East Stroudsburg University Brings NPR’s Hit Show From The Top to Pocono Mountains

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on July 13, 2017, No Comments

NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley, the preeminent showcase for young musicians heard weekly on WRTI and WWFM, will record a radio broadcast at the Smith-McFarland Theater at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Friday, July 21 at 1 PM. The popular NPR radio program features the amazing performances and captivating personal stories of extraordinary young classical musicians from across the country. For tickets, please visit www.esu.edu/theatretickets.

Under the baton of Ludovic Morlot, the program will feature the National Youth Orchestra of China performing the third movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No.9, Op.95 “From the New World” and Rhyme of Taigu by contemporary composer Zhou Long. Hosted by Christopher O’Riley, the recording event will also include an entertaining mix of interviews, personal stories, and chamber music performances of Poulenc, Brahms, and Bozza showcasing the inspiring members of the 2017 orchestra in its international debut. Featured performers include Jieming Tang, 20, violinist from Anhui and attends The Juilliard School; Ning Zhang, 20, clarinetist, from Shandong and attends The Juilliard School;

Yajie Wang, 18, flutist from Xinjiang and attends the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts; Jiadi Pei, 19, oboist from Guangdong and attends the Mannes School of Music at The New School; Huibin Zou, 19 clarinetist from Shandong and attends the Cleveland Institute of Music; Yuanying Zhang, 19, bassoonist from Gansu and attends the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School; and Lei Jin, 18, horn player from Beijing and attends the Beijing Yuren Secondary Vocational School.

This program will broadcast on stations nationwide and by podcast the week of November 13, 2017.

Tickets are free, first-come, first-served, general admission. Visit www.esu.edu/theatretickets to make a reservation.

The inaugural NYO China brings together one hundred high school-aged musicians who hail from China and live and study all over the world. They will gather at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania for two weeks in July, to participate in an intensive two-week training program under the direction of artistic director Jindong Cai, a group of world-class teaching artists, and renowned conductor Ludovic Morlot. Following the From the Top recording, the orchestra will debut at Carnegie Hall in New York with a concert featuring Yuja Wang and then embark on a three-city concert tour of China featuring pianist Olga Kern.

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About From the Top

From the Top is America’s largest national platform celebrating the stories, talents, and character of classically-trained young musicians. Through live events, NPR and YouTube broadcasts, scholarships, and leadership programs, From the Top empowers these extraordinary young people to engage and inspire music lovers of all ages.

Support for From the Top’s radio program is made possible through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. It is also supported through the generous contributions of individuals and institutions as well as public radio stations. From the Top’s founding partners are New England Conservatory and WGBH.

From the Top is an independent non-profit organization proudly based in Boston’s vibrant cultural district. Learn more at www.fromthetop.org.

From the Top program contact:

Erin MacCurtain, 617-437-0707 x103 or emaccurtain@fromthetop.org

About NYO China

Inspired by Carnegie Hall’s own National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO-China will provide Chinese musicians access to the same exceptional education and performance model developed by its American counterpart. Members will train under the finest classical musicians from around the world and then showcase their honed talents as an orchestra during a historic bi-continental concert tour. Students applied through a competitive and egalitarian online audition process that closed in March. Each audition was initially reviewed by professional musicians currently working with top American orchestras and ultimately evaluated by NYO-China’s teaching artists and artistic director themselves. To ensure that no excellent musician is ever turned away for lack of funds, the entire program – including housing, tuition, and travel – is free of charge.

About East Stroudsburg University

East Stroudsburg University, one of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, opened in 1893 as East Stroudsburg Normal School. Today, ESU is a comprehensive university in northeastern Pennsylvania offering 55 undergraduate programs, 22 master’s programs and one doctoral program. More than 6,800 students are enrolled for the high quality, affordable, and accessible education ESU provides. Nearly 30,000 ESU alumni live in Pennsylvania.