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.
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 ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra 2017 Central Europe Tour
November 11, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature highlight recordings from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s (CYSO) tour to Central Europe. In June 2017, the CYSO embarked on a tour across Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. On June 28, 2017, the orchestra performed in Dvorak Hall, Prague’s concert hall. The orchestra even performed Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, which was premiered in that ...
No Introductions: WFMT Fall Membership Drive
November 4, 2017
To support original programming like Introductions on WFMT and to give performance opportunities to young musicians in the Chicago area, please consider making a gift to WFMT by clicking here.
No Introductions: WFMT Fall Membership Drive
October 28, 2017
To support original programming like Introductions on WFMT and to give performance opportunities to young musicians in the Chicago area, please consider making a gift to WFMT by clicking here.
Manou Magdalena Chakravorty, 14, cello and EYSO Earl Clemens Wind Quintet
October 21, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 14-year-old cellist Manou Magdalena Chakravorty and the Earl Clemens Wind Quintet of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Manou Magdalena Chakravorty is a freshman at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. She started cello at the age of four with Karen Schulz-Harmon and now studies with Richard Hirschl and Oleksa Mycyk. Recently, Manou was a semi-finalist ...
REBROADCAST: Robert Sanders, 18, violin and David Caplan, 17, cello
October 14, 2017
On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature two recent graduates of Niles North High School in Skokie: 18 year old violinist Robert Sanders and 17 year old cellist David Caplan. Robert and David have known each other since middle school, and they have performed together for numerous years. Recently, Robert and David won the Gold Medal with their quartet, Quartet Bellezza ...
No Introductions: Lyric Opera of Chicago Operathon
October 7, 2017
WFMT will host Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Operathon to support the opera – thus, no Introductions. But join us next Saturday, October 14 for another edition of Introductions!
LIVE: Noah Chen, 13, cello
September 30, 2017
2017 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Winners
September 23, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the winners of the 2017 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. For decades, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has held a competition in order to give the opportunity of a lifetime to a young musician: the ability to perform with the CSO. The competition rotates instrumentation every three years with strings, woodwinds/brass/percussion, and piano. This year ...
Mariachi Herencia de México: A Mexican Independence Day Celebration
September 16, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a program featuring Mariachi Herencia de México, a mariachi ensemble made up of pre-college students from Chicago’s immigrant barrios. The majority of the musicians in the ensemble are classically trained. The group’s debut album, Nuestra Herencia, released in May and hit #2 on iTunes’ Latin chart. The album is believed to be ...
Quartet Bellezza: 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Gold Medal
September 9, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature Quartet Bellezza of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in Highwood, Illinois. Quartet Bellezza was the winner of the Junior Gold Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana, one of the most prestigious competitions in the country for young classical musicians. Their members include 15-year-old violinist Masha Lakisova, 18-year-old violinist Robert Sanders, ...
Kartoshka Quartet
September 2, 2017
On Saturday’s 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 at numerous community events, ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert at Symphony Center
August 26, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature highlights from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s (CYSO) spring concert at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. This concert concluded the orchestra’s 70th season. For more information about the CYSO, please click here.
Odysseus Trio
August 19, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Odysseus Trio of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in Highwood, Illinois. The members of Odysseus Trio include 15-year-old pianist Alice Zhang, 17-year-old violinist Anna Stenzel, and 17-year-old cellist Adam Lee, and they are coached by Lyudmila Lakisova. The trio competed in the semifinals of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and they were also awarded ...
Encore broadcast | Aurum Quartet
June 6, 2026, 11:00 am
On today’s Introductions we feature a rebroadcast of the Aurum Quartet. They are violinists John Lee & Vincenzo Zuppardo, violist Kay Ito, and cellist Jocelyn Gao. This episode first aired on November 4, 2023. More details and the podcast are available at the original episode page.
