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.
Astera String Quartet
June 24, 2017
Astera String Quartet is comprised of merit scholarship recipients and fellows of the Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) Academy. The members include 17 year old violinist Hannah White, 16 year old violinist Ria Honda, 18 year old violist Kayla Cabrera, and 18 year old cellist Annamarie Wellems. The quartet is coached by Sang Mee Lee and Roland Vamos. This year, ...
LIVE: Amer Hasan, 18, clarinet
June 17, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18 year old clarinetist Amer Hasan. Amer is a senior at Carl Sandburg High School and will be attending Oberlin Conservatory of Music as a student of Richard Hawkins in the fall. He currently studies clarinet with Dr. Bonnie Campbell, and he previously studied with Jim La Mantia. Amer’s awards include first prizes at ...
Flianello Trio and Campanella Children’s Choir
June 10, 2017
Flianello Trio consists of three juniors at the University of Chicago Lab School, 17 year old flutist Jennifer Yu Wang, 17 year old cellist Giacomo Glotzer and 17 year old pianist Teresa Xie. Jennifer studies flute with Susan Levitin, Giacomo studies cello with Karen Basrak and Andrew Hesse, and Teresa studies piano with Dr. Olga Ridgeway. Jennifer plays principal flute ...
LIVE: Emily Cho, 13, piano
June 3, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast we feature 13 year old pianist Emily Cho. Emily is a 7th grader at Margaret Mead Jr. High School and studies piano with Brenda Huang. Emily started to play piano when she was 7 years old and when she was 9 years old, Emily made her solo concert debut at the Chicago Public Library, Cindy Pritzker ...
Vieira String Quartet
May 27, 2017
Vieira Quartet is a string quartet comprised of students who are Fellow scholarship recipients at the Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) Academy. The members include 16 year old violinist Maya Anjali Buchanan, 17 year old violinist Karisa Chiu, 18 year old violist Steven Song, and 18 year old cellist Nathan Mo. Maya and Karisa study violin with Almita Vamos, Steven ...
LIVE: John Cao, 16, piano
May 20, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 16 year old pianist John Cao. John is a student at John Hersey High School and studies piano with Alan Chow at Northwestern University. John has also participated in masterclasses with Professor Robert McDonald of the Curtis Institute and Julliard School, Gilmore Artist Award recipient Kirill Gerstein, and pianist Spencer Myer, among others. John’s ...
LIVE: Jennifer Yu Wang, 17, flute
May 13, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 17 year old flutist Jennifer Yu Wang. Jennifer is a junior at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and has studied flute with Susan Levitin for 8 years. Jennifer’s awards include being a winner of the senior division at the 2013 Chicago Flute Club and also being a winner at the 2016 DePaul Youth ...
2017 Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Concerto Competition Winners
April 15, 2017
On Saturday’s program we highlight winners from the 2017 Midwest Young Artists (MYA) Conservatory Concerto Competition at Pick-Staiger Hall in Evanston. The featured winners include pianist George Dalianis, a sophomore at Maine South High School and violinist Karisa Chiu, a home-schooled senior in high school. Both George and Karisa performed concertos along with the MYA Symphony Orchestra, under the direction ...
LIVE: Kayla Cabrera, 18, viola
March 25, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18 year old violist Kayla Cabrera. Kayla began her music studies at age 13. She is currently a scholarship fellow at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago, where she studies with Roland and Almita Vamos. She is also principal viola of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has had several solo engagements at ...
LIVE: Trio Fiammata
March 4, 2017
Trio Fiammata is a piano trio made up of students from the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in Highwood, IL. Their members include 15 year old violinist Kirsten Lee (Bolingbrook High School), 17 year old cellist Matthew Udry (Tremper High School, Kenosha, WI), and 15 year old pianist Kimberly Han (Lake Forest High School). The trio was recently awarded Honorable Mention ...
Merit School of Music Performathon Preview
February 18, 2017
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature student chamber groups from the Merit School of Music in anticipation of Performathon, the school’s annual fundraiser that takes place February 24 and February 25. The fundraiser helps ensure that the Alice S. Pfaelzer Conservatory stays tuition-free for music students. The first ensemble we’ll feature is the KGT Woodwind Trio. The trio recently won ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Celebrates 70th Season Part 2 of 2
February 4, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) in selections from their November 20, 2016 concert at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. The orchestra is celebrating its 70th season.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Celebrates 70th Season Part 1 of 2
January 28, 2017
On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) in selections from their November 20, 2016 concert at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. The orchestra is celebrating its 70th season.
Introductions Holiday Special: Music Institute of Chicago Academy Cellos
December 24, 2016
On this special holiday broadcast of Introductions, we will be featuring the Cello Choir of the Music Institute of Chicago. We are dedicating this program to the memory of Gilda Barston, who taught cello at the Music Institute of Chicago for over 40 years. She was an advocate for the Suzuki training method, and her teaching was world renowned. Gilda ...
DePaul Concerto Festival Part 3 and Camerata Chicago Academy
December 10, 2016
On the first part of Saturday’s broadcast, we feature winners from the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. This year’s winners’ concert took place on February 14, 2016 at DePaul University. Young winners have the opportunity to perform a movement from a concerto with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mina Zikri. On the second part of Saturday’s ...
Amelia Piscitelli, 15, violin
December 3, 2016
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 15 year old violinist Amelia Piscitelli. Amelia formally began playing violin at the age of four. From 2009-2014, she studied violin with Debbie Edwards. She has been a member of the Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra since 2015 and also has attended Sforzando String Camp for the last 7 summers. Most recently, she made her ...
New World String Quartet of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra
November 5, 2016
The New World String Quartet is composed of Nicole Tong, Micah Yoo, Beatrice Chen, and Noah Chen. All members are freshmen in high school. Violinists Nicole Tong and Micah Yoo share first and second violin positions for the quartet, and both study with Desirée Ruhstrat. Violist Beatrice Chen studies with Paul Neubauer, and cellist Noah Chen studies with Hans Jorgen ...
DePaul Concerto Festival Part 2 and Allison Bystron, 18, soprano
October 29, 2016
On the first part of Saturday’s broadcast, we feature winners from the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. This year’s winners’ concert took place on February 14, 2016 at DePaul University. Young winners have the opportunity to perform a movement from a concerto with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mina Zikri. Allison graduated from the Chicago High ...
DePaul Concerto Festival Part I and New Trier High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble
October 22, 2016
On the first part of Saturday’s broadcast, we feature winners from the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. This year’s winners’ concert took place on February 14, 2016 at DePaul University. Young winners have the opportunity to perform a movement from a concerto with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mina Zikri. On the second part of Saturday’s ...
LIVE: Beatrice Chen, 13, viola
October 1, 2016
On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 13 year old violinist Beatrice Chen. Beatrice Chen is a home schooled freshman, and she studies viola with Paul Neubauer. Beatrice made her concerto debut at age 11 with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra at the Winner’s Concert of the 12th DePaul Concerto Festival. Since then, she won first prize of the 2015 and 2016 American Protégé International Concerto Competition. As a ...
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 ...
