The Denison University Vail Series concludes its 23rd season with the recording before a live audience of Public Radio International's most popular classical music program of all time, "From the Top," with host Christopher Riley. The program will be produced at 3 p.m. on Sunday (March 30) in Swasey Chapel to be broadcast Sunday, May 18. (The show airs locally on WOSU-FM at 7 p.m. on Sunday evenings.) Tickets are $3 per person and are obtainable from the Vail Series Office (740-587-6557) at Denison University. (The producers do request for this live broadcast, no children under the age of seven, please).

Making its second Denison appearance, "From the Top" is a weekly radio series that showcases the nation's most exceptional pre-college age classical musicians. Each one-hour program presents five young performers or ensembles whose individual performances are combined with interviews, lighthearted sketches and musical games.

Featured on the broadcast from Denison will be talented young musicians hailing from all over the United States. Among them will be Jing Wang, a young violinist from New York City. Jing is a 17-year old graduating high school senior this year and will perform Khatchaturian'sSabre Dancewith O'Riley accompanying him on piano. From Campbellsville, Ky., 18-year old soprano Esther Oh will sing a selection by Samuel Barber calledA Green Lowland of Pianos. Todd Cope, a 17-year old clarinetist from Dallas, Texas, will perform the 3rd movement of Stamitz'sConcerto No. 3 in B flat.

Popper'sHungarian Rhapsodywill be performed by Emma (11 years old) on cello and pianist Katrina (13 years old) Bobbs, sisters from Granada Hills, Calif. Rounding out the show is 13-year old Adam Birdsall from Roseville, Minn. Adam is a young pianist who first heard about the show when he participated in "From the Top's" Educational Activities in his hometown last November. After attending a taping of the show, and with the encouragement of one of his teachers, Adam applied and was accepted to perform on "From the Top."

Launched in January of 2000 with some 130 public radio stations, "From the Top" is now on more than 240 stations nationwide. The Minneapolis Star Tribune called it "the best thing to happen to classical music since Leonard Bernstein's Young People Concerts." The show is co-produced by Denison alumna Jennifer Hurley-Wales '83, who is the daughter of Vail Series director Lorraine Wales.

Host O'Riley is one of the country's leading pianists and a frequent guest artist with several major symphony orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and the St. Louis Symphony. He appeared as a Vail Series artist in December of 2000. His repertoire ranges from music of the English Renaissance and French Baroque periods to the works of today's leading composers to such non-classical forms as the tango.

"From the Top" is made possible through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and The PRI program Fund whose contributors include Mr. and Mrs. J. Irwin Miller. It also is supported through the generous contributions of individuals and foundations as well as public radio stations. It is a creation of Concert Productions, Inc. in association with WGBH Radio Boston and the New England Conservatory of Music, its home and education partner.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575