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BPO brings NPR's hit show 'From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley' to Kleinhans Music Hall

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Fri, Feb 10th 2017 04:45 pm

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has announced NPR's "From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley," a pre-eminent showcase for young musicians heard weekly on stations nationwide, will come to Kleinhans Music Hall to record a radio broadcast on Tuesday, March 7.

The popular NPR radio program features the performances and personal stories of young classical musicians from across the country. This concert will be recorded for a live audience of Buffalo-area middle and high school students. A limited number of $20 general admission tickets are available to the public by calling the BPO box office at 716-885-5000 or visiting bpo.org.

The performance will feature five young musicians, including 18-year-old cellist Drew Cone of Williamsville East High School playing the first movement of Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. Drew studies with Eva Herer and is the son of two BPO violinists: Doug and Andrea Cone. 17-year-old violinist Christophe Koenig of East Aurora High School will perform the first movement of Bach's Double Violin Concerto alongside his teacher, Amy Glidden, who is associate concertmaster of the BPO. The orchestra will also perform two works by 18-year-old composer Ethan Treiman of Santa Monica, California: Saturn's Rings and Sunrise in the Arctic. Two additional performers include 15-year-old pianist Nathan Lee from Sammamish, Washington, who will play the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2. Elizabeth Pesavento, a 17-year-old French horn player from Interlochen, Michigan, will perform the Scherzo from Brahms' Horn Trio along with O'Riley and BPO concertmaster Dennis Kim.

Founded in Boston in 1995 by Gerald Slavet and Jennifer Hurley-Wales, "From the Top" originated as a variety-style radio show. More than 20 years later, "From the Top" has grown into a multimedia and arts education powerhouse, transforming the lives of hundreds of young musicians each year, inspiring millions of fans, and pioneering new ways to unite communities around the promise of great young talent.

Broadcast on more than 200 stations nationwide to an audience of nearly half a million listeners, "From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley" is the most popular weekly one-hour music program on public radio. "From the Top" musicians can also be seen in "From the Top's See the Music" video series, which brings together young, classically trained musicians with collaborators from multiple artistic genres and disciplines. Distributed on YouTube and social media, "See the Music" reaches millions of additional fans who do not listen to "From the Top's" radio program or attend its live events.

"From the Top" prepares young musicians to be instruments of positive social change in their communities through intensive leadership training offered by "From the Top's" Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL).  Both in Boston and on FTT's national tour, CDAL empowers young musicians to explore their individual leadership pathways while planning and delivering programs to diverse audiences in schools, senior centers, hospitals and museums.

"From the Top" and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation award 20 $10,000 scholarships each year to exceptional young musicians with financial need.

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