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.
No Introductions | WFMT Fall Membership Drive
November 1, 2025
Donate to Classical WFMT so we can keep bringing you Introductions and other great programming. Call (773) 279-2100 or visit wfmt.com/donate.
No Introductions | WFMT Fall Membership Drive
October 25, 2025
Donate to Classical WFMT on Johann Strauss II’s 200th birthday so we can keep bringing you Introductions and other great programming. Call (773) 279-2100 or visit wfmt.com/donate.
Encore broadcast | Edie Park, 15, piano
October 18, 2025
Today we hear from Edie Park, a pianist and supporter of WFMT. She plays Scarlatti, Beethoven and Chopin before finishing her recital with the San Francisco-based composer Jean Ahn.
Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month Highlights
October 11, 2025
Today on Introductions, we mark Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month with highlight performances of pieces by composers from Cuba, Argentina, the US and Brazil.
2025 CSO Young Composers Initiative
October 4, 2025
New works from six young composers, guided by former Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery.
Evelyn Zhang, 17, guitar
September 27, 2025
Evelyn Zhang, a student of Brad Conroy, brings guitar music from Cuba, Venezuela, Austria, Italy, the UK and Brazil.
LIVE | Elle Cho, 16, violin
September 20, 2025
Elle Cho is a violinist at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. She plays Bach, Beach and Tchaikovsky with pianist Milana Pavchinskaya.
LIVE | Jaden Teague-Núñez, 17, steelpan and piano
September 13, 2025
The winner of the 2024 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition brings his steelpan to the Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio.
Porphyrion String Quartet and The Hemingway Quartet
September 6, 2025
This week, two string quartets from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy play Haas, Dvořák, Brahms, Prokofiev, and a double helping of C major Haydn.
Introductions Class of 2025
August 31, 2025
A recap of 27 graduating seniors, some highlight performances, and where they're heading next.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras at Lollapalooza
August 23, 2025
On Saturday August 2, CYSO played for its biggest live audience in history at Lollapalooza. Robbie Ellis was there to capture the moment.
Encore broadcast | Katherine Schaufenbuel, 13, violin
August 16, 2025
Today we feature young violinist Katherine Schaufenbuel, a student of Grigory Kalinovsky of Indiana University. She plays Telemann, Mozart, Brahms, Wieniawski and Auerbach with pianist Lyudmila Lakisova.
Purple Hippopotami & The Bone Rangers
August 9, 2025
We hear from two of Merit School of Music's top chamber groups: flute quartet The Purple Hippopotami and trombone quartet The Bone Rangers.
Caspian Quartet, Minela Trio & Quartetto Speranza
August 2, 2025
Three chamber groups who reached the semifinals of this year's Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, including the Bronze Medal-winning Quartetto Speranza.
Zoe Strange, 18, flute
July 26, 2025
Zoe is joined by fellow Plainfield Central High School classmates Caleb McMillin & Lucas Vergara plus pianist Yoko Yamada-Selvaggio for a recital of Nielsen, Reinecke, Arnold, Daiki Kato and Sergei Golovko.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Spring 2025 concert
July 19, 2025
This week on Introductions, the flagship group of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras performs music of Margaret Bonds and Peter Tchaikovsky. This was recorded on May 18, 2025 in Orchestra Hall in downtown Chicago.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Class of 2025
July 12, 2025
We feature four graduating seniors from CYSO: violist Chloe Cohen, horn player Elyse Schlesinger, Kevin Harte on tuba, and Clara Frantzen as both a violinist and composer.
American Composer Highlights
July 5, 2025
For the holiday weekend, Introductions looks back at some of the most notable performances of American music from the past year, with pieces by Price, Copland, Perkinson, Muczynski and more.
Lily Yoshihara, 18, violin
June 28, 2025
Today we hear from a CMPI fellow and student at Midwest Conservatory in Schaumburg. Lily plays Brahms, Bach and Wieniawski; plus the Fantasy No. 1 of Japanese composer Ikuma Dan.
LIVE from Merit School of Music | Jacob Cornejo, 18, flute
June 21, 2025
Join us in person at Merit School of Music for this live broadcast - free entry, no reservation required. Jacob Cornejo performs full works by Godard and Muczynski, a flute fantasia by Telemann, and shorter pieces by Ian Clarke and John Rutter.
Kevin Hernandez, cello
September 19, 2026, 11:00 am
We hear once again from cellist Kevin Hernandez, playing a piece by his father Belford Hernandez and another by Rachmaninoff.
