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.
American Composer Highlights
July 3, 2021
For Independence Day weekend, Introductions is going all-American. Join WFMT host and recently naturalized citizen Robbie Ellis for solo, chamber and orchestral recordings of George Crumb, Robert Nathaniel Dett, George Gershwin, Jennifer Higdon, Ulysses Kay, James Kazik, Misook Kim, Gary Schocker, and Bright Sheng.
Volodymyr Lymar, 17, countertenor
June 26, 2021
This weekend is a rarity for Introductions: a countertenor. 17-year-old Volodymyr Lymar is a senior at the Chicago High School for the Arts, and a student of Eric Miranda and Anna Kreynina. Volodymyr will sing music by Henry Purcell, Nicola Porpora and Christoph Willibald Gluck; a Ukrainian folk song; and something by the Ukrainian-US-Puerto Rican composer Jack Delano. Thanks to ...
Daniel Mies Nass, 17, piano
June 19, 2021
In this week’s Introductions, pianist and film-maker Daniel Mies Nass of Glenview presents a recital of Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Debussy. Thanks to the Music Institute of Chicago for allowing us to record in Nichols Concert Hall. Daniel Mies Nass, aged 17, graduated early from Glenbrook South High School in January 2021. He began studying piano at the age ...
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Class of 2021
June 12, 2021
This weekend on Introductions, we feature four long-time members of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, all high school seniors, recorded in CYSO’s Curtiss Hall in the Fine Arts Building. We feature music by Johannes Brahms, Max Bruch, Henri Rabaud, Heinrich Sutermeister and Emmanuel Séjourné for clarinet, marimba, viola, and cello. Additionally, the four seniors look back at their favorite moments of ...
Eva Sharman, 17, piano
June 5, 2021
This Saturday, Introductions welcomes pianist Eva Sharman of Lake Bluff, Illinois. A student of Tatyana Stepanova at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, she presents music by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Chaminade, and Prokofiev. Thanks to the Music Institute of Chicago for allowing us to record in Nichols Concert Hall. Eva Sharman, 17, is a junior at Lake Forest High School. She currently ...
Omaggio String Quartet and Purple Hippopotami Flute Trio
May 29, 2021
Today on Introductions, we have two chamber groups: the Omaggio String Quartet from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, and the Purple Hippopotami Flute Trio from Merit School of Music, playing Kuhlau, Haydn, Debussy, Tomasi, Walker, Prokofiev, and Beeftink. Members of both groups have appeared on Introductions in the past. Thanks to ensemble members Elinor Detmer and Katherine Chen for ...
Encore Broadcast | Louis Auxenfans, 16, clarinet & piano; Henry Auxenfans, 13, violin
May 22, 2021
This Saturday’s recital is an unusual family affair: brothers Louis and Henry Auxenfans of Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood present a recital with five different instrumentations in one. Both attend the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and have been longtime members of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, moving up through the ranks of the orchestras since their elementary school days. Their recital ...
2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition: live coverage
May 15, 2021
The Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition is an annual fixture for chamber groups from the Chicago area. Every May, young musicians and their families drive out the Skyway to South Bend, Indiana to compete in one of the nation’s most prestigious music competitions. For the second year in a row, the Fischoff organization is running their event online due to ...
Brandon Cheng, 18, cello
May 8, 2021
Today on the show we feature cellist Brandon Cheng of Chicago’s Douglass Park neighborhood, a senior at Walter Payton College Prep. After appearing on Introductions several times in orchestras and chamber groups, today’s episode highlights him in a solo recital of Classical, Romantic, and contemporary pieces. Brandon is joined by pianist Elizabeth Vaughan, and thank you to the Music Institute ...
Joshua Mhoon, 17, piano
May 1, 2021
Today, we hear from 17-year-old Joshua Mhoon of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. A return visitor to WFMT’s Introductions, Joshua studies with Dr. James Giles at Northwestern University ...
Encore Broadcast | Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, 14, cello
April 24, 2021
This Saturday we hear once again from Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, a 14-year-old cellist from Wilmette, a student of Horacio Contreras, and a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He’s selected a program of classics by Bach, Bréval and Rimsky-Korsakov; as well as 20th-century Latin American works by Brouwer and Villa-Lobos. This program was first broadcast on ...
No Introductions | WFMT Spring Membership Drive
April 17, 2021
WFMT’s Spring Membership Drive takes place this morning. You can support original programming like Introductions and to keep our finest young local performers on the radio. Donate securely online at wfmt.com/donate.
No Introductions | WFMT Spring Membership Drive
April 10, 2021
WFMT’s Spring Membership Drive takes place this morning. You can support original programming like Introductions and to keep our finest young local performers on the radio. Donate securely online at wfmt.com/donate.
Encore Broadcast | Sami Gershenhorn, 11, piano
April 3, 2021
This Easter weekend we have a recital of classical favorites from 11-year-old pianist Sami Gershenhorn of Lake Forest. On this holiday program is music by Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu; Bach’s Italian Concerto; Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata; and pieces by Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Debussy. Sami Gershenhorn’s Introductions recital was first broadcast on December 26, 2020. Audio and more information are available on the original episode ...
Camerata Chicago Senior Academy and 2021 New Music School Concerto Competition
March 27, 2021
This week, two different music schools. The Camerata Chicago Academy is based in Wheaton, and their Senior Academy rehearsed and recorded their winter chamber orchestra concert in a socially distant manner. We also hear from the top two place-getters at the recent annual concerto competition from Chicago’s New Music School: Zarin Mehta playing Beethoven and Sami Gershenhorn playing Gershwin. Camerata ...
Noah Kim, 14, piano
March 20, 2021
This Saturday, Noah Kim of Vernon Hills, a student of Marta Aznavoorian, presents a piano recital featuring Ludwig van Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and Felix Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses, as well as shorter pieces by Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and local composer Misook Kim. Thanks to the Music Institute of Chicago for allowing WFMT to record in Nichols Concert Hall. ...
Bella Kim, 18, viola
March 13, 2021
This week is all about the alto clef: 18-year-old Bella Kim of Buffalo Grove is a viola player who has chosen a diverse recital of Johann Sebastian Bach, Béla Bartók, local composer Augusta Read Thomas, and the recently rediscovered 1939 Sonatine of Ulysses Kay. Beilin Han joins her on piano. Thanks to the Music Institute of Chicago for allowing WFMT ...
Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative Class of 2021
March 6, 2021
Today we hear from fellows of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. CMPI’s mission is to support high school orchestral musicians from underrepresented backgrounds, and give them development and support for acceptance into top-tier conservatory, college or university classical music programs in preparation for careers as professional musicians. CMPI’s eventual goal is to diversify the ranks of America’s professional orchestras, and is ...
CYSO: Gershwin’s Magic Key
February 27, 2021
This week on Introductions, an entire brand new album! Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras‘ flagship ensemble was chosen to be the first ever youth orchestra to record an album for Classical Kids Music Education. Classical Kids stages theatrical concert productions with actors and orchestras, telling stories of the lives and music of famous composers. Their latest production is Gershwin’s Magic Key, ...
Ella Saputra, 16, violin
February 20, 2021
This week Introductions features violinist Ella Saputra of Schaumburg, a student of Desirée Ruhstrat. Ella is a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory and a fellow of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. Today she presents a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and the complete Alexander Glazunov Violin Concerto. Thank you to pianist Beilin Han, and ...
LIVE | Louis Auxenfans, 18, clarinet
June 10, 2023, 11:00 am
Introductions welcomes a return guest for a full clarinet recital: Louis Auxenfans of Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.
LIVE | Zachary Allen, 18, oboe
June 17, 2023, 11:00 am
WFMT welcomes Zachary Allen for a live-to-air recital today – this Skokie oboist has been a mainstay of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.
Sofia Radovic, 17, violin & viola
June 24, 2023, 11:00 am
Radovic, a student at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, plays both violin and viola in this recital.