Saturdays at 11:00 am
Members of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras perform during a live broadcast of Introductions from Millennium Park. (Photo: Tipping Point Photography)
Hear talented pre-college classical musicians from the Chicago area
Introductions is WFMT’s weekly Saturday morning program that features talented pre-college classical musicians in the Chicago area. Soloists and chamber ensembles perform live in WFMT’s Levin Performance Studio. Large ensembles, including orchestras, choirs, and bands, are recorded at their home venues and broadcast at later dates. The program also features youth music competition winners. While many Introductions alumni pursue careers outside of music, some have gone on to study at some of the most prestigious music schools around the world and maintain careers as professional musicians.
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature some highlight piano performances from 2018. To listen to this program again, please click here.
LIVE | Alice Zhang, 17, piano
On Saturday’s live broadcast and Facebook Live, we feature 17-year-old pianist Alice Zhang of Vernon Hills, Illinois in a program of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and William Bolcom. Alice is a senior at Vernon Hills High School, and she started piano lessons at age four with Brenda Huang. She also studies piano with Eduardus Halim, the Sascha Gorodnitzki Chair of Piano ...
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we revisit some highlight string performances from 2018. To listen to this program again, please click here.
A Musical Smorgasbord to Ring in the New Year
Our last edition of Introductions for 2018 is a musical smorgasbord, featuring highlights from an exciting year of performances given by young Chicago-based musicians and ensembles. We’ll hear from the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, who gave powerful joint performances as a part of YAS! Fest–the Youth Arts Showcase–in September. We’ll also feature the Latin GRAMMY-Nominated Mariachi ...
From the Midwest to Vienna: A Holiday Celebration
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Join us for a holiday edition of Introductions featuring young musicians from the Midwest and beyond. We’ll hear the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory’s I’Solisti, a MYAC chamber orchestra, perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major. We also feature the Vienna Boys Choir singing traditional carols in WFMT’s Levin Performance ...
LIVE | Introductions Alum Daniel Kaler, cello
Introductions alumni and cellist Daniel Kaler joins us once again for a live performance in WFMT’s Levin Performance Studio. Daniel first played on Introductions in 2014. Since graduating from New Trier High School, Kaler has studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Mark Kosower, principal cellist of The Cleveland Orchestra. Daniel’s accolades include winning the 2017 SAI Concerto Competition ...
Encore Broadcast | Kairos Quartet
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature the Kairos Quartet of the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature some highlight piano performances we’ve heard so far this year. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature our “String Highlights” program. To listen to this broadcast again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Plays Barber and CYSO Ventus Wind Quintet
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the CYSO Ventus Wind Quintet. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Yerin Yang, 15, piano
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 15-year-old pianist Yerin Yang of Mount Prospect, Illinois. Yerin won the 2018 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. To listen to the program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Derek Chung, 18, piano
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 18-year-old pianist Derek Chung of Lincolnshire, Illinois. To listen to this program again, please click here.
String Highlights
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature a program dedicated to string music we’ve heard so far this year on Introductions. From solo violin to string quartet to harp, we’ll listen back to some great performances from WFMT’s Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio.
LIVE | Introductions Celebrates 10 Years at Youth Arts Showcase in Millennium Park
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events have designated 2018 as the Year of Creative Youth, a citywide celebration of Chicago’s young artists and the mentors who inspire them. This coincides with the 10th anniversary of WFMT’s Introductions, which spotlights the Chicago area’s talented pre-college musicians. As a highlight event of the Year of Creative Youth, the Youth Arts Showcase (YAS! Fest) will take place on Saturday, September 22, and host and producer Michael San Gabino will be on hand to kick off the festival with a live broadcast at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion from 11:00 am to noon.
2018 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition Winner Yerin Yang
Many musicians dream to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the CSO gives that opportunity to one young musician every year. On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 15-year-old pianist Yerin Yang of Mount Prospect. Yerin won the 2018 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, and as a result, she will perform with the CSO during the 2018/2019 season. ...
A Leonard Bernstein Birthday Celebration
Leonard Bernstein was many things: conductor, composer, pianist. He was also an educator to so many people during his lifetime, and he educated an entire generation about classical music with his Young People’s Concerts. We celebrate Bernstein’s 100th birthday on Introductions with a program dedicated to his music, performed by pre-college musicians in the Chicago area.
Derek Chung, 18, piano
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 18-year-old pianist Derek Chung of Lincolnshire, Illinois. Derek is an incoming freshman at Stanford University, and he currently studies piano with Sueanne Metz. Derek’s recent accomplishments include the Grand Prize Winner at the Chicago International Music Competition, first place at the MTNA National Senior Piano Competition, Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, MostArts Festival Piano Competition, Future ...
Piano Highlights
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature some recordings of piano highlights from the past year as performed by talented pre-college musicians from the Chicago area.
Encore Broadcast | Julian Rhee, 18, violin
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 18-year-old violinist Julian Rhee of Brookfield, Wisconsin. To listen to his program again, please click here.
LIVE | Joshua Brown, 18, violin
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we welcome back 18-year-old violinist Joshua Brown of Gurnee, Illinois to the program. Joshua Brown received glowing reviews for his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 15. “Had he played from behind a curtain, you wouldn’t have believed that Joshua Brown…was only 15,” wrote clevelandclassical.com. “His interpretation of Dmitri Shostakovich’s first violin concerto was so ...
