A NOTE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
This year marked the start of an exciting new chapter for From the Top as we announced our merger with KERA, an intentional strategic move paving the way for a bright future.
The year also brought a range of impactful programs, including:
• Musicians with Disabilities Initiative, co-hosted and produced by From the Top alum, Julia LaGrand, that included a public panel and performance event, a new broadcast, documentary short film, and Daily Joy series
• The release of From the Top 25, our first album in 10 years!
• The 20th anniversary of our partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and the impact of more than $4 million in Awards for deserving young musicians
• Our fourth collaboration with NPR’s Tiny Desk
We are so thankful for the supporters, partners, and young musicians that have made From the Top into what it is today. By joining KERA, we’re ensuring that our work can evolve and expand – while staying true to our mission and the communities who have sustained us from the beginning.
Gratefully yours,
Gretchen Nielsen
Executive Director
From the Top Joins KERA to Fuel Our Next Chapter
On February 12, 2026, From the Top announced its upcoming merger with KERA, North Texas Public Broadcasting, effective July 1, 2026. The move marks a strategic new chapter for From the Top as it builds the infrastructure and capacity needed to support its mission for generations to come. While From the Top’s organizational home base will shift to North Texas, its national mission, programming, and audience will remain unchanged.
“It’s an honor to welcome From the Top as a program of KERA. Our organizations share a belief in the power of public media to educate, inspire, and connect communities. We’re excited to support From the Top as it continues to serve young musicians nationwide while exploring new possibilities, both nationally and locally, through our combined resources.”
Nico Leone, President and CEO of KERA
From the Top empowers and celebrates young musicians and envisions a more empathetic and connected society through their contributions.
From the Top is:
Bringing young musicians together to explore career development, content creation, and community engagement
Celebrating young musicians through From the Top’s NPR broadcast/podcast and social media platforms
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Exploring the intersection of music and societal issues through programming and discourse
Fellowship Connects Young Musicians with Arts Leaders
The Learning and Media Lab Fellowship is an eight-week online program for all From the Top musicians, exploring what it means to be an artist in today’s world.
This season 94 Fellows completed the program and had the opportunity to speak with guest artists about their artistic journeys. They discovered the wide career possibilities available to musicians and developed skills and insights into:
• making an impact through music
• studio recording and production
• communication and audience engagement
“We spoke with audio engineers and professionals about studio recording and production. We also spoke to guest artists and learned about different careers for musicians. Another part of the fellowship was planning and creating our own community engagement project, which was our final capstone project.”
Flutist Flutist Rashmi Chelliserry, 17, from San Diego, California describing From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship
Youth & Professionals Collaborate in Making Media
Our robust media platform includes broadcasts, podcasts, and digital content.
From the Top’s signature broadcast/podcast distributed by NPR features the stories and performances of dedicated young artists and reaches 350,000 listeners per week on nearly 200 stations across the United States.
Our digital media is co-created with our young musicians and delivered on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, FromtheTop.org and Daily-Joy.org. This year, video shorts and “takeovers” engaged more than 15 million views across our platforms.
SPOTLIGHT
From the Top 25
From the Top 25 is a vibrant new album showcasing standout performances from our broadcast. The album features incredible young artists ranging in age from 11 to 21 with beautiful collaborations from our host, co-hosts, and guest artists. From the Top 25 features works by Ravel, Bach, Schumann, Kreisler, Brahms, and more, spanning centuries of repertoire while also uplifting fresh contemporary voices such as Valerie Coleman, Lera Auerbach, and up-and-coming composer Rhyuhn Green.
Celebrating Disabled and Neurodivergent Musicians
We believe that connecting music to ideas and societal issues is a powerful tool to help us better understand our world. This season, we broadened our Musicians with Disabilities Initiative in partnership with alum/violinist and disability activist Julia LaGrand, with the goal of supporting and elevating the experiences of musicians with disabilities:
• We convened four young musicians in Boston to record a new Musicians with Disability broadcast
• We produced a live panel and performance event with Boston arts and disability leaders and live-streamed it for audiences across the country
• We spotlighted young musicians with disabilities on our Daily Joy series
• We produced a short documentary film about the initiative with our partners at Vanishing Angle.
SPOTLIGHT
Julia LaGrand, Co-Host, Advisor, and Associate Producer
In 2021, From the Top featured Julia LaGrand, a 16-year-old violinist who spoke candidly about being a musician who is also blind. Julia’s experience on From the Top got her thinking about artistry and disability. She wrote a passionate email: would From the Top do more? The answer was yes.
Julia has since become a critical team member at From the Top. In 2023, she co-hosted our first Musicians with Disability broadcast and moderated an online panel discussion with partners at Access/VSA. This year, with Julia at the helm again, we convened young musicians in Boston to record a new Musicians with Disability broadcast, produced a panel and performance event with Boston arts and disability leaders, and captured the entire process with a documentary film team from Vanishing Angle.
Investing in Musicians with Financial Need
From the Top’s longstanding partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. With more than $4.4 million in awards for 440 remarkable young artists pursuing musical excellence despite financial barriers, this award program continues to change lives. Meet the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Class of 2026.
In its second year, the Tim Banker Talent Development Award supports musicians with financial need who have enormous potential but face the immediate need for additional music training to bolster their rising talent. Meet the Tim Banker Talent Development Award recipients.
SPOTLIGHT
Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Zoie Glosson
“Music has always been my safe space,” says Zoie, one of this year’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipients and one of 11 From the Top Fellows who participated in From the Top’s Music and the Brain residency.
Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award has allowed Zoie to purchase a professional level euphonium as well as take consultation lessons with leading euphonium professors in preparation for her college applications.
3 MILLION
Social Media Reach
5 MILLION
Daily Joy Reach
12 MILLION
Broadcast Reach
1.1 MILLION
Tiny Desk Concert Views
“From the Top has transformed from a simple idea into a powerful movement, evolving into a robust training ground for artistic leadership, community engagement, and innovation.”
FROM THE TOP BOARD CHAIR KATHLEEN VAN BERGEN
Financials
From the Top’s revenue last year was $1,888,944. Expenses were $2,308,799. We received generous individual, foundation and government support and are very grateful.
Revenue
EXPENSES
OUR Partners
The Edward T. Cone Foundation • The Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation • Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism • Aaron Morgan, Esq. • Robert Treat Paine Association • Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation • The Sea Breeze Foundation • Senior Helpers • The Volgenau Foundation • WilmerHale
Leadership
Board of Directors
Kathleen van Bergen, Chair
John L. Pattillo, Treasurer
Gabriel Campos Zamora
Angelica Cortez
Monica Davisson
Mary Deissler
Marcia Head
Elaine LeBuhn
Soo Youn Lee
Louise Lee
Kevin Olusola
Kadar Qian
Peter Ross
Benjamin Rothschild
Elizabeth Sikorosky
In Memoriam
Francis O. Hunnewell, Founding Chair
Directors Emeriti
Jennifer Hurley-Wales
Gerald Slavet
Jeffrey F. Rayport
Administration
Gretchen Nielsen, Executive Director
Artistic
Peter Dugan, Host
Peter Dugan’s position is sponsored by
Susan and Gerald Slavet
Tessa Lark, Co-Host/Creative
Alex Laing, Co-Host/Creative
Orli Shaham, Co-Host/Creative
Charles Yang, Co-Host/Creative