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.
LIVE | Kairos Quartet
March 31, 2018
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature the Kairos Quartet of the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. The quartet is coached by Rodolfo Vieira, and their members include Joshua Brown (violin/viola), Julian Rhee (violin/viola), Thompson Wang (violin), and Lydia Rhea (cello). Joshua, Julian, and Thompson all study violin with Almita and Roland Vamos, while Lydia studies cello with Hans ...
CYSO Concerto Competition Winner and Spirito! Singers
March 24, 2018
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the winner of the 2017 Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition: 16-year-old cellist Jack Boettcher. We’ll hear Jack in the second through fourth movements of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107 with the CYSO under the direction of Allen Tinkham. On the second half of the program, we feature the ...
REBROADCAST | Xiaoping Wang, 16, piano
March 17, 2018
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 16-year-old pianist Xiaoping Wang. To listen to this program again, please click here.
LIVE: Daniel Lopez, 18, flute
March 10, 2018
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18-year-old flutist Daniel Lopez. Daniel is a senior at Wheeling High School and studies flute with Hideko Amano. He is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) and participates in the CYSO chamber music program. Daniel has participated in the senior Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) District 7 Band for the past three ...
Daniel Souvigny, 17, piano
March 3, 2018
Daniel Souvigny is a 17-year-old award-winning pianist from Hampshire, Illinois who enjoys sharing his passion of stride, swing and jazz piano with audiences. He began piano lessons at the age 5, and he was already gaining a following in the ragtime community. He began violin lessons at age 6, and along with classical music, he enjoys the variety and uniqueness ...
LIVE: Julian Rhee, 17, violin
February 24, 2018
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 17-year-old violinist Julian Rhee. Julian is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy where he studies violin with Almita Vamos. Julian was selected as a Finalist Winner of the 2018 National YoungArts Foundation, and he traveled to Miami in January to work and perform with leaders in his field. In the summer ...
Merit School of Music’s 36th Annual Performathon
February 17, 2018
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature two ensembles from Merit School of Music to highlight their 36th Annual Performathon. Performathon 2018 takes place on Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24 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 ...
A Black History Month Celebration with the Chicago Children’s Choir
February 10, 2018
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Chicago Children’s Choir in a program celebrating Black History Month. The Chicago Children’s Choir, under the direction of Josephine Lee, reaches over 4,000 students from 57 Chicago zip codes. The choir regularly collaborates with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Ravinia Festival. They have also toured all over the world. In ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs at Symphony Center
February 3, 2018
On Saturday’s broadcast, we present highlights from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s fall concert at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. This diverse program of music includes Joan Tower’s Second Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman and Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps. We also feature Syrian-American composer’s piece Dabke, based on the popular dance of Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East, as ...
LIVE: Xiaoping Wang, 16, piano
January 27, 2018
Texas-born pianist Xiaoping Wang began his piano studies at age five with Dr. Oscar Macchioni at the University of Texas. He made his Carnegie Recital Hall debut at age seven performing Beethoven, and by age eight made his concerto debut with an orchestra performing a concerto by J.S. Bach. After moving to Chicago, he continued his studies with Meng-Chieh Liu, ...
REBROADCAST: Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra 2017 Central Europe Tour
January 20, 2018
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature recordings from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s 2017 Central Europe Tour. To listen to this program again, please click here.
REBROADCAST: Isabella Brown, 15, violin
January 13, 2018
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 15-year-old violinist Isabella Brown. To listen to Isabella’s program again, please click here.
Musical Siblings: Lucy Cao, 14, harp and John Cao, 17, voice
January 6, 2018
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature a pair of musical siblings: 14-year-old harpist Lucy Cao and 17-year-old pianist John Cao, both of Arlington Heights. Lucy Cao studies harp with Marguerite Lynn Williams at Roosevelt University. She placed second in the Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) competition and first in the Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society competition. Lucy is ...
Celebrate the New Year with a musical smorgasbord featuring the Vienna Boys’ Choir
December 30, 2017
Our last edition of Introductions for 2017 is a musical smorgasbord which you can stream below. In addition to featuring young Chicago-based ensembles, we’ll hear from some recent visitors to WFMT. In November 2017, the world-renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir performed some traditional carols in our Levin Performance Studio. We’ll also revisit a recording from 2015 of the von Trapp singers in a ...
Highlights from New Trier High School’s 100th Annual Winter Music Festival
December 23, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature highlights from the 100th Annual Winter Music Festival at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. The concert features holiday music performed by students in New Trier’s band, orchestra, and choir programs.
Midwest Young Artists Conservatory 25th Anniversary Celebration
December 16, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature recordings celebrating the 25th anniversary of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC). Based in Highwood, Illinois, MYAC offers numerous programs for pre-college musicians in the Chicago area. MYAC musicians have received national awards, and many have gone on to have successful careers as professional musicians.
LIVE: Isabella Brown, 15, violin
December 9, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 15-year-old violinist Isabella Brown of Gurnee, Illinois. Isabella is in her third year at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies violin with Almita and Roland Vamos as the Rachel Barton Pine Scholar and plays on a Dom Nicolo Marchioni detto ‘Amati’ of Bologna circa 1740, generously on loan to ...
REBROADCAST: Emily Cho, 13, piano
December 2, 2017
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 13-year-old pianist Emily Cho. Please click here to listen to Emily’s program again.
REBROADCAST: Noah Chen, 13, cello
November 25, 2017
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature 13-year-old cellist Noah Chen from Chicago. Noah is a student of Hans Jorgen Jensen of Northwestern University. Noah was a winner at the 2017 DePaul Concerto Festival, and he was also the winner of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) 2016 Concerto Competition. As a result, he was featured as soloist with the CYSO ...
REBROADCAST: Kartoshka Quartet
November 18, 2017
The Kartoshka Quartet On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature Kartoshka Quartet of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC) in Highwood, Illinois. The members of the quartet include 16-year-old violinist Rachel Hsu, 17-year-old violinist Eleanor Goes, 18-year-old violist Sofiya Kyrylyuk, and 18-year-old cellist Julia Ilhardt. They are coached by Desirée Ruhstrat. Kartoshka Quartet was formed at MYAC in 2016 and has performed ...
Jeremy Liu, piano
September 12, 2026, 11:00 am
Jeremy Liu, 15, is a 10th grader at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. He has been under the tutelage of Mrs. Sueanne Metz since the age of six. Jeremy is the 2025 winner of the Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition. As a result, he had the honor of performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last fall. He also ...
