Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month Highlights

Today on Introductions, we start Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month with highlight performances from the past two years, with composers from Argentina, Brazil and Peru, some of whom now live in Mexico, the USA and the Netherlands.

Samuel Lam, 18, piano

Today, a piano recital from Samuel Lam presenting works by Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, and Tan Dun.

Sofia Radovic, 17, violin & viola

Radovic, a student at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, plays both violin and viola in this recital.

LIVE | Zachary Allen, 18, oboe

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.

Esme Arias-Kim, 17, Wins 2023 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition

The 17-year-old violinist claimed first prize with her performance of Ernest Chausson’s Poème for violin and orchestra.

Watch WFMT’s Bach to School Virtual Assembly with Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative

On March 22, WFMT presenter and Introductions producer and host Robbie Ellis moderated a discussion with CMPI project director James Hall and violinist Esme Arias-Kim.

15-Year-Old Pianist Noah Kim’s Saint-Saëns Wins Him the 2022 CSO Young Artists Competition

The first movement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 — with its “unique suspenseful opening” — secured the young artist the prize.

Artist Icebreaker: Conductor Norman Huynh

From performing in haunted buildings to leading orchestras across the country, Norman Huynh is an ascending young conductor excited to bring classical music to new audiences.

Famous German boys’ choir to add separate choir for girls

One of Germany’s most famous Catholic boys’ choirs plans to establish a separate choral group for girls for the first time in its more than 1,000-year history.

Maestro Muti Mentors Chicago Teen Musicians… Virtually

The CSO’s music director made a remote return to the Windy City on Wednesday to lead an online masterclass with fellows from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.

Video: Young Chicago Artists Perform Music by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns

Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative aims to diversify American orchestras by preparing promising young artists from underrepresented communities for careers in music.

Video: Ascendant Violinist Joshua Brown Plays Debussy, Wieniawski, and Clara Schumann

With collaborative pianist Milana Pavchinskaya, Brown gave a sensitive, engrossing performance to an empty audience in the Chicago Cultural Center.

This Chicago Program is Helping Young Musicians of Color Break Barriers. Here’s How to Audition.

In arts and music, there’s an important — but sometimes overlooked — facet of diversity that needs to be addressed: not just of the people in the audience, but also of the people onstage.

Video: Chicago Area Young Artists Bridge Continents with Cello Collaboration

Two young Chicago-area cellists have risen to the challenge of social distancing, bringing together 24 young artists from around the world for one moving performance.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason: ‘Being interested is what makes you interesting as a musician’

In 2018, 1.9 billion people around the world watched the young cellist — he was just 19 years old at the time — perform during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Now, he’s released his second album, a collaboration with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Quarantine Made Musical: YouTube Master Class Roundup

Looking for a productive, diverting way to spend your downtime? Why not hone your musical skills and learn from some of the greatest musicians in the world?

Video: Rachel Barton Pine, Daughter Sylvia Pine Help Launch WFMT’s New Family Request Program

What better way to inaugurate a program celebrating music for kids and families than by inviting a very musical family to perform — violinist Rachel Barton Pine and her 8-year-old daughter Sylvia Pine?

Playlist: Classical Recorder Pieces You Should Know

The recorder may call to mind tortured performances of “Hot Cross Buns” or “Jingle Bells” from your elementary school days, but these pieces make use of the instrument’s virtuosic potential.

Shed Your Stage Fright With These 3 Warm-up Tips From Violinist Ray Chen

While building a successful career as a musician, (and amassing a mighty social media following), rising violinist Ray Chen has had to stay sharp. And while visiting Chicago for a series of performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chen showed WFMT audiences that being stage-ready is as easy as 1,2,3!

Totenberg Stradivarius reborn 4 decades after theft

Roman Totenberg didn’t live to see his instrument again; he died in 2012 at the age of 101. But a nineteen-year-old star violinist has revived the prized instrument.

Get kids excited about classical music with these 11 Chicago area schools and organizations

The school year is officially underway, and the sleepover requests and homework complaints have likely already started. Don’t fret, there are plenty of after-school options across the city that will keep students of all ages and interests engaged in music and off their phones … at least for an hour or two a week.

Video: Pianist Kimberly Han, 18, Plays Bach, Haydn, Chopin

Beneath the Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, 18-year-old pianist Kimberly Han performed works by Bach, Haydn, and Chopin.

14-year-old flutist Rosie Wang wins 2019 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition

Many musicians dream of performing on the stage of Orchestra Hall with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition makes this dream come true for one young musician every year. On Saturday, February 23, four young musicians competed on that famous stage for the opportunity to perform with the CSO during the 2019-2020 season. …

‘Hear Us’ Showcases 3 Young Musicians Who Defy Boundaries to Collaborate and Perform

Clarissa Bevilacqua, a 15-year-old violinist living in Italy, describes the double-edged sword of being dubbed a “prodigy.” She is one of the three young classical musicians who come together to perform as a trio in Hear Us, an hourlong program that first airs on WTTW this Monday, November 5.

Conductor Leslie Dunner: “You need to be a well-rounded human being”

“We want people who want to move in a new direction. And we want our students to have a well-rounded background in arts or science. If they want to go on in dance or in film or in literature, they can.”