NPR: From the Top Podcast

We're exploring the intersection of music and neuroscience with young musicians who are gifted in both fields! We'll speak with musician-scientists like Zoie, a 15-year-old euphonium player who is researching how music can reduce stress and Jascha, a 17-year-old pianist who says he'd love to peek inside Bach's brain. And of course, we'll hear some thought-provoking and awe-inspiring performances along the way. This podcast was recorded at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California.

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This week features young musicians studying at the Colburn School in LA. They range from a 14-year-old cellist who shares 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.

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We're hearing great performances from young musicians who are inspired to connect their artistry with nature and their communities. A teen composer describes working with elementary school kids to create instruments out of trash and we hear from an 18-year-old violinist who reflects on the recent fires in her hometown of Altadena, California. Musicians, educators, eco-artists and sisters Josie and Sophie Davis join as co-hosts.

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Today's program offers incredible performances and a window into the lives of young musicians who are intertwining their artistry with their passion for nature, science, and the environment. We meet a teen who has turned scientific data and graphs into music, a composer who is inspired by conservation land in his home state of Maine, and a violinist who worked with elementary school children to turn ideas and artwork into a real garden. Musicians, educators, eco-artists and sisters Josie and Sophie Davis join as co-hosts.

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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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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 Creek Tiger Beetle.

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We reconnect with Seattle Symphony's Assistant Principal Cellist and From the Top alum Nathan Chan who joins Peter and our teen cellist for a Shostakovich polka. We also meet an accomplished young violinist who demonstrates some difficult bowing and a teen guitarist from Portland plays a rare duo with Peter.

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A teen pianist performs a beautiful Chopin Scherzo and then improvs in his other love, jazz, with Peter. A 17-year-old composer shares his violin fantasy. Finally, we meet a piano duo from Oregon who are surprised by a major influence in their musical lives, From the Top alum Greg Anderson, who is one half of the lauded Anderson and Roe duo.

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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 learn his repertoire, a 26-year-old cellist who believes his musical skills are sharpened by his autism, and a 16-year-old pianist with Escobar Syndrome who shares her journey to millions on social media. They perform works by Grieg, Liszt, and more.

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We explore repertoire from major and minor keys, highlighting how young artists express the character and nuance that each represent. We hear a teen cellist perform a bright and sunny work with ties to both the Baroque and Romantic eras, a young violinist brings a dark and stormy Beethoven Sonata, and a 17-year-old pianist performs a major fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier.

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We're back in Kansas City with a 17-year-old double bassist who gives a heartfelt performance of Bottesini's Elegy No. 1. We meet a teen composer and learn about her journey in writing music, including creating an imaginative ocean adventure for the famous Kronos Quartet which you'll hear! Finally, we enjoy a flashback performance by prize-winning violinist Maria Ioudenitch from when she was a teen living in Kansas City.

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From Kansas City, we explore the connection between music and math with a 16-year-old pianist who also happens to be a champion swimmer. We hear a majestic performance of Dukas by a teen French horn player. A young flutist performs Ian Clarke's The Great Train Race and describes the technical and artistic challenges of emulating the sounds of a train in this exhilarating work.

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Our 25th birthday celebration continues with a dazzling performance of Chopin by a gifted 16-year-old cellist. We are treated to a performance of Vivaldi by a young bassoonist and witness a life-changing surprise. Peter sends us off with a flashback performance from when the legendary Paquito D'Rivera appeared on the show.

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It's From the Top's 25th birthday! We meet a 13-year-old violinist who is equally accomplished in classical repertoire and fiddling. A 16-year-old pianist from New York performs a brilliant Beethoven Sonata and talks about her incredible experience in publishing. Finally, we reconnect with From the Top alum Yuna Langehennig and learn about her journey to becoming an Airman First Class in the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. She brings along her ensemble Heritage Winds and they perform a rousing work by Paquito D'Rivera.

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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!

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This week we hear some of our team's favorite moments from the program!! You'll hear a thrilling teenage trio perform Beethoven, meet a young cellist with a moving story about the power of music, and enjoy a gorgeous performance of Bach by a social media-savvy teen oboist and violinist Tessa Lark and Peter Dugan.

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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!

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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.

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A teen violinist performs the memorable Figaro from The Barber of Seville and a mezzo soprano sings a gorgeous lullaby from a Venezuelan composer and shares her passion for singing works in Spanish. We also hear from a teen trumpeter and decorated Eagle Scout who turned to YouTube and the world's best trumpeters to help get his start on his instrument.

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New York Philharmonic President and CEO Deborah Borda joins Peter Dugan as co-host and shares insights into her iconic career at the helm of the country's leading orchestras. She speaks with an inspiring 16-year-old violist who is an emerging leader in her own right. We also meet an articulate young composer who wants her music to bring people joy and healing, a teen clarinetist who has traveled the world with his musical parents, and a pianist with a passion for acting. They give incredible performances of Prokofiev, Enescu, Kovács, and more.

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Philadelphia Orchestra's Principal Bassist Joseph Conyers is back as co-host as we meet a bright teen harpist whose commitment to her instrument is so strong she commutes weekly from Virginia to New York for lessons and a vibrant 12-year-old guitarist plays a fiery work by Roland Dyens and talks about his love for fishing, movies, and performing with his sisters. Peter Dugan and Joseph Conyers open the program with a moving interpretation of Florence Price's Adoration.

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We're in Philadelphia where we meet a local teen composer who aspires to create more opportunities for fellow Black composers and learn how co-host Joseph Conyers, Philadelphia Orchestra's principal bassist, is making an impact through his service to the community. We also hear a young violinist perform a phenomenal work by contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery.

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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 collaboration between our hosts!

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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 with Victor Wooten and Peter Dugan.

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A 15-year-old violinist introduces us to his charming coastal community of Damariscotta, Maine and a talented young banjo player ensconced in the blue grass music scene 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 hometown visit at fromthetop.org.

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We're on a musical journey in small town and rural America. 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 towns. Don't miss the videos of each hometown visit at fromthetop.org.

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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 of the effects of climate change. Finally, a 17-year-old cellist will play The Swan and speak of her work in environmental advocacy.

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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 Creek Tiger Beetle.

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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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Pianist Orli Shaham meets an 11-year-old violinist who moved from Sydney to New York to pursue music and collaborates with a gifted teen on Rebecca Clarke's viola sonata. Finally, we meet a pianist who tells us about Chopin's mazurkas and life at his New England boarding school. More at: https://fromthetop.org/show/show-450/

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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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