From the Top Green Room » leadership

Matthew Liversedge Shows Students How to Enjoy Classical Music

fttgreenroom — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:04:24 +0000

15-year-old cellist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Matthew Liversedge has always believed that music can be enjoyed by anyone, and wanted to share that view with other high school students in his community. So on the morning of September 30th, Matt and his friend Stephen Wright (violin) visited the Oakdale Christian Academy, a boarding school for high school students, to share this message. They created a program that combined both classical and popular works, tying them together as pieces that inspire their own playing. Matt’s program was part of the school’s daily chapel session, which meets for an hour every morning..

“My primary goal was to help these high-school age students to connect personally with my music by making the performance personal and interactive. I wanted to communicate the enjoyment and pleasure music can bring to an individual by presenting the music as fun and exciting, yet also as something serious and concrete.”

Thomas Pfefer Shares Passion for Music with Kids from Allentown, PA

fttgreenroom — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:12:41 +0000

13-year-old guitarist Thomas Pfefer believes that music is a gift meant to be shared with others. So when representatives from the Volunteers of America Children’s Center in Allentown, PA asked him to present to a group their students, Thomas said he’d love to. He performed a variety of guitar piece, then share more about how the guitar works and why he loves to perform music.

“My goal was to expose kids to classical music. Most of the kids had never attended a recital and I believe that none of them had ever heard classical guitar before. I really wanted to show them how fun and inspiring classical music can be. Beyond the music component, I just wanted to share my passion with them and maybe inspire them to become passionate about something.”

Yifan Wu Performs for the Elderly of Flushing, NY

fttgreenroom — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:46:41 +0000

18-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Yifan Wu wanted to find a way to reach out to the elderly in his hometown of Flushing, New York. He was introduced to the Korean American Senior Center, and reached out to their event coordinator in hopes of taking part in one of their weekly programs with its members. The event was a combination of music and activities, with staff from the Center engaging the audience through movement and dance.

“This performance showed me that the main point is not how good a performance is, but to bring happiness to your audience. They were all really sweet, and love life and music. At this event, my music brought them happiness, which made me very happy.”

Ryan Norville Gives Back to His Old Elementary School Through Music

fttgreenroom — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:45:26 +0000

17-year-old flutist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Ryan Norville wanted the youth from his hometown of Fort Myers, Florida to see and experience the power of music. He chose to visit with students from his old elementary school, Tanglewood Elementary School, where he gave two back-to-back presentations for 4th and 5th grade students. He was joined on the program by a friend, flutist Michal Zeleny – another From the Top alum! (Show #226). After performing a variety of solo works and duets, the two spoke about their own experiences and shared ways for the students to get involved with music in their community.

“My goal for this project was to inspire one person, at least one, to really take music seriously and to do something great with it, and to do something for their community.”

Ten Years Later, Andrew Roitstein is Still Inspired by From the Top

fttfallintern — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:45:11 +0000

It’s been ten whole years since we’ve heard from alum Andrew Roitstein, a bassist who played on Show 051 in Lenox, Massachusetts alongside his twin brother, flutist Matthew Roitstein.

These days Andrew lives in New York and plays with another From the Top alum, violinist Pala Garcia (Show 068 in Portland, Oregon), in the Toomai String Quintet, the resident string ensemble for Carnegie Hall’s Music Connections program. Through this program, the group plays in hospitals, community centers, and even correctional facilities. They are currently the Ensemble in Residence at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

“We are working with Jacobi staff to create a ‘musical hospital’,” said Andrew. “We are searching for ways that we can make not only an emotional, but also medical impact through our music.” Andrew’s work with the music hospital is similar to the arts leadership project of another radio show alum. This year violinist Caeli Smith founded Rayos de Canción (Rays of Music) to raise awareness about the power of music to facilitate healing. She traveled to Guatemala with several Juilliard students to put her work into action – read about it on our map!

Andrew on a music outreach trip to Mexico.

Andrew has been a substitute for the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras, but a large part of his career is spent working with young people. He is part of the faculty at the New York Philharmonic’s School Partnership Program and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, helping public school elementary students perform, compose, and see great classical music. Andrew’s work with children was greatly inspired by his time on From the Top, which he said really set an example.

“As a professional musician looking back on my experience with From the Top, I think the show really demonstrates how much of a difference one meaningful, high-quality musical encounter can make on a young person,” said Andrew. “Now that I work with young people, I strive to instill that same sense of empowerment in them, whether I am playing an interactive concert, teaching a lesson, or getting a group of Brooklyn public school 3rd graders ready to watch their first NY Philharmonic concert.”

“And the Sound is Music” – An Alumni Project

fttgreenroom — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:51:16 +0000

Three-time radio/TV show alum Mike Thurber reached out to us earlier this year with an exciting idea – he wanted to create a recording to celebrate From the Top’s efforts to support young artists and keep classical music alive and well.

Mike teamed up with other From the Top alums Charles Yang, Ibanda Ruhumbika and Caleb Hudson, and they worked with Matt McCorkle at Equal Sonics in New York City to make “And the Sound is Music.”

After months of hard work, the song is completed and available for download! Mike and his team also produced a mini-documentary about this project:

You can download the song here by giving as much as you’re moved, and the proceeds will benefit our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders.

A huge thanks to Mike, Matt, Charles, Ibanda, and Caleb for their hard work over the summer!

Patrick McGuire and Classmates Race for Charity

fttgreenroom — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:03:36 +0000

This past Sunday in Brooklyn, NY, cellist and From the Top alum Patrick McGuire ran a 5k race with 22 fellow Juilliard musicians to help support the organization Music That Heals (MTH). Founded in 1997, MTH brings musicians into hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and treatment centers to perform for seriously ill children and adults all across the city. After a month of fundraising efforts, the Juilliard team was able to donate $800 to Music that Heals. They were the largest group at Sunday’s race, with three members managing to place in their individual age categories. Patrick was one of four From the Top alumni on the team, with cellist Madeline Fayette (Show 196), violinist Clara Lyon (Show 95), and cellist Thomas Mesa (Show 152) joining the cause.

Patrick appeared on Show 168, and has been involved in several arts leadership efforts since then. In 2009 we featured a blog series following his involvement with the The Arusha Arts Initiative: a two-week program created by Patrick and five of his Juilliard classmates that used the performing arts to empower students in Tanzania to create positive change in their communities. You can read more about the project on their website.

To learn more about Music that Heals and make a donation, click here.

Welcome Back, CDAL-style!

fttgreenroom — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:13:59 +0000

From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL) Boston is back after the summer break! We’re shifting into high gear as we launch the second half of this yearlong pilot with renewed energy, passion and MUSIC!

Working in teams with four mentors, 20 arts leaders (high school and early college musicians) have been challenged to take their music beyond the concert hall and promote positive change within five community partner sites in Greater Boston. Read more about the program and project sites here.

We hosted a welcome back dinner earlier in the month to reconnect all of the arts leaders, mentors, partners and staff. It was an incredible evening filled with laughter, food and a fantastically fun and diverse range of musical performances – how often do you get to hear “Take the ‘A’ Train”, a Brahms string quartet AND Brazilian percussion instruments in one night?!?

Check out this video to get a taste of the evening and meet this inspiring group!

Featured on the video (in order of appearance) are: Brian Kaufman (mentor) on tuba with friend Diana Lawrence on piano & vocals, Clifton Williams (arts leader and From the Top alum) on piano, Ryan Shannon and Keith Williams (arts leaders) playing a violin and cello duet, John Carney (arts leader) on guitar and vocals, the Boston Public Quartet (community partners) with Betsy Hinkle and Marjorie Gere on violin, Jason Amos on viola and Mike Dahlberg on cello (also a mentor), and finally Karolina Nunes and Graziella Oliveira (arts leaders) playing traditional percussion instruments from Brazil.

Angelica Hairston Performs for Visually Impaired Children in Atlanta, GA

fttgreenroom — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:03:31 +0000

18-year-old harpist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Angelica Hairston wanted to share her music with visually impaired children from her community. She had become acquainted with the Georgia Organization of Parents of Blind Children (GOPBC) as a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and wanted an opportunity to meet and work with these kids. She decided to organize an interactive presentation at the Woodruff Arts Center in downtown Atlanta, GA for the GOPBC. She performed several short pieces for the event, and even allowed the kids to try out the harp for themselves! The children, ranging from ages 6 through 12, were accompanied by their parents for the presentation. She shares more about her goals for the event:

“I (hoped) to play my harp at an event for blind and visually impaired children so that they can hear, feel and appreciate the music of my instrument. I (wanted) them to know you don’t have to be able to see to make and appreciate beautiful music.”

Angelica on Show 228 in Athens, GA

A Utah Symphony Initiative is Making Classical Music More Accessible to Teens

fttgreenroom — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:26:09 +0000

This is a great example of Arts Leadership! We love how teens took the initiative and then won support from a major symphony.

The West High Symphony Club has teamed up with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (US | UO) to create a “template” for classical music and opera clubs as a way to get teens to concerts.

The West High Symphony Club was inspired by a Jordan High School choir teacher who began an opera club a few years ago. Students of West High went to US | UO for advice on starting their own version, and Paula Fowler, Director of Education and Community Outreach was so delighted by the teenagers’ interest in arts leadership that they formed an official outreach effort. The goal? Debunking the stereotype that classical music is neither accessible nor enjoyed by younger generations.

West student Hailey McLean says, “If you go by yourself, you might feel like a dork or a loner, but when we all go together, I feel like we really make a statement. People don’t expect to see groups of teenagers sacrificing their Friday nights to go to the symphony, but that’s just it. For us, it’s not a sacrifice, but something we love.”

(Sarah A. Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nick Long, 17, and Alex Beck, 16, laugh after they realize they wore the same tie to a Utah Symphony concert. The students are members of the new West High School Symphony Club.

Garnering support from other peers at their schools, however, has been no easy task – many of the club members indicate that it is often near impossible to ask other teenage students to spend their Friday nights at a symphony orchestra concert rather than at a Lady Gaga concert. However, one incentive for many of the girls who attend the club has been the opportunity to dress up and reuse their prom dresses. Although there remains no dress code for membership within the club, students who attend performances often try their best to make the evening as fun as possible!

After working with the West High Symphony Club and witnessing the students’ dedication, the US | UO decided to take the next step by creating the High School Music Club program, which is set to be inaugurated this fall. This program will support students at other local high schools who want to begin their own symphony or opera club, and all participants will receive steep discounts and opportunities within the US | UO network.

“Opera and symphonic music sometimes takes time to appreciate,” West High student Nick Long says. “I have spent most of my life only interested in rock and pop, even after playing the piano for many years. I think everyone should at least give US | UO one night to experience. All music we have now wouldn’t exist if we did not have the works of these great musicians.”

Do you think this partnership model between school and symphony could be applied to other major cities? Is there enough interest in other parts of the country for something like this to work nation-wide?