Season 2: Episode 11 - Jumping Through Hoopes
Tonight on From the Top at Carnegie Hall, we meet 13-year old violinist Chad Hoopes from Shaker Heights, Ohio and 17-year old violist Shundeena Beard from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chad, who comes from a very musical family, is somewhat of a local celebrity in his hometown where he was recently featured in a Cleveland Indians television commercial. Shundeena draws a great deal of her musical inspiration from her brother who is severely disabled, and to whom she is extremely devoted. Chad and Shundeena will each perform a solo piece accompanied by Christopher O’Riley, and will then join 17-year old Rachel Sandman from La Canada, California, 17-year old Patrick McGuire from Westford, Massachusetts, along with O’Riley to perform the third movement Scherzo from Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44.
Performer Bios
Rachel Sandman
Rachel Sandman (violin), 17, lives in La Cañada, California where she studies violin at the Colburn School of Performing Arts.
Patrick McGuire
Patrick McGuire (cello), 17, from Westford, Massachusetts attends the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts and performs with New England Conservatory's Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
Shundeena Beard
Shundeena Beard (viola), 17, is a junior at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.
Chad Hoopes
Chad Hoopes (violin), 13, lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio where he attends seventh grade at Shaker Heights Middle School.
Educational Resources
Episode 11: Theme and Variation
In this activity, students will learn about theme and variation as a compositional form and put their own spin on a familiar melody through group improvisation.
Episode 11: Inside Out Portrait
In this activity, students will explore what it means to express their own authentic voices by examining Shundeena Beard's relationship to the viola as a vehicle for self-expression.
