NPR's From the Top with Christopher O'Riley

From the Top is America’s largest national platform dedicated to celebrating the stories, talents, and character of classically-trained young musicians. Through live events, NPR and YouTube broadcasts, scholarships, and leadership programs, From the Top empowers these extraordinary young people to engage and inspire music lovers of all ages.

These classically-trained musicians, aged 8­­–18, astonish audiences with skill and musical dexterity. Their hard work, dedication, and passion make them role models for their peers (and adults, too!). Yet, when they tell us about their lives outside of music, we are reminded that they are typical kids and teenagers, facing the same familiar challenges while chasing their dreams. In this winning combination we see a bright future, filled with the joy and hope that music offers to the world.

Presented by The Schubert Club & The Ordway

Christopher O’Riley

Acclaimed for his engaging and deeply committed performances, From the Top host Christopher O’Riley performs around the world and has garnered widespread praise for his untiring efforts to reach new audiences.

O’Riley has performed as a soloist with virtually all of the major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. In addition, O’Riley has performed recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Australia.

Living by the Duke Ellington adage “There are only two kinds of music, good music and bad,” O’Riley – a proponent of the former in all of its guises – has received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and an equally coveted four-star review from Rolling Stone magazine. O’Riley strives to introduce new audiences to classical music with an almost missionary zeal by performing piano arrangements of music by Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana alongside traditional classical repertoire. He has collaborated for many years with the flutist Sir James Galway and cellists Matt Haimovitz and Carter Brey.

A prolific recording artist, O’Riley has recorded the music of Beethoven, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Liszt, Ravel, Gershwin, Debussy, and John Adams for Sony Classical, Oxingale Records, RCA Red Seal, Decca, and Harmonia Mundi.

Christopher O’Riley splits his time between Los Angeles and rural Ohio. For full bio, photos, and more information, visit him online at www.christopheroriley.com.