This Saturday, we profile Introductions alum Amelia Piscitelli, currently between her freshman and sophomore years at college. We look back at her Introductions recital as a 15-year-old in 2016, as well as her working as concertmaster and soloist with two orchestras under the Camerata Chicago banner. Amelia Piscitelli graduated as Salutatorian from Hammond Baptist High School in Schererville, Indiana in ...

For WFMT’s Trailblazing Women in Music Month, Introductions features two all-female trios: the Insieme Piano Trio from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy; and Trio Reine from Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. Insieme Piano Trio The Insieme Piano Trio is comprised of Sonya Jones and Abigail Park, violins/violas; and Ashley Kim, piano. All three students are Fellows at the Music Institute ...

This Saturday we feature Esencia Vol. 2, the fourth and newest album from Chicago ensemble Mariachi Herencia de México. Founded four years ago as a student group in Chicago Public Schools and still comprised of teenagers, the group’s debut album was nominated for a Grammy. This most recent release is a collection of different styles within mariachi: classics from the ...

This Saturday, we feature three chamber groups: one each of strings, winds, and brass. We also talk to one member of each group: pianist Colin Song, about to major in Neuroscience at Emory University; bassoonist Abigail Lopez, about to study Music at DePaul; and freshman trombonist Owen Riordan, about being the newest member of an established quartet. Aurora Piano Quartet ...

This weekend, we look to a couple of stories filed by our colleagues down the stairs and down the hall: the TV journalists who work for Chicago Tonight on WTTW Channel 11. They checked in with students and alumni of the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. We hear those stories, plus a selection of archival recordings from the Introductions vault. ...

On Saturday’s program, hear the top three performances in New Music School‘s recent Concerto Competition. A total of 36 NMS students aged 8 to 15 entered the competition. Of those entrants, 16 had the chance to perform concerto movements with the Chicago Arts Orchestra and conductor Vladimir Kulenovic. The top three places were awarded at the finalists’ concert on January ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate the piano! We’ll revisit solo piano performances from Introductions in 2019, featuring Alice Zhang, Myroslav Mykhailenko, Kimberly Han, Yerin Yang, and Ashley Kim.

On Saturday's live broadcast, we feature 17-year-old violinist Noelle Midori Takebe Naito. Noelle lives in Elkridge, Maryland, and she is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She currently studies violin with Almita Vamos and Davis King.

On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature four musicians from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI). Made possible through a $3.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CMPI strives to build equality in classical music and provides training for diverse, dedicated musicians. The organization, in collaboration with nearly 30 Chicago music organizations, identifies and develops gifted musicians from under-represented backgrounds ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 15-year-old pianist Myroslav Mykhailenko. Myroslav was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and began playing piano when he was six years old. He studied at Kyiv Secondary Specialized Music Boarding School with Nina Naiditsch. Myroslav performed two solo concerts in the White Hall of the House of Scientists in Kyiv and won the 2017 Concours International de ...