From the Top

From the Top with host Christopher O'Riley is a weekly radio series that showcases the nation's most exceptional pre-college age classical musicians. Each one-hour program presents five young performers or ensembles whose stunning individual performances are combined with lively interviews, unique pre-produced segments, and lighthearted musical games.





Program Listings:
May 25, 2013
Chautauqua, New York
This week, From the Top comes to you from the country’s oldest day camp, Chautauqua Institution, where we are performing in the beautiful Chautauqua Amphitheater. You’ll hear a young composer play piano for one of his own compositions with a talented violinist, as well as a talented 18-year-old soprano, a violinist from Illinois, a 13-year-old pianist, and a guitarist from Minnestoa.
Violinist Laura Park, 18, from Des Plaines, IL performs the Waltz-Scherzo, Op.34 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley, piano.
Guitarist Xavier Jara, 18, from Arlington, MN performing the Sonata in D major, K.53 by Domenico Scarlatti.
Soprano Emily Helenbrook, 18, from Alexander, NY sings "O luce di quest'anima" (Oh! star that guid’st my fervent love) from the opera Linda di Chamounix by Gaetano Donizetti, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley, piano.
Composer, pianist, and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Franz Zhao, 17, from San Francisco, CA performs his piece "Ideas" for violin and piano with violinist Alexandra "Allie" Switala, 18, from Grapevine, TX.
Ho Joon Kim, piano, age 13 from Los Angeles, CA performs the Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 in C-Sharp minor by Franz Liszt.

June 1, 2013
Where Are They Now?
On this highlight show, From The Top showcases past alumni and outlines what they are doing now.
Performers and repertoire to be announced.

June 8, 2013
Princeton, New Jersey
This week, we’re at Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University in a special episode that features the American Boychoir.
Performers and repertoire to be announced.

June 15, 2013
Brunswick, Maine
This week, From the Top comes to you from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where a 17-year-old cellist performs Rachmaninoff, a 15-year-old Washington native plays Poulenc on the violin, and a From the Top alumnus currently studying at Bowdoin plays piano.
Cellist Ben Manis, 17, from Chicago, IL performs III. Andante from Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Violinist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Gloria Ferry-Brennan, 15, from Langley, WA performs I. Allegro con fuoco from Sonata by Francis Poulenc
Pianist Allen Yu, 19, from Cohoes, NY performs The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, arr. Horowitz
Elan Duo (violinist Nash Ryder, 16, from Arundel, ME, and harpist Anna DeLoi, 16, from Plaistow, NH) performs Prelude from the Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy, arr. Jolles and Lucarelli
Clarinetist Moon Sun Yoo, 17, from Korea (studying at the Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA) performs Introduction, Theme and Variation by Gioachino Rossini

June 22, 2013
El Paso, Texas
This week, From the Top comes to you from The Plaza Theatre in El Paso, Texas. This live taping was presented by the El Paso Summer Music Festival.
Performer and repertoire information to be announced.

June 29, 2013
Beijing, China I
From the Top is at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, with the talented students from the Great Wall International Music Academy. You’ll hear several talented musicians who hail from Kentucky to Shanghai, as well as hear a famous Chinese folk composer’s piece played by the Great Wall Soloists.
Violinist Zhang Jin Ru, 16 from Shanghai performs the Polonaise No.1 in D major, Op.4 by Henryk Wieniawski, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley, piano.
Cellist Carolyn Ronning, 17 from Noblesville, Indiana performs Allegro Appassionato by Camille Saint-Saëns, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley, piano.
Mei Di Yang viola, age 17 from Beijing. Performing 1. Allegro appassionata (4:05 w/cuts) from the Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.120 by Johannes Brahms, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley, piano.
Violinists Skye Park, 10 from Lexington, Kentucky and Christina Nam, 9 from West Chester, Ohio perform I. Vivace from the Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043 by Johann Sebastian Bach with Kurt Sassmannshaus and the Great Wall Soloists.
Great Wall Soloists, Kurt Sassmannshaus, conductor perform "Moon Reflecting in the Erquan Pond" by Abing, arr. Wu Zuqiang.


About the host:
Christopher O'Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music through media, contemporary music and innovative programming. In addition to hosting From the Top's radio and television programs and appearing with top orchestras and festivals around the world, O'Riley is also an interpreter of some of the most important contemporary popular music of our time. He lives by the Duke Ellington adage, "there are only two kinds of music, good music and bad." O'Riley has performed two-piano arrangements of Astor Piazzolla's tangos and collaborated with choreographer Martha. He has recorded two discs of his own re-imaginings of Radiohead songs, as well as a tribute to Elliot Smith. O'Riley's Second Grace: Music of Nick Drake, interprets the work of singer/songwriter Nick Drake. In spring 2009, his series '2+2=5' at Columbia University's Miller Theatre bridged his own piano transcriptions with classical compositions. O'Riley is a recipient of top prizes and awards from the Van Cliburn Competition and the Avery Fisher Career Grants. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.