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.
Encore broadcast | Angelika Wang, 17, piano
Today we feature Whitney Young High School senior Angelika Wang, a piano student of Brenda Huang. She plays music of Beethoven, Messiaen, Rachmaninoff and Bach-Busoni.
Black History Month Highlights
Music performed by young musicians and composed by Black composers: Florence Price, Valerie Coleman, William Grant Still, Jessie Montgomery, George Walker, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Liam Teague.
Encore broadcast | Chloe Nam, 16, flute
We revisit Chloe's Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition finalist performance before a flute recital of Chaminade, Mozart, Rocherolle and CPE Bach with pianist Kay Kim.
Encore broadcast | Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen Children’s Chorus
Today we feature a visiting children's choir from Austria: the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen. They performed a mix of Austrian and American tunes as part of the 2024 Rush Hour Concerts in Chicago's St. James Cathedral.
Encore broadcast | Lily Sullivan, 17, violin
Violinist Lily Sullivan, a senior at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy and a student of Grigory Kalinovsky, plays Montgomery and Bach solo, plus Wieniawski with pianist Inah Chiu.
Women’s History Month Highlights
Music performed by young musicians and composed by women composers: Eugénie Rocherolle, Clara Schumann, Augusta Read Thomas, Stacy Garrop, Judith Weir, Heeyoung Yang, Alma Mahler, Lera Auerbach, and Nadia Boulanger.
Eddie Zhou, 17, piano
Today we hear from pianist Eddie Zhou, a high school senior and a student of Brenda Huang. He plays pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Scriabin, and Vine.
Tristan Zhu, 18, violin
We hear from Tristan Zhu, a senior at Walter Payton College Prep and the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He joins pianist Milana Pavchinskaya as he plays music of Bach, Chaminade, Sibelius, and DBR.
Kashyap Prasad, 18, piano
Kashyap is a student of Matthew Hagle at the Music Institute of Chicago and a senior at Lake Forest High School. He plays Beethoven, Chopin, Price and Scriabin.
