HIGH TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR TO APPEAR ON NPR’s FROM THE TOP WITH
GUEST HOST MOLLY YEH (Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm)
Episode airs on WQXR 105.9 FM January 5
17-year-old flutist Laura Futamura from Middletown, New Jersey will appear on an upcoming episode of From the Top, the hit NPR radio program featuring America’s best young classical musicians. The show will air on WQXR 105.9 FM Saturday January 5 at 6 AM and by podcast at fromthetop.org beginning December 31. The broadcast features performances and interviews with outstanding young musicians and Guest Host Molly Yeh and Co-Host/Pianist Peter Dugan and was taped before a live audience at the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts this fall.
Laura is a junior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey and studies with Carol Wincenc at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division. She was the winner of “Best Performance of a Newly Commissioned Piece” award (for the piece she plays on From the Top) and second place overall at the 2018 National Flute Association High School Soloist competition, a 2018 and 2019 HM winner of the National Young Arts Foundation, and participated in Carnegie Hall’s 2018 National Youth Orchestra 2. Laura is a member of her school’s VEX robotics team (first place winners at the National Technology Student Association Conference in VEX Robotics Skills), a teaching assistant for a middle school robotics and coding program, and a volunteer for the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Juvenile Conference Committee. She also enjoys painting, reading novels and fashion.
On the broadcast, Laura performs Fanmi Imèn, Poem for Flute and Piano by Valerie Coleman with Peter Dugan, piano. Her performance is part of From the Top’s New Music Series.
Also featured on the broadcast:
14-year-old cellist Amy Goto from Kingston, Rhode Island;
17-year-old pianist Tristan Paradee from Burbank, California;
16-year-old harpist Priyanka Gohal from Jamestown, Indiana;
15-year-old violinist Ethan Fisher-Chaves from Charlton, Massachusetts;
performing works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Brahms, Zabel, and Coleman.
Ethan Fisher-Chaves, Priyanka Gohal,and Tristan Paradeewill also receive From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award in conjunction with their performances on the show. The award of up to $10,000 is given to deserving young musicians to help further their musical studies.
Broadcast on more than 220 stations nationwide to an audience of nearly half a million listeners, From the Top is the most popular weekly one-hour music program on public radio. Young performers share their passion for classical music, and speak about their non-musical lives, from career goals and family traditions to hidden talents, school, and community life. From the Top appeals to diverse audiences, but is especially suited for ages 7 and up.
About From the Top
Based in Boston, From the Top is an independent non-profit organization that supports, develops, and shares the artistic voices and stories of young classically-trained musicians. Its national platform and leadership programs amplify the hope, passion, and discipline of today’s extraordinary young musicians.
From the Top provides young musicians with live performance opportunities in premier concert venues across the country; national exposure to over a half million listeners on its weekly NPR show; leadership and community engagement preparation; and nearly $3 million in scholarships since 2005.
From the Top’s programs are made possible in part by an award from the National Endowment of the Arts, a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and partnerships with radio stations nationwide.
Learn more at www.fromthetop.org.
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For a complete listing of repertoire and performance photographs, please contact Erin MacCurtain at emaccurtain@fromthetop.org or 617-437-0707 x103
Please visit www.fromthetop.org for more information.
