From the Top (Classical)

Alexander Boissonnault was practically destined to play violin. "My mom was a Suzuki teacher, and as soon as I was born she started playing recordings of violinists for me," he says. "She started teaching me when I was three." These days, Alex is a member of the Buffalo Suzuki Strings Advanced Touring Ensemble and concertmaster of the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. Alex has always loved playing violin, but these days he's having more fun than ever, in part due to an experience he had during...

Noah Brown studies bassoon at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and, according to Noah, if you decide to go to Interlochen for bassoon, you may be putting your life at risk! "We bassoonists like to live dangerously," he explains, "and because of that, we have a lot of accidents. It seems that everyone in the Interlochen bassoon studio has suffered some sort of injury. Many of Noah's peers have fractured bones, and his bassoon teacher came down with a severe case of food poisoning (and...

Pianist and cellist Sarina Zhang first performed on From the Top's radio show when she was eight years old -- a milestone year for her. "Before I turned eight I couldn't reach the piano pedals!" she explains. Sarina has been fascinated with the piano as long as she can remember. "When I was a baby I used to sit on the piano bench and listen as my older brother played, wanting to play piano too," she recalls. She started taking lessons when she was four. A few years later, Sarina picked up the...

Thales Smith lives in Austin, Texas, which, he explains, is "the live music capital of the world!" "If I hadn't been born in Austin I probably wouldn't be playing music today," he says. "When I was little, my parents enrolled me in a guitar program in the area, and I loved it." In addition to studying guitar, Thales grew up seeing a lot of live music. "My parents and I still go to concerts at least once a week," he says. In addition to playing solo guitar, Thales is a member of the Austin...

Violinist Madeline Watson has four brothers and a sister, most of whom also play instruments. "The youngest of us hasn't started playing anything yet, but I'm sure he will," she says. "We're all expected to play an instrument." Madeline knew violin was the right choice for her at a very young age. "I don't remember exactly why I wanted to play violin, but I knew I did, and I kept asking for lessons," she says. "Once I started learning violin, I took to it really quickly." In addition to...

Emmanuel (Manny) Gray Jr. is a full-blooded Navajo who lives on the Monument Valley reservation on the border of Utah and Arizona. He has a huge family living in the area. "Everyone in the reservation is related through clans," he explains. "At the school I attend, almost all of the students are my cousins. About 90 people show up to our family reunions!" Manny discovered guitar through group lessons at his middle school. "My older sister took the music class and she inspired me," he says....

Anna Litvinenko's parents are both professional musicians, and from a very young age she knew she wanted to follow in their footsteps. Anna started out on piano, taking lessons from her piano-playing mom, but when her cello-playing dad showed her a video of Jaqueline Du Pre, Anna decided she wanted to learn cello too. These days, Anna is accomplished on both instruments, though her focus leans slightly towards cello. She loves to practice and finds it amusingly ironic that her dad, who is...

Clarinetist Gabriel Campos hails from Costa Rica and attends Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Although he's enjoying life at Interlochen, he misses many things about his home country. "I certainly miss the food and the salsa dancing," he says, "but most importantly, I miss the soccer. That is our heart. The first thing we see when we're born is a soccer ball!" Having spent most of his time in another country, Gabriel is also able to observe life in the U.S. from a unique perspective....

Violinist Zenas Hsu describes auditioning for the Curtis Institute of Music like a scene out of a horror movie. "You go in there," he describes, "and at first you're pretty happy to have the opportunity to do something that might change your life, but before long it starts to feel like a death chamber. People stare at you in the waiting room, not reaching out at all, like they're waiting for their turns on death row! I can't even tell you what I felt like when I played, but when I left the...

12-year-old pianist Rieko Tsuchida was inspired to take up piano when she was just a toddler after listening to her older sister, Mayumi, play. "I used to love listening to Mayumi," she recalls. "I just loved the way the piano sounded when she played it, and I wanted to play like her." These days, Rieko and Mayumi often play together in a piano duet. Rieko has participated in all sorts of piano competitions, music festivals and master classes, but her most memorable and exciting experience...

Emmanuel (Manny) Gray Jr. is a full-blooded Navajo who lives on the Monument Valley reservation on the border of Utah and Arizona. He has a huge family living in the area. "Everyone in the reservation is related through clans," he explains. "At the school I attend, almost all of the students are my cousins. About 90 people show up to our family reunions!" Manny discovered guitar through group lessons at his middle school. "My older sister took the music class and she inspired me," he says....

Anna Litvinenko's parents are both professional musicians, and from a very young age she knew she wanted to follow in their footsteps. Anna started out on piano, taking lessons from her piano-playing mom, but when her cello-playing dad showed her a video of Jaqueline Du Pre, Anna decided she wanted to learn cello too. These days, Anna is accomplished on both instruments, though her focus leans slightly towards cello. She loves to practice and finds it amusingly ironic that her dad, who is...

Clarinetist Gabriel Campos hails from Costa Rica and attends Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Although he's enjoying life at Interlochen, he misses many things about his home country. "I certainly miss the food and the salsa dancing," he says, "but most importantly, I miss the soccer. That is our heart. The first thing we see when we're born is a soccer ball!" Having spent most of his time in another country, Gabriel is also able to observe life in the U.S. from a unique perspective....

Violinist Zenas Hsu describes auditioning for the Curtis Institute of Music like a scene out of a horror movie. "You go in there," he describes, "and at first you're pretty happy to have the opportunity to do something that might change your life, but before long it starts to feel like a death chamber. People stare at you in the waiting room, not reaching out at all, like they're waiting for their turns on death row! I can't even tell you what I felt like when I played, but when I left the...

12-year-old pianist Rieko Tsuchida was inspired to take up piano when she was just a toddler after listening to her older sister, Mayumi, play. "I used to love listening to Mayumi," she recalls. "I just loved the way the piano sounded when she played it, and I wanted to play like her." These days, Rieko and Mayumi often play together in a piano duet. Rieko has participated in all sorts of piano competitions, music festivals and master classes, but her most memorable and exciting experience...

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 10/12/06 taping in Tyler, TX.

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 2/23/06 taping in Tallahassee, FL.

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 10/8/06 taping in Boston, MA.

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 10/8/06 taping in Boston, MA.

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 2/18/06 taping in Troy, NY.

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 4/20/05 taping in Boston, MA. You'll hear bassist Blake Hinson give an athletic performance of Bottesini's Tarantella, before we find out how he trains to keep his arms appropriately "buff" for these pieces with the "Bass Bicep Buster" exercise series!

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 10/2/05 taping in Boston, MA. You'll hear violinist Caeli Smith perform Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" (arr. Heifitz), before she transforms into From the Top's newest roving reporter. Hayley even calls in to give her a bit of advice!

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 3/16/06 taping in Ft. Meyers, FL. You'll hear a young violinist perform the first movement of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, and then hear him discuss what it's like to be concertmaster of his youth orchestra. (Thank goodness Caeli, Chris, and Joanne aren't in his orchestra for real!)

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 2/23/06 taping in Tallahassee, FL. You'll hear a young singer perform Schumann's Widmung, and then hear his unique interview, where we transform this teenage tenor's life story into a dramatic radiophonic pastiche!

This edition of Classicool Kids features excerpts from our 2/2/06 taping in Carmel, CA. You'll hear the 3rd movement of one young composer's piece, the Sonata for Lou Harrison, and swe'll give out the first-ever From the Top Father of the Year Award.