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From the Top - June Highlights

6/7: Rachmaninoff, Kronos Quartet, & More from Kansas City
We are in Kansas City! We explore the connection between music and math with a 16-year-old pianist who also happens to be a champion swimmer. We hear a majestic performance of Dukas by a teen French horn player. A teen flutist performs Ian Clarke’s The Great Train Race and describes the technical and artistic challenges of emulating the sounds of a train in this exhilarating work. A 17-year-old double bassist gives a heartfelt performance of Bottesini’s Elegy No. 1. We meet a teen composer and learn about her journey in writing music, including creating an imaginative ocean adventure for the famous Kronos Quartet which you’ll hear! And we enjoy a flashback performance by prize-winning violinist Maria Ioudenitch from when she was a teen living in Kansas City.

6/14:
Trumpeter Ori Krakowski, 18, from Plano, Texas
A Trumpeter's Lullaby by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)

Cellist Micah Chan, 17, from Houston, Texas
Theme and Variations for Solo Cello by Name Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Harpist Sofia Graupera, 17, from Weston, Massachusetts
Suite of Eight Dances: VII. Tango by Name Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961)

Violinist Aika Oki, 18, from Brookline, Massachusetts
Caprice Viennois by Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)

French hornist Isaac Sprouls, 16, from Paris, Texas
Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, K.417: I. Allegro maestoso byWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

FLASHBACK FINALE Charles Yang, violin; Maanas Varma, viola; Vincent Garcia-Hettinger, cello; Christian Luevano, double bass; Peter Dugan, piano

Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout”: V. Finale. Allegro giusto by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

6/21: Major and Minor
We explore repertoire from major and minor keys, highlighting how young artists express the character and nuance that each represent.
We hear a teen cellist perform a bright and sunny work with ties to both the Baroque and Romantic eras, a young violinist brings a dark and stormy Beethoven Sonata, and a 17-year-old pianist performs a major fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier.
We meet a 16-year-old composer from Chicago who is mentored by composer Jessie Montgomery and is also passionate about architecture. We hear a soprano perform a love song by Debussy. Finally, we meet a teen cellist who performs Shostakovich’s dynamic Cello Sonata in D Minor.

6/28:
Pianist Bella Lei, 11, from Astoria, New York
Étude Op. 10, No. 4 'Torrent', No. 5 'Black Keys', and No. 10 by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Countertenor Nathaniel Casey Schopflocher, 17, from New York, New York
Sleep by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) À Chloris by Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)

Violist Liam Myers, 17, from New York, New York
Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: I. Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Violist Edward Lee, 18, from Teaneck, New Jersey
Capriccio in C minor, Op. 55 by Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)
West Viola Power from Plano, Texas
Excerpts from Volcanic Ash arranged for violas by Chris Evan Hass (b. 1993)