Lillian performs on Show 455.

Lillian Arnold Mages (violin/voice), 15, hails from Waltham, Massachusetts, and is in the tenth grade. She began playing Texas-style old-time fiddling at the age of five, soon discovering a love for classical music. Lillian started her classical violin studies at the City Music Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After relocating to Boston six years ago, she joined Anait Arutunian’s studio at the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory School. This year, Lillian will study with both Soovin Kim and Anait Arutunian. She is a member of NEC’s Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar (CHIPS) program and is in her second year with NEC’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2022, Lillian won First Prize in the MTNA Massachusetts State Junior String Performance Competition. She also earned second place in the New England Conservatory Prep Virtual Solo Competition in 2020 and the NEC Prep Concerto Competition in 2024. Lillian was a finalist in the MTNA Eastern Division Junior String Performance Competition, the Beethoven Concours Nederland Junior Violin Competition, and the United Stars Music Competition. During the summers, Lillian has attended Greenwood Music Camp, Berkshire Summer Music, the Heifetz Institute Junior Program, and Luzerne Music Center. This past summer, she was accepted into the Senior division at Greenwood Music Camp, where she had the opportunity to work with and perform the work of renowned composer Kareem Roustom. Some of her most memorable performances include solo appearances with the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. In addition to violin, Lillian studies voice at the New England Conservatory with Deborah Williams. She especially enjoyed singing with the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir and has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As a vocalist, Lillian has won First Prize for four consecutive years in the South Shore Music Club Traditional Irish Ballad Singing Contest. Lillian still loves fiddling and has won numerous regional, state, and national titles, including the 2017 National Fiddle Championship (SF Division). When not playing music, she enjoys thrifting with her three sisters, sight-reading chamber music with friends, reading, and watching Freaks and Geeks and Stranger Things with her family. Lillian plays a violin made by Christian Schabbon, modeled after the Venus Stradivarius.

Orli has joined From the Top as Guest Host on Show 420, Show 422,  Show 404, Show 405, Show 390, Show 389, Show 379, Show 380, and Show 361.

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean,” and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”

Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007 and was Artist in Residence at Vancouver Symphony (USA) in 2022-2024.

Highlights of Ms. Shaham’s 2024-2025 concert season include performances of concertos written for her by David Robertson with Utah Symphony and by Steven Mackey at Tanglewood, and the Beethoven Triple Concerto with her brother, violinist Gil Shaham. Chamber recitals across the country include Dumbarton Oaks, Music at Menlo, La Jolla, and more.

In 2024, Orli Shaham released the final volumes of the complete piano sonatas by Mozart to high critical acclaim. Her discography includes over a dozen titles on Deutsche Gramophone, Sony, Canary Classics and other labels. Orli Shaham is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is a Co-Host and Creative for the national radio program From the Top. She is also Artistic Director of the interactive children’s concert series, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010, and is chair of the Board of Trustees of Kaufman Music Center.

Orli Shaham is a Steinway Artist

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