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.
2020 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Winner
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the winner of the 2020 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition: 17-year-old violinist Isabella Brown of Gurnee. Isabella studies violin with Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy. Isabella performed the first movement from Beethoven’s Violin Concerto during the final round of the competition at Symphony Center on Saturday, March 7, ...
Encore Broadcast | Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature highlights from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s November 2019 concert at Symphony Center. For more information about this program, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature our string highlights program. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we present our piano highlights program. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature highlights from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s November 2019 concert at Symphony Center. To listen to this program again, please click here.
String Highlights
On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate string instruments! From violin to cello and even string quartets, we’ll hear an incredible range of repertoire from Introductions performances in the past year.
Piano Highlights
On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate the piano! We’ll revisit solo piano performances from Introductions in the past year. Listen to a range of repertoire for the keyboard instrument, from Bach and Balakirev to Chopin and Prokofiev.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature selections from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s November 17, 2019 concert at Symphony Center! The CYSO, under the direction of Allen Tinkham, will share Chicago-based composer Augusta Read Thomas’ contemplative Of Paradise and Light as well as Camille Saint-Saëns’ towering Symphony No. 3 in C minor, op. 78, better known as the “Organ Symphony.” Organist David ...
Encore Broadcast | Noelle Naito, 17, violin
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 17-year-old violinist Noelle Naito of Elkridge, Maryland. Noelle studies at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Myroslav Mykailenko, 15, piano
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 15-year-old pianist Myroslav Mykhailenko. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Celebrating 2019 and Ringing in 2020
On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate an incredible year of music-making! We’ll feature the winner of the 2019 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, as well as our live broadcast from the second annual Youth Arts Showcase at Millennium Park, featuring a brass ensemble from Merit School of Music and Latin Grammy-nominated Mariachi Herencia de Mexico.
Encore Broadcast | Ashley Kim, 16, piano
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 16-year-old pianist Ashley Kim, a junior at New Trier High School. To listen to this program again, please click here.
LIVE | Noelle Naito, 17, violin
On Saturday's live broadcast, we feature 17-year-old violinist Noelle Midori Takebe Naito. Noelle lives in Elkridge, Maryland, and she is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She currently studies violin with Almita Vamos and Davis King.
LIVE | Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature four musicians from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI). Made possible through a $3.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CMPI strives to build equality in classical music and provides training for diverse, dedicated musicians. The organization, in collaboration with nearly 30 Chicago music organizations, identifies and develops gifted musicians from under-represented backgrounds ...
Myroslav Mykailenko, 15, piano
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 15-year-old pianist Myroslav Mykailenko. Myroslav was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and began playing piano when he was six years old. He studied at Kyiv Secondary Specialized Music Boarding School with Nina Naiditsch. Myroslav performed two solo concerts in the White Hall of the House of Scientists in Kyiv and won the 2017 Concours International de ...
LIVE | Ashley Kim, 16, piano
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 16-year-old pianist Ashley Kim, a junior at New Trier High School. Ashley is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies piano with Northwestern Bienen School of Music Professor James Giles and Dr. Matt Hagle. She has performed in many renowned venues including ...
No Introductions | WFMT Fall Membership Drive
WFMT’s Fall Membership Drive takes place this morning! To support original programming like Introductions, please click here.
No Introductions | WFMT Fall Membership Drive
WFMT’s Fall Membership Drive takes place this morning! To support original programming like Introductions, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Mia Wimbiscus, 15, cello
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 15-year-old cellist Mia Wimbiscus, a sophomore at New Trier High School in Winnetka. Mia is a 4th year Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a training center for gifted pre-college musicians. She began cello studies at age five with her mother. Since the age of nine, she has been a ...
Encore Broadcast | Hannah Lin, 18, violin
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 18-year-old violinist Hannah Lin of Rolling Meadows. She recently graduated from Fremd High School in Palatine and studies violin with Desirée Ruhstrat. In 2015 and 2017, Hannah won first place in the Chinese Fine Arts Society Competition and was the category winner of the Early Music division of the 2015 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, ...