From the Top

This week features young musicians studying at the Colburn School in LA. They range from a 14-year-old cellist with a mature performance of Beethoven to the winners of a major chamber music competition whose secret to success just might be their musical handshake. We also hear from an incredible trumpeter, a globe-trotting teen violinist, and a 15-year-old pianist performing Mendelssohn.

We hear the first work Brahms wrote for a solo instrument and a stunning Wieniawski Polonaise played by a 13-year-old violinist. We also meet a teenage baritone who has been drawn to community activism since childhood, a guitarist who plays an arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's Night in Tunisia, and a young pianist who shares a special tip she got from piano superstar Lang Lang... play like a grandma!

In recognition of Black History Month, this highlight program celebrates outstanding performances by Black musicians on From the Top through the years. Hosted by Peter Dugan and David Norville, an alumnus, oboist, and former Assistant Producer at From the Top.

A pianist speaks of his passion for rocket science and his work with NASA, a talented teen violinist plays Beethoven and shares how an accident transformed his musicianship, a young composer shares a piece inspired by the loss of a loved one, and a versatile saxophonist plays Coltrane.

Violinist Charles Yang returns as co-host. We meet a bubbly teen violinist, a pianist with a mission to connect with audiences, and a cellist who opens up about mental health. The Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir sing us out with a performance that will have you on your feet and smiling!

We meet a teenage pianist with an affinity for horror movie scores, a percussionist who adapts Debussy for marimba, a talented violinist who likes to read books upside down, and an outstanding trio from Utah play Café Music. They all answer the question — why classical music?

Guest Host Orli Shaham finds common ground with a pair of siblings who remind her of growing up with her brother Gil. A lively quartet from Chicago play Ravel. A teen soprano speaks about representation in classical music and connecting with a composer who shares her heritage. A talented young pianist talks about having pianist parents.

We'll hear the adrenaline filled performances taking place at the 37th Annual Irving M. Klein International String Competition, meet the players, hear from the jury, and of course, learn who wins. Violinist Tessa Lark and pianist Peter Dugan co-host this portrait of one of our country's top competitions for young players.

Pianist Orli Shaham guest hosts. We meet a sensational 11-year-old pianist, a self-directed flutist who describes the mouthwatering food he finds in his hometown, a violinist who shares a moving piece inspired by the Holocaust, a young harpist who explores her creativity on her own Youtube Channel, and a thoughtful teenage violinist with a multicultural background.

Brothers from Chicago talk Formula One racing and share performances of Ysaÿe and Kovács, an award-winning chamber group from San Francisco plays a fiery Spanish trio, and a teen violinist talks about his interest in neuroscience and performs Mozart.

This special episode is dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the Sphinx Organization. Featuring musical excerpts from a live performance by critically-acclaimed chamber orchestra, the Sphinx Virtuosi, and stories told by the musicians, leaders, and educators whose lives have been changed by Sphinx. It also explores the pivotal role Sphinx has played in expanding diversity in the arts.

In honor of long-time From the Top announcer Joanne Robinson, this program features some of Robinson's superb comedic contributions to From the Top skits and humor segments. It also features performances by young performers personally chosen by Joanne Robinson for their power and joy.

A moving and sensitive performance of the music of Dvorak performed by a teenage cellist from Chicago, a young violinist from Washington, D.C. who loves to contemplate dark matter when he's not practicing the music of Bach, a teenage trombone quartet made up of two sets of siblings and more.

The young artists on this week's show bring a range of musical choices to the program, including a Nocturne, a romance, and a piece that chronicles the African diaspora. We also meet a piano duo who act a bit like the odd couple, but they perform with beautiful unity. Clarinetist Alex Laing co-hosts and performs Weber with Host Peter Dugan.

Special guest Kevin Olusola co-hosts this commemoration of Juneteenth featuring outstanding young Black musicians performing works by Florence Price, Coleridge-Taylor, Sam Cooke and more.

A tenor from coastal Maine who helps out with his Dad's lobster fishing business, a talented teenage violinist who got his start following YouTube tutorials, an award-winning teenage sax quartet, and a pianist who is passionate about music history all share their music on this week's episode.

Genre-bending violinist Charles Yang returns as co-host, collaborating with some incredible teen musicians from Texas. And don't miss the outstanding double-bassist who gives a fiery performance.

This FTT Mini features guitarist Jiyeon Kim who appeared on From the Top back in 2011. Check out how she blew us away with her virtuosic performance of Paganini's Caprice No. 24 on the guitar.

This FTT Mini celebrates pianist Jennifer Tu's appearance on our program back in 2010. She performs Claude Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse and tells a funny story of how a desire for revenge first motivated her to begin in music.

A 14-year-old violinist plays the wonderful Carmen Fantasy, a teen cellist plays an exciting Chopin Polonaise, a pianist recalls a childhood fear of Mickey Mouse, a violist shows off her talent for songwriting, and an inspiring teenage composer shares a new work.

FTT Alum, Marcelina Suchocka went on to become a founding member of Excelsis Percussion Ensemble, a group of amazing women percussionists. They tel their story and then perform "Threads" by Paul Lansky.

Back in 2004, the brilliant young organist, Keenan Boswell performed a movement of the Trio Sonata No. 1 in E Flat by J.S. Bach. In this FTT Mini, we revisit that and hear his funny story about being spooked in a cathedral at night.

A teenage mezzo soprano sings from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma" and shares stories about her Hawaiian background. We also meet a fantastic 13-year-old pianist who performs Chopin, a violist who aims to become tri-lingual social venture capitalist, and two young violinists tackle Bach and Wieniawski.

In this short form FTT Mini, we revisit Mostly Winds, an ensemble at the Interlochen Arts Academy. They play the music of Antonin Dvorak and we learn just how little arts students on the campus know about baseball.

This week's FTT Mini features 17-year-old harpist, Kerry Watson's performance of "Contemplation" by Henriette Renié. Also, Kerry shares a humorous pet peeve regarding people's reaction to her instrument.

We are treated to a rare performance by a brilliant teenage harpsichordist. We also meet a flutist who's helping connect kids with free music lessons, a trumpet player who's a leader in her student government, and a sibling duo who bring musical joy to their local children's hospital.

This FTT Mini episode features Dasha Bukhartseva, a young pianist from Ukraine who came on our program in 2007. We hear from two American tourists who arranged for her to study here and Dasha performs two Ukrainian pieces.

In recognition of Black History Month, this highlight program celebrates outstanding performances by Black musicians on From the Top through the years. Co-hosted by pianist Peter Dugan and producer/oboist David Norville, an alumnus of From the Top.

Teenagers studying at the famous Colburn School in Los Angeles perform adventuresome music including an emotional violin piece by Filipino composer, Abelardo, and a virtuosic clarinet duo performed by two BFFs.

Back in 2007, the Newman String Quartet brought the house down with their performance Debussy's String Quartet in G minor. This FTT Mini revisits that amazing moment and we learn what makes this group tick.

In 2003, the Ottava Trio, made up members of the Link Family graced the stage of From the Top and performed with such unity and precision we've never forgotten it. Check out their performance of the third movement of Serenade by Zoltán Kodály on this FTT Mini

On From the Top's annual "Where Are They Now Show" host Peter Dugan meets up with alumni of the program to discover the exciting creative projects they're doing now that they're in their 20s. We hear the music of Mozart, Bernard Hermann, John Adams and more.

In this week's FTT Mini, 14-year-old pianist Evan Ritter narrates a moving story about his life and the role of piano in it, and then delivers ferocious performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique.

9 teenagers from Chicago's legendary Percussion Scholarship Group brought the house down when they performed the high energy piece, "Marimba Spiritual" on From the Top back in 2009. Check out this treasure from our archive.

A teenage violist with a talent for astronomy performs the music of Brahms ... a fiery violinist performs music from "The Red Violin" and shares his perspectives growing up with Aspeger's syndrome and a teenage pianist who's already touring the world as a pro performs Chopin.

Composer Joshua Deutsch wrote his evocative composition, Shades of Rain for woodwinds and cello as a teenager and we featured it way back in 2000. Featuring several short movements, it explores the differing moods of rain in Seattle, Washington.

Teenage pianists David Allakhverdov,and Weiyin Chen,17, tear up the keyboard in a performance of Variations on a Theme by Paganini by Witold Lutoslawski

Clarinetist Anthony McGill makes a guest appearance performing Brahms with a 14-year-old cellist, bonding with a teenage clarinet quintet over their shared instrument, and recalling stories from his childhood.

17-year-old Erhu player narrates a colorful multilayered audio introduction to this traditional Chinese instrument and then performs a medley to two contrasting Erhu pieces.

A 16-year-old violist plays one of Brahms' most beautiful sonatas, a young percussionist shares an experience that inspired him to connect with his Mexican-American heritage, and a teen violinist recalls his "bucket list" performance at the White House for First Lady Michelle Obama.

Corey Dundee, who is now a member of the award winning Kenari Quartet, appeared on From the Top as a teenager. Here his teen performance of Russell Peck's "The Upward Stream" with the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of Erich Kunzel

This week we hear a mambo for harp, one of Debussy's earliest works, a Spiritual arranged by composer Margaret Bonds, and a fiddle finale with a 12-year-old national champion. Violinist Tessa Lark joins as co-host.

This week's short form podcast features a 17-year-old pianist performing an excerpt from Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 1 and her swim-team coach chimes in to rave about her performance in the pool.

A pair of sisters from New York deliver a brilliant performance of Mozart. They're joined by a 16-year-old pianist playing Chopin, a talented young composer, and a violist who shares her powerful experiences with synesthesia.

Horror movies can definitely inspire a great classical music performance. They certainly inspired 14-year-old harpist Anna DeLoi in 2010. Back then, Anna shared a chilling tale and a riveting performance that's bound to get you ready for the spookiest of seasons. Check it out on this week's installment of our short-form series of amazing FTT moments from the archives.

A piano duo plays Saint-Saëns' thrilling Danse Macabre, a teenage violinist performs Jessie Montgomery's "Peace" and reflects on a stunning experience deep in a cave in Virginia, we also hear from a winner of the prestigious Junior Sphinx competition.

In 2002, then 18-year-old guitarist Gohar Vardanyan treated our audiences to a inspired performance of Spanish guitar music and a funny story about her dad. 19 years later, we're revisiting that moment as part of our new short-form series of amazing FTT moments from the archives.

The young violist on this week's show actually built his own instrument. Hear that story alongside dazzling performances of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Jessie Montgomery and more.

In 2001, 12-year-old composer Sebastian Chang shared his brilliant music with us. Twenty years later, his compositions are now performed by orchestras around the world. Hear Sebastian's early days as a composer as part of our new short-form series of amazing FTT moments from the archives.

Featuring some of the most exciting performances from the past few seasons, this program features a powerful performance of a Chopin's Sonata; a moving story from a teenage guitarist who fled Iran for religious reasons, and a showy and charismatic performance of the Carmen Fantasy by a 16-year-old violinist.