January 2015 Listings for From the Top

Rochester violist Martine Thomas appears with the National Youth Orchestra, January 25.

rochesterphilharmonic.blogspot.com

From the Top travels coast to cost this month, and we wrap up January with a presentation by the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, which includes Rochester violist Martine Thomas. 

1/4       From Seattle, Washington, we feature a local teenage violinist delivering an emotional performance of the music of Ernest Bloch, teenagers from Chicago perform a thrilling wild and fun work for sax quartet, and we'll enjoy the broadcast premiere of a new composition written by an 18-year-old from New York City – an intriguing and ethereal piece titled Tropholingua, which means “language of plants

1/11      From Norfolk, Virginia, this week we’ll feature a violin-cello duo made up of two wonderfully talented brothers, a spirited performance from Mozart’s Sonata No. 12 by a pianist who’s just 11 years old, and we’ll meet a 15-year-old violinist who happens to have some success as an actress: she recently landed a guest role in the new NBC series “Believe.”

1/18      From the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, From the Top celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the eyes of today's teenagers. You'll hear the superb Boston Children's Chorus sing several inspiring pieces and meet a 17-year-old bassoonist whose path parallels Coretta Scott King's early years in music.

1/25      From The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College where the National Youth Orchestra of the USA has been in residence for two weeks, preparing for their national tour. You'll hear 120 of America's best and brightest young musicians performing works by Bernstein and Gershwin as well as a premiering a new piece by Samuel Adams, all under the baton of conductor David Robertson. The National Youth Orchestra also includes 17-year-old violist Martine Thomas from Rochester, New York.