Gordon Neidinger To Appear on NPR's From the Top

By Erin MacCurtain - From The Top
February 21, 2012 - 9:15 am

National Public Radio's From The Top

Boston, Mass. — 17-year-old mandolin player Gordon Neidinger from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will appear on an upcoming episode of From the Top, the hit NPR radio program featuring America's best young classical musicians and hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O'Riley. Broadcast from Boston, Massachusetts, the show will air nationally the week of February 20. The episode was taped before a live audience at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall on February 4.

Gordon has been playing music since age 11 and currently studies mandolin with Charley Rappaport, well-known mandolin virtuoso. At the Classical Mandolin Society of America's 2011 National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, Gordon was awarded second place in the CMSA's national playing contest. He plays first chair the Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra, and he is also a member of the bluegrass band Home Cookin', the Starlight Band, the Gordon Neidinger Trio (mandolin with tenor guitar and bass) and is active in the Pittsburgh bluegrass community with other projects. His appearances include the Synod Hall and Carnegie Lecture Hall, Pittsburgh, the Ted Mann Concert Hall at the University of Minnesota, and Kent State University. He was a guest artist last year at two concerts in Los Angeles and San Diego. Gordon received scholarship grants to the 2007 Steve Kaufman Acoustic Music Camp in Tennessee, the 2010 BDAA Convention in Minneapolis and the 2011 CMSA Convention in Baltimore.

On the show Gordon performs Doina and Variations on the E-flat Sirba by Charley Rappaport, accompanied by host Christopher O'Riley on the piano. Also on the broadcast: 18-year-old violinist Carson Marshall from Belchertown, Massachusetts performing the second movement from Violin Sonata No.3 by Frederick Delius, accompanied by host Christopher O'Riley on the piano; 17-year-old violist Alexia DelGiudice from South Easton, Massachusetts performing Rhapsodie from Suite Hébraïque by Ernest Bloch, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley; 16-year-old flutist Anthony Trionfo from Las Vegas, Nevada performing Andante Pastoral et Scherzettino by Paul Taffanel, accompanied by Christopher O'Riley; and 15-year-old pianist Angie Zhang from Princeton Junction, New Jersey performing Basso Ostinato by Rodion Shchedrin.

While in Boston, Gordon was also invited to tape a segment of Drive Time Live at Boston's Classical WGBH FM, where he performed Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms and Vittorio Monti's Csardas, which aired February 3 and will be available for viewing on the station's YouTube channel.

For the past decade, From the Top has been the preeminent showcase for America'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 shares the stories and performances of pre-collegiate musicians with millions each week. The show is broadcast on over 200 stations nationwide to an audience of more than 700,000 listeners each week. From the Top has been described by the Boston Globe as "an entertaining, accessible and inspirational mix of outstanding musical performances, informal interviews, skits and games; the show is a celebration of extraordinary musician who happen to be teenagers leading fairly normal lives."

From the Top is made possible by support from US Trust and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. It is also supported through the generous contributions of individuals and institutions as well as public radio stations.

From the Top on NPR is produced in association with WGBH Radio Boston and New England Conservatory of Music, its home and education partner.

Additional information:
From the Top

---------------------------

Post a Comment

You may leave a comment if you have a Mandolin Cafe Forum account. Clicking "Post a Comment" below will take you to the forum where you can complete this action. Please note that once you have, your comment will appear both on this page and on our forum. YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN to your Mandolin Cafe forum account to comment.

» View Full Version of These Comments

Reader Comments