From the Top

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Victor Wooten, Bach, & Gospel Marching Band Feb 23, 2026

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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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Beethoven to Bluegrass and Special Guest Victor Wooten Feb 16, 2026

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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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Taaffe Zwilich Violin Fantasy and Flute Ballade Feb 09, 2026

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We hear the From the Top premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Fantasy for Solo Violin, who is the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in music. It’s performed by a teen violinist passionate about championing classical music. We meet a flutist determined to make a difference in the world. And our flashback finale features the 2016 performance by Claire Wells, who just recently was named a Young Concert Artist Jacobs Fellows.
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Barber to Ballroom Dancing Feb 02, 2026

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We’re speaking with young musicians about vulnerability and risk-taking, overcoming nerves, and how they draw inspiration from other passions like ballroom dancing. Plus, we are treated to incredible performances of a Turina piano trio, a Barber cello sonata, and a Chopin nocturne.
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Self-Taught Violinist and Young Composer Jan 26, 2026

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We’re coming from Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities with guest host Orli Shaham. We hear from a pianist/composer who performs a musical letter to his younger self, and an autodidactic teen violinist wows us with his journey.
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Ravel and Multifaceted Cellist Jan 19, 2026

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Orli Shaham joins us from Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities, a place bursting with talented young artists, including a teen from a long line of Florentine musicians performing Ravel, a quartet who bonded in a forest, and a multifaceted cellist whose interests range from tennis to quantum computing.
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Musical Trivia Jan 12, 2026

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We’re celebrating the release of our brand-new album From the Top 25. You’ll hear performances from young artists on the album and learn interesting facts and trivia about the repertoire they perform!
From the Top 25 is available on most major streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify!
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Dramatic Cello & Saxophone Elegy Jan 05, 2026

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We meet a teen cellist from a large musical family who performs a theatrical piece by Cassadó. An 18-year-old saxophone player with a commitment to community engagement delivers a moving Elegy by Fauré.
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Romance & Silence Dec 29, 2025

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A dedicated teen violinist and poet performs Amy Beach’s passionate Romance. A clarinetist describes a moment discovering complete silence out in nature and how he draws on that feeling in his performance of Debussy.
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Debussy and Rhapsody for Alto Sax Dec 22, 2025

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A wonderful teen violinist who has lived all over the world performs Debussy. A 17-year-old saxophone player from Texas shares how he found his first instrument in a pawn shop and hasn’t put the sax down since. He performs an exquisite Rhapsody by André Waignein.
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