Granville native and Denison University alumna Jennifer Hurley-Wales, class of 1983, was honored recently as co-CEO of the PBS Series “From the Top at Carnegie Hall.” The series earned awards in the categories of Outstanding Children’s Series and Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 30.

“From the Top at Carnegie Hall” also was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing and Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction.

Based on the popular National Public Radio (NPR) program “From the Top” and hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley, “From the Top at Carnegie Hall” was launched on PBS television in 2007. It provides an intimate look into the lives of America’s best young classical musicians and captures the excitement of their Carnegie Hall performances. The series is produced by Don Mischer Productions for “From the Top” and WGBH Boston, in partnership with Carnegie Hall with support from Liberty Mutual.

The original “From the Top” radio series was founded by Hurley-Wales and Gerald Slavet in 2000 as an experiment and quickly became one of the fastest growing and most popular weekly classical music programs on public radio. Broadcast on nearly 250 stations nationwide to an audience of more than 700,000 listeners each week, it became the preeminent showcase for the nation’s best young musicians. Through award-winning NPR and PBS programs, online media, a national tour of live events, and education programs, “From the Top” provides a compelling and entertaining window into the world of a diverse group of young people, who pursue life with passion, determination and joy.

The educational programming provided by the independent nonprofit “From the Top” ranges from school and community outreach to music textbooks published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill. Annually, “From the Top” and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation award more than $200,000 in scholarships to high achieving musicians with limited financial means. The program has invested more than $1 million in support of pre-college students since 2005.

Through the auspices of Denison's renowned Vail Series, “From the Top” has recorded for broadcast three of its hour-long radio shows in the college’s Swasey Chapel, most recently in April of 2006 when Bela Fleck, the acclaimed banjo player and innovator, joined the young performers. This year, the program will return to Denison on Nov. 7, when “From the Top” will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a live NPR performance taping in Swasey Chapel. The event will feature some of the show’s favorite young alumni.

Hurley-Wales graduated from Denison with a self-designed arts in society major. Previously she worked with the New England Conservatory and the Wang Center. She is the daughter of George Wales and Lorraine Wales, the longtime director of the Vail Series at Denison.

For more information, go to www.pbs.org/fromthetop and www.denison.edu.