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.
Xena Quartet
June 22, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Xena String Quartet of the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. Xena is comprised of violinists and violists Claire Arias-Kim, Isabel Chen, and Noelle Naito; and cellist Camille Toubol. All four students are Fellows at the Academy, and the quartet is coached by Rodolfo Vieira. The quartet members have individually won local, regional, ...
LIVE | 88Keys to Cure
June 15, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature four pianists from 88Keys to Cure. 88Keys is a student-led non-profit that is dedicated to enhancing the lives of others through music. Founded as a part of Sueanne Metz’s piano studio, the organization hopes to bring people and communities together through music. Student musicians organize benefit concerts to raise funds for organizations throughout the Chicago ...
Quartet Fiero
June 8, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we welcome Quartet Fiero to the program. Quartet Fiero is comprised of violinists Isabella Brown and Kaylin Liu; violist Elena Galentas; and cellist Alon Hayut. All four students are fellows at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a pre-college training program for gifted musicians. The quartet is coached by artist faculty member Rodolfo Vieira. Individually, their experience ...
LIVE | Rachel Hsu, 18, violin
June 1, 2019
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18-year-old violinist Rachel Hsu. Rachel is a senior at New Trier High School and currently studies violin with Desirée Ruhstrat. Rachel began playing violin at age three, and since, she has won numerous awards, making her solo debut at age seven in 2009 with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the DePaul ...
ANIMA – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
May 25, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we present ANIMA – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus, now in its 54th season. One of the leading children and youth choral organization in North America, its rich heritage has served as an artistic and educational model for many years. Recent national awards include the 2013 ASCAP Adventurous Programming award from Chorus America, the 2013 Tribute Award from ...
LIVE | Rabia Brooke, 18, violin
May 18, 2019
Equally at home as a solo, chamber, and orchestral player, 18-year-old Rabia Brooke is an award-winning violinist whose performance experiences span a wide range of repertoire, styles, and collaborators. This season Rabia performs at the Aspen Music Festival, the Musicians Club of Women, and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Rabia has also performed chamber music in the Pilgrim Chamber Players Series ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Plays Bartók and Respighi at Symphony Center
May 11, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) performing works by Bartók and Respighi from their Symphony Center concert on November 18, 2018. Allen Tinkham conducts.
LIVE | Yerin Yang, 16, piano
May 4, 2019
We are excited to welcome back Yerin Yang as the winner of the 2018 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition winner. She has performed on WFMT’s Introductions twice, once in 2013 and again in 2016. Yerin is currently a Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, and studies with Alan Chow and James Giles. She began playing ...
LIVE | Claire Arias-Kim, 17, violin
April 20, 2019
Claire Arias-Kim, 17, studies violin with Almita Vamos and is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. Claire began her violin studies with Betty Haag at age 3. At 6 years of age, she had the opportunity to perform on tour with the The Magical Strings of Youth in ...
No Introductions | WFMT Spring Pledge Drive
April 13, 2019
To support original programming on WFMT like Introductions and to continue giving performance opportunities to talented young artists in the Chicago area, please consider making a donation to WFMT by clicking here.
No Introductions | WFMT Spring Pledge Drive
April 6, 2019
To support original programming on WFMT like Introductions and to continue giving performance opportunities to talented young artists in the Chicago area, please consider making a donation to WFMT by clicking here.
Encore Broadcast | Kimberly Han, 17, piano
March 30, 2019
*Please note: In order to accommodate Saturday’s live broadcast of Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera, Introductions will air at 10:30 am. On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 17-year-old pianist Kimberly Han. Kimberly is a Steinway Young Artist, a 2016-2018 Lang Lang Young Scholar, a four-year full scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation of the United States (2016-2020), and ...
LIVE | Holly Venkitaswaran, 18, flute
March 16, 2019
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18-year-old flutist Holly Venkitaswaran. Holly was recently named one of four finalists in the Madison Symphony Orchestra Bolz Young Artist Competition, and will make her solo debut with the Madison Symphony Orchestra this year performing Francois Borne’s Carmen Fantasy. She currently studies flute with Hideko Amano. In 2018, Holly earned first place at the Chicago ...
LIVE | Kimberly Han, 17, piano
March 9, 2019
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 17-year-old pianist Kimberly Han. Kimberly is a Steinway Young Artist, a 2016-2018 Lang Lang Young Scholar, a four-year full scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation of the United States (2016-2020), and a two-time National YoungArts Foundation winner (2017-2018). She currently studies with Alexander Korsantia (New England Conservatory), and Brenda Huang (Music Institute of Chicago). ...
Merit School of Music’s 37th Annual Performathon
March 2, 2019
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature two ensembles from Merit School of Music to highlight their 37th Annual Performathon. Performathon 2019 takes place on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at Merit’s West Loop location. Performathon is a two-day performance and fundraising extravaganza that features over 350 student musicians, and the funds raised from Performathon help ensure that the Alice ...
LIVE | Irina Casasnovas Jilobokov, 18, violin
February 16, 2019
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18-year-old violinist Irina Casasnovas Jilobokov. She is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies violin with Almita Vamos. Irina was born in San José, Costa Rica and began studying the violin at age 7. At the age of 9, Irina was ...
Encore Broadcast | Piano Highlights
January 19, 2019
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
January 12, 2019
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 Study ...
Encore Broadcast | String Highlights
January 5, 2019
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
December 29, 2018
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 ...
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.
