From the Top Essay
Music Appreciation, Fall 2013, K. Parsons
October 27, 2013
From the Top From the Top is a non-profit organization that is all about music and showing the performances of young musicians. From the Top comes on the radio every Saturday and Sunday. It also had 2 seasons on PBS television. The musicians perform and also are interviewed on the show. The interviews let a person learn more about the performers, which makes the show more enjoyable. The pieces performed on the show are high-ranked and I deem them as pieces that should be played by professionals. On the show, young children and teenagers are playing these pieces like professionals. They have a lot of talent and passion for music. Anyone can tell by the performer’s expressions and the way they talk about music that they love music. The first performer, who plays on season 2, episode 6 on the show on PBS, is a violinist, Simone Porter from Seattle, Washington. Simone Porter is only 11 years old and performs the third movement of Edvard Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 3 in c minor, Op. 45. This piece was written during the romantic era. She plays the violin excellently and energetically. This piece is performed with a homophonic texture (a melody with simple accompaniment). Simone designs dresses, including the dress she wears on the show. She is very outgoing, loves to play tetherball and loves the Harry Potter series. The second performer, who performs on season 2, episode 6 on the show on PBS, is a cellist, 13 year old Jonah Ellsworth from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jonah Ellsworth plays Paganini’s Variations on One String on a Theme of Rossini on only one string of the cello. It is so amazing how he only uses one string, the A string, of the cello to play the entire piece. This piece speeds up and slows down many times, but still maintains the same tempo. This piece is also performed with a homophonic texture. Jonah has a lot of talent. He plays basketball and volleyball, but he loves volleyball more. He says he has two different personalities. At his school, he is more outgoing and at his music school, he is quieter. The third performer, who performs on season 2, episode 6 on the show on PBS, is a tuba player named Ibanda Ruhumbika. He is 18 years old and is a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Ibanda Ruhumbika performs, along with the Phil’s brass section, That’s A Plenty by Lew Pollack (arr. Steve Cooper),