From the Top
NPR's From the Top showcases the music, stories, and unique humor of America's best young classical musicians.
Episodes
June 10, 2024 • 45 mins
We meet a teen composer who performs her own work on cello, learn about the beauty of the erhu, and discover the joy of marching bands through the experiences of a teen flutist. Learn more about the musicians and repertoire featured on this episode: https://fromthetop.org/show/show-449/
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June 3, 2024 • 31 mins
We talk about the healing nature of music with a violist who performs Schumann. We hear a vibrant performance inspired by Las Vegas from a teen pianist and join a young cellist as she performs and reflects on Cassadó's imaginative Dance of the Green Devil. Learn more about the musicians and repertoire featured on this episode: https://fromthetop.org/show/show-449/
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May 27, 2024 • 42 mins
Grammy Award-winning bass player Victor Wooten joins us for our exciting musical journey out of Nashville. A talented teen flutist plays an elegant Bach Sonata and then improvises on that same work with Victor Wooten and Peter Dugan. We meet the drum major from Tennessee State University's Aristocrat of Bands and hear selections from their Grammy Award-winning album. And if that's not enough, we are treated to a special collaborati...
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May 20, 2024 • 47 mins
Grammy Award-winning bass player Victor Wooten joins us this week as we celebrate great music out of Nashville! We hear an electric performance on violin, imitating sounds from Jimi Hendrix's guitar, by a teen musician who already holds a real job in an orchestra. We meet a talented pianist who performs Beethoven. And a teen bluegrass mandolin player with a career on the rise performs solo and collaborates on a toe-tapping tune wit...
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May 13, 2024 • 31 mins
A 15-year-old violinist introduces us to his charming coastal community of Damariscotta, Maine and a talented young banjo player brings us into her musical home in the foothills of Leicester, North Carolina. Co-host/violinist Tessa Lark draws on her own childhood in Kentucky as she reflects with Peter Dugan on the stories and performances of these talented young musicians from rural communities. Don't miss the videos of each hometo...
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May 6, 2024 • 45 mins
We meet a teen violinist down by the bayou in Monroe, Louisiana, travel to the rolling farmland of Redlands, California to the home of a driven young guitarist, and hear from a young composer who enjoys the support of his community in Fargo, North Dakota. Co-host/violinist Tessa Lark speaks about her own upbringing in Eastern Kentucky as she reflects with Peter Dugan on the experiences of these talented young artists from small tow...
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April 29, 2024 • 22 mins
We're paying homage to our beautiful planet and the works of art it inspires! A teen harpist from rural California performs Gary Schocker's Memory of Trees, a contemplation on the effects of climate change. Finally, a 17-year-old cellist plays The Swan and speaks of her work in environmental advocacy.
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April 22, 2024 • 38 mins
We're celebrating Earth Day with performances that celebrate our natural world. Up first, a young oboist performs a piece inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings of jimson weed and speaks about volunteering in a community garden. We also meet a teen pianist who performs Tan Dun's colorful homage to the Chinese countryside and a composer who connects with nature through the study of insects and shares a work inspired by the Salt Cr...
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April 15, 2024 • 30 mins
Peter collaborates with a 16-year-old violinist on an elegant rag. We hear Poulenc's trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano and meet one of Texas' premier high school orchestras who perform Shostakovich.
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Mark as Played
April 8, 2024 • 29 mins
How does ensemble size and instrumentation shape the listening experience? We hear from a 14-year-old violinist who feels passionately about music-making, meet a teen pianist who takes on Rachmaninoff, and hear Peter play Barber with a young cellist who speaks about the importance of a local music program in his life.
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Mark as Played
April 1, 2024 • 33 mins
We continue our exploration of the sonata with two teens from Southern California. We hear a bassoonist performing Saint Saëns and a pianist performing an exciting work by American composer Gabriela Lena Frank. Finally, we are treated to a flashback finale of an outstanding flutist playing Dorff's Salmon Lake.
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Mark as Played
March 25, 2024 • 42 mins
We hear a range of sonatas including Bach performed on marimba, a late Beethoven work for cello and piano, and a Brahms viola sonata. Performed by teens from Arizona and Texas!
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March 18, 2024 • 31 mins
We meet a violist with a love for Formula One racing who gives an evocative performance of Schumann. We hear a conversation between a teen clarinetist and his mentor, the principal clarinetist of the Minnesota Orchestra, who share much in common including leaving their homes in Costa Rica to study at Interlochen Arts Academy.
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Mark as Played
March 11, 2024 • 36 mins
A talented 12-year-old cellist performs The Swan by Saint-Saëns, a flutist with a passion for marine biology plays a dreamy Fantasie by Hüe, and the winner of Interlochen Arts Academy's Concerto Competition performs a difficult but rewarding work by Ysaÿe.
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Mark as Played
March 4, 2024 • 61 mins
18-year-old violinist and From the Top alum Julia LaGrand co-hosts this special episode dedicated to celebrating the stories and performances of disabled and neurodivergent musicians. Julia, who is blind, also interviews special guest Itzhak Perlman. We meet a 16-year-old double bassist who began studying music when spina bifida made it difficult to keep up with youth sports leagues, a 14-year-old pianist who uses Braille scores to...
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February 26, 2024 • 48 mins
We hear from a teenage guitar quartet playing a lively Brazilian piece, an oboist playing a new work by composer Reena Esmail, and a violinist who imagines herself in Brahms' world when she performs.
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Mark as Played
February 19, 2024 • 38 mins
We meet a 14-year-old pianist playing a Chopin Scherzo, a classical cellist who also plays rock covers, and a young trumpeter who gives insight into the physicality of playing his instrument.
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February 12, 2024 • 59 mins
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.
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February 5, 2024 • 59 mins
An encore episode dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the Sphinx Organization.We feature musical excerpts from a live performance by critically-acclaimed chamber orchestra, the Sphinx Virtuosi. We hear from musicians and educators whose lives have been changed by Sphinx and explore the pivotal role it has played in expanding diversity in the arts.
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Mark as Played
January 29, 2024 • 35 mins
We meet a percussionist from the famous LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts who gives a tour of the marimba to Peter Dugan, a 13-year-old cellist who loves both ballet and music, and a pianist who relates with the emotions of Schubert.
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Mark as Played
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