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 | 2020 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Winner
April 18, 2020
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, with Michael Christie ...
Encore Broadcast | Parquarious Winds
April 11, 2020
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Parquarious Winds of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO). The quintet ran in the 2018-2019 school year. In addition to playing in regular CYSO recitals, the group performed at a Chamber Showcase recital at PianoForte and with the Orion Ensemble. As representatives of the CYSO Ambassadors Program, the group gave performances at two Chicago ...
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
April 4, 2020
We celebrate string instruments! From violin and cello features to piano trios and string quartets, we have an incredible range of repertoire from Introductions performances in the past year. For more information about this broadcast, click here.
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
March 28, 2020
Celebrating the piano! We revisit solo piano performances from Introductions in 2019, featuring Alice Zhang, Myroslav Mykhailenko, Kimberly Han, Yerin Yang, and Ashley Kim. To listen again, click here.
2020 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Winner
March 21, 2020
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 | Noelle Naito, 17, violin
March 14, 2020
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 the broadcast again, click here.
Encore Broadcast | Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
March 7, 2020
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 | Noelle Naito, 17, violin
February 29, 2020
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 the broadcast again, click here.
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
February 22, 2020
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature our string highlights program. To listen to this program again, please click here.
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
February 15, 2020
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
February 8, 2020
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
February 1, 2020
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
January 25, 2020
On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate the piano! We’ll revisit solo piano performances from Introductions in 2019, featuring Alice Zhang, Myroslav Mykhailenko, Kimberly Han, Yerin Yang, and Ashley Kim.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
January 18, 2020
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
January 11, 2020
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 Mykhailenko, 15, piano
January 4, 2020
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
December 28, 2019
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
December 21, 2019
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
December 14, 2019
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
December 7, 2019
Note: these performances were rebroadcast on August 29, 2020, with updates from the below performers. 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 ...
Encore broadcast | Clara Zhang, 16, piano
July 11, 2026, 11:00 am
We hear once again from pianist Clara Zhang, playing Bach and Chopin. This episode first aired on February 17, 2024. More details and the podcast are available at the original episode page.
