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From the Top
From the Top celebrates the passion, dedication, and personal stories of America's outstanding young classical musicians. Through entertaining radio and television broadcasts, online media, and a national tour of live events and outreach programs, these performers inspire the pursuit of excellence and encourage participation in the arts as an integral part of a vibrant and civil society.
Beginning in the mid-1990s with radio show pilots taped in New England Conservatory''s Jordan Hall, From the Top was the brainchild of an NEC trustee and a member of the NEC administration. Today, NPR distributes the "From the Top" radio program, produced in association with WGBH Radio Boston and New England Conservatory, its home and education partner.
Where you can find From the Top
RADIO Through NPR distribution, the "From the Top" radio show is heard on approximately 250 stations across the country by 750,000 listeners each week, and ranks among the top 5 weekly programs on radio along with long-term notables "Car Talk" and "A Prairie Home Companion."
TELEVISION WGBH in Boston and Carnegie Hall partner with From the Top to produce the PBS television series "From the Top at Carnegie Hall," which aired its first season beginning in 2007. Starting in April 2008, this became one of a handful of PBS programs to stream full seasons online (alongside such notables as "Frontline").
INTERNET Fromthetop.org has become a unique online community for young musicians, their parents, teachers, and the public at large. The Web site archives and disseminates the radio shows, educational material, interviews, and games centered on music. Television episodes are streamed by PBS, and NPR runs video clips from the radio show tapings as well as weekly, 15-minute podcasts. There is also a From the Top Facebook group.
SCHOOLS Through a partnership with textbook publisher McGraw-Hill, millions of second through twelfth graders read about From the Top performers in music texbooks and listen to their radio performances on companion CDs. Make Your Own Radio Show is a school-based residency program that connects students, master teachers, and young artists in the creative process of producing their own versions of "From the Top." The Turn It Up! program, based in three Boston Public Elementary Schools, brings children and parents to show tapings in Boston and visiting artists into the classroom.
COMMUNITY As of 2008, the radio show has taped episodes in 33 states. At every "From the Top" radio taping, performers receive Cultural Leadership Training that gives them the skills to share their music and stories with a variety of audiences in their own unique voices, making them more powerful communicators, arts advocates, and role models for younger children.
AWARDS New England Conservatory awards a guaranteed allotment towards tuition to alumni of the show who are accepted to and enroll at NEC. The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award annually provides 25 deserving young musicians with a $10,000 scholarship. Honorees of the Young Composer Project appear on the radio show and are paired with a professional composer for a one-on-one mentoring session.
How the radio show happened
In 1995, shortly after New England Conservatory had undergone an extensive renovation of Jordan Hall, the Board of Trustees and staff were charged to bring more people to more events in this remarkable concert venue.
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Soon after, standing on a street corner, Gerald Slavet, a trustee at NEC, and Jennifer Hurley-Wales, at the time the Acting Director of External Affairs, had one of those magical moments you see in movies. Jennifer said, "We should do an old-fashioned radio show in Jordan Hall." Jerry said, "Great idea, but it should focus on kids!"
In 1997, Hurley-Wales and Slavet "discovered" acclaimed pianist and NEC alumnus Christopher O’Riley '81 A.D (in photo), added him to the script as performer/host, and continued to refine the style of the show through pilot tapings in Jordan Hall.
Beginning in 2000, weekly broadcasts launched on 100 stations, up to 132 within the first month. By 2001, the show was carried by 200 stations—the fastest growth of any music program in history. In 2006, NPR began national distribution of the radio show. A year later, in 2007, the PBS television show "From the Top at Carnegie Hall" began. In 2008, Emmy-winning director Gary Halvorson came on to direct the second season of the television show, with episodes airing as of summer 2008.
More about the radio show
The Boston Globe has described From the Top as “an entertaining, accessible and often inspirational mix of outstanding musical performances, informal interviews, skits and games. It is an unpretentious mix of the ridiculous and the sublime; a celebration of extraordinary musicians who happen to be teenagers leading fairly normal lives.”
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The Minneapolis Star Tribune declared the program “By turns fresh, fun and profound, the show is as accessible as it is enlightening, and for that reason could turn out to be the best thing to happen to classical music since Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts!”
NBC-TV’s “Today” national correspondent Jamie Gangel said, “You don’t have to be a classical music fan to love this show. From the Top’s signature is not taking itself too seriously. While the musical performances are exquisite, there’s nothing snobby about the show. The program is punctuated with offbeat interviews and campy skits, but in the end, From the Top is all about the music. It’s what I call classy reality programming.”
Each one-hour program is recorded in a live concert either at its home, NEC’s Jordan Hall, or from around the country in such places and venues as the Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s Davies Hall, or communities from Honolulu to Rockport, Maine. The show features performances by soloists or ensembles ages 9-18 who are selected from a nationwide talent search, combined with lively interviews, unique pre-produced features, and radio theatre sketches. Responding to O'Riley's engaging and often whimsical manner, the guests share their passion for and knowledge of the genre, and reveal much about their non-musical lives, from career goals and siblings to favorite breakfast foods and pets.
Special guest artists, who have included Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Mark O’Connor, Richard Stoltzman, Dawn Upshaw, Edgar Meyer, Eileen Ivers, and Judy Collins often play with the young musicians and share their experiences in music.
From the Top is made possible through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. It is also supported through the generous contributions of individuals and foundations as well as radio stations around the country.
From the Top radio program is produced in association with WGBH Radio Boston and New England Conservatory, its home and education partner. NPR distributes "From the Top."
updated 12 May 2008