From the Top

Sundays at 6:00pm on Classical WETA 90.9FM

Hear the next generation of classical champions as talented teens from across the nation play the classics in concert. Often credited for its innovative and fun approach to classical music, From the Top has helped to build a bridge between classical music and youth.

Upcoming Broadcasts

Morristown, NJ

Sunday, July 19, 2020 - 6:00pm

From the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey, this week’s From the Top is hosted by pianist Peter Dugan and features a variety of music, including an imaginative piece composed by a 17-year-old composer, an exuberant performance of “Café Music”, and Gustav Holst’s magnificent “Jupiter” from The Planets performed on organ.

Sorella Piano Trio: Ashley Kim, piano, 17; Renée Choi, violin,17; Yireh Choi, cello, 14, from Demarest, NJ performing Café Music, I. Allegro by Paul Schoenfield (b.1947)
Alice McDonald, 17, clarinet from Housatonic, MA performing Solo de Concours by André Charles Prosper Messager (1853-1929)
Peter Dugan performing: Une promenade à travers le Metropolitan by Ethan Resnik, 17, composer & pianist from Bedford, NY
Hannah Tam, violin, 14, from Philadelphia, PA performing Caprice Basque, Op. 24 by Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908)
Daniel Colaner, organ, 15, from Akron, OH performing “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” from The Planets, Op. 32 by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) arr. by Peter Sykes

Morristown, NJ

Sunday, July 26, 2020 - 6:00pm

From the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey, this week’s From the Top, hosted by Peter Dugan, brings together a number of young people who are driven to achieve in music, from a pianist from New Jersey who was influenced by his mother’s struggles to a young Guatemalan-American vocalist who has overcome obstacles to get where he is today.

Sarah Tindall, cello, 18, from Harleysville, PA performing Requiebros by Gaspar Cassadó (1897-1966)
Emmanuel Yoque, voice, 16, from Los Angeles, CA performing Widmung, Op. 25, No. 1 by Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Max Wang, piano, 15, from Plainsboro, NJ performing The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, No. 3: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ major, BWV 848 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Serin Park, violin, 15, from Fort Lee, NJ performing Caprice d'après l'étude en forme de valse de Saint-Saëns by Eugène Auguste Ysaÿe (1858-1931)
Bernards High School Madrigals, from Bernardsville, NJ performing All My Heart This Night Rejoices by Z. Randall Stroope (b 1953) and Fōg Elnā Khel by Salem Bali (b.1946)

Boston, MA

Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 6:00pm

Guest Host cellist Paul Katz joins From the Top for this broadcast featuring outstanding musicians from all over the world participating in the 23rd annual Morningside Music Bridge program held at New England Conservatory.

Anthony Choi and Paul Katz, cello, and Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano performing I. Andante, II. Allegro from Sonata for Two Cellos in G Minor, Op. 2, No. 8, by George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
Mohammad Alsheikh, piano performing Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Nahar Eliaz, cello performing I. Preludio-Fantasia from Suite for Solo Cello by Gaspar Cassadó (1897-1966)
Yizilin Liang, viola and Qiuning Jonie Huang, piano performing III. Allegretto grazioso from Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hannah Pozorska, violin and Akiko Tominaga, piano performing I. The Fountain of Arethusa from "Myths", Op. 30 by Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Anna Stube, violin, Paul Katz, cello, and Henry From, piano performing I. Allegro from Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 “Ghost" by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Portland, ME

Sunday, August 9, 2020 - 6:00pm

From Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine, this week’s episode features guest host Orli Shaham.

Fervida Piano Trio, from San Francisco, California performing Piano Trio in D, Op. 70 No. 1, Ghost, I. Allegro vivace e con brio by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Christian Chiu, piano, 17, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania performing Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 90 No. 3 by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Annabel Parker, soprano, 17, from Rockport, Maine performing Quella faimma che m’accende by Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739)
Joshua Choi, clarinet, 13, from Palisades Park, New Jersey performing Clarinet Sonata in Eb Major, Op. 167, IV. Molto allegro by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Joshua Rosenthal, violin, 16, from Damariscotta, Maine & Josie Davis, violin, From the Top alumna, from Rockport, Maine performing Limerock by Mark O’Connor

Portland, ME

Sunday, August 16, 2020 - 6:00pm

Guest host Orli Shaham joins From the Top at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine on this week’s From the Top, featureing music from Sarasate, Saint-Saëns, and Ravel.

Leila Hudson, harp, 17, from Yorktown Heights, New York performing La Source by Adolphe Hasselmans (1845-1912)
Colin Aponte, violin, 15, from Blue Hill, Maine performing Introduction and Tarantella by Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908)
Laura Navasardian, cello, 15, from New York, New York performing The Swan (Le Cygne) from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
John Robert Santiago, flute, 17, from Rowland Heights, California performing Hypnosis by Ian Clarke (b. 1964)
Huan Li, piano, from New York, New York performing Alborada del gracioso from “Miroirs” by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Recent Broadcasts

Boston, MA

Sunday, July 12, 2020 - 6:00pm

This week’s episode from Boston features the duo Michael Thurber and Tessa Lark as guest hosts alongside outstanding musicians from across the country. We meet a teenage trumpet player who had to overcome major hardship in his home country of Macedonia to pursue music, an 11-year-old pianist who performs a piece by Chopin, and an award-winning string quartet who teams up with the guest hosts for a high-energy finale.

Kalico Quartet (Lena-Marie DeMayo Stoger, violin, 17; Cheng Io Lo, violin, 18; Kevin Wallace, viola, 17; Andrew Wallace, cello, 17) performing I. Allegro ma non tanto from String Quartet In C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
David Smith, cello, 16, performing I. Vivace from Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with Michael Thurber, bass and Tessa Lark, violin
Thatcher Harrison, guitar, 18, performing Iris at Sunrise, by Thatcher Harrison
Julia Zhou, piano, 11, performing Nocturne in D Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2, by Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849)
Aleksander Vitanov, trumpet, 18, performing III. Allegro con fuoco from Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, by Eric Ewazen (1954-)
Michael Thurber, bass and Tessa Lark, violin with Kalico Quartet performing Cedar and Sage, by Michael Thurber and Tessa Lark

Bowdoin, ME

Saturday, July 4, 2020 - 6:00pm

Concert pianist Orli Shaham guest hosts this week’s From the Top from Brunswick, Maine! We’ll hear her talk shop with a superb teenage pianist who performs the music of Brahms, meet a violinist from Maine who happens to do serious biomedical research when he’s not in the practice room, and a very young, very fun brother-sister guitar duo plays contemporary music from Brazil.

Jiaxun “Caroline” Yao, Cello, 16, from Flushing, NY performing: I. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto from the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Claude Debussy with Orli Shaham, piano
Davisson Guitar Duo: Elle Davisson, 10, and Jack Davisson, 13, from Palo Alto, CA performing: “Jongo” by Paulo Bellinati (b.1950)
Aaron Brown, Bassoon, 17, from Shapleigh, ME performing: I. Vivace from the Sonata for Bassoon and Piano by William Hurlstone, with Orli Shaham, piano.
Avery Gagliano, Piano, 17, from Philadelphia, PA performing: I. Intermezzo in A minor and III. Ballade in G minor from 6 Klavierstücke, Op.118 by Johannes Brahms
Brandon Aponte, Violin, 17, from Blue Hill, ME performing: “Méditation” from Thaïs by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), with Orli Shaham, piano
Finale: All performers with Orli Shaham perform VI. Le Pas Espagnol from Dolly Suite, Op.56 by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), arr. by Simon Frisch

Interlochen, MI

Sunday, May 31, 2020 - 6:00pm

From the Corson Auditorium at Interlochen Center for the Arts, this week’s From the Top features a cast made up entirely by students of the renowned high school. Film and television actor Damon Gupton is guest host and sets the stage for a young tubist who performs a virtuosic concerto backed by the full orchestra, a group of seven percussionists perform the aptly titled work “Shared Space”, and a 17-year-old cellist passionately performs a beautiful work by Tchaikovsky.

JunMing Wen, 17-year-old tuba player from Guangzhou, China, currently studying at Interlochen, performing: I. Prelude. Allegro moderato from the Tuba Concerto by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), with the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Leslie B. Dunner
Esther Chae, 17-year-old cellist from Miami, FL, currently studying at Interlochen, performing: Pezzo Capriccioso by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), with Michelle Cann, piano
Interlochen Percussion Ensemble performing: Shared Space by Ivan Trevino (b.1983 Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra performing: Selections from Swan Lake, Op. 20 by Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), conducted by guest host, Damon Gupton.
Luis Marquez Teruel, 17-year-old bassoonist from Venezuela, currently studying at Interlochen, performing: II. Allegro scherzando from the Sonata for Bassoon and Piano by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), with Michelle Cann, piano
Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Leslie B. Dunner, performing Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez (b.1950).