not sure what they are because we haven’t heard from […]

APRIL FOOLS! No, we are in fact NOT sending musicians into space for an intergalactic concerto competition. We discussed the possibilities, but unfortunately the Intergalactic Alliance has since disbanded due to heated disagreements regarding what kind of cheese was best for moon construction. What we DO have is a list of awesome opportunities that we […]

CORRECTED VERSION: We accidentally hit publish too soon on this post last week. In this version, we use the proper spelling of “app”, and fixed some links. Thanks for your patience.  Dear From the Top mobile app users, We’re sad to share the news that as of February 29, 2016, we are shutting down our […]

“When I was four, I took [my father’s] trumpet when he was taking a break, and I got a good sound.” Elmer Churampi told Christopher O’Riley on Show 268. “On that day, he told me that I was going to be a trumpet player.” And that he would. From the moment Elmer picked up the trumpet, […]

NEW SHOW: From Denver, Colorado, this week’s episode features a special guest appearance by one of America’s finest living film composers, Danny Elfman. Our young musicians perform arrangements of his music from the soundtracks of Milk and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Mr. Elfman also shares stories from his own colorful teenage years, and a phenomenal […]

On Friday, February 20th, From the Top’s Education team lead its group of young musicians through the snow-banked streets of Boston. This particular Friday evening would be a bit different than others, and not just because of the weather. Amid the winding, bustling halls of the Boston Children’s Museum, there is a special, large space designed specifically for […]

Tour buses line the streets in San Francisco, filled with gawking visitors to the city, snapping pictures at the multitude of historic sights. On February 13, though, a 40-person bus parks in front of the Hotel Whitcomb to pick up some local teenage residents of the bay area. Fourteen musicians, all students at the San […]

REPEAT SHOW: From North Carolina, this week’s show features the return appearance of a From the Top alum who went on to win a top prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition this year. He’s the first American to become a medalist in over 16 years. We’ll also meet a teenage bassoonist with a […]

Clare Semes, who appeared on Show 108 in 2004, has made a big name for herself in the violin world. Check out the video premier of her duo with violinist Chelsea Starbuck Smith. The group, called Les Deux, performs an original arrangement of variations on Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

REPEAT BROADCAST: Show 243, recorded in December 2011. This week, from the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, From the Top celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the eyes of today’s teenagers. You’ll hear the superb Boston Children’s Chorus sing several inspiring pieces and meet a 17-year-old bassoonist […]

Show 298, recorded in Greenville, South Carolina, in November 2014. This week’s episode features one of the strongest youth choirs in the “Palmetto State” performing a moving new work by a local South Carolina composer. We’ll also meet a euphonium player who performs with the speed and dexterity of a flutist, and we’ll enjoy Bach […]

Published on Feb 18, 2014 Recorded at the Tivoli Theatre and nearby schools Chattanooga, Tennessee Visit our YouTube channel and subscribe today to get great kids and great music in your inbox!

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 a cool, crisp November day last fall, as the leaves completed their yearly makeover of the New England hills, painting them in swaths of red and orange, a rainstorm was brewing INSIDE of Boston’s Symphony Hall. Some of the area’s best musicians had gathered on stage of the historic music venue along with From […]

We would like to think that if Beethoven arrived in the 21st century, hearing magically restored, he would see the performers on From the Top as a sign of the invigorated future for classical music, full of passion, humor, and music that defies labels. He’d see the music schools and programs that we visit around […]

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 […]

As the thunder subsided and the rainclouds parted high above the Aspen Music Festival grounds on August 4, a phenomenal double rainbow appeared over Harris Concert Hall, just as the last ticket-buyers were hurrying in to the hall to see From the Top’s live taping. Thanks to generous support from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, […]

by Jingxuan Zhang Jack of all trades, yet master of all, 19-year-old From the Top alumnus Conrad Tao – pianist, violinist, and composer – can be pithily summed up as a thinker. “Thinker” is not the most titillating of words; however, it fits Conrad perfectly because he uses his artistry in the humblest way to […]

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced that From the Top is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. From the Top is recommended for two grants totaling $105,000 to support production of From the Top’s weekly radio show and From the Top’s education and outreach programs. […]