John Robert performed on Show 380 in Portland, Maine on November 20, 2019.

John Robert Santiago (flute), 17, from Rowland Heights, California, is a senior at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. John Robert has been playing flute since the age of 13 and currently studies with Jennifer Olson at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. At both schools, he enjoys extensive performance experience in chamber, orchestral, and solo configurations. He has performed with the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra and the Colburn Youth Orchestra. Currently, John Robert holds the principal flute chair of the Colburn Sinfonietta in their inaugural year. He toured with the 2019 National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2), a program of Carnegie Hall. He was a finalist in the 2019 Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition and was a winner of the 2019 Colburn Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, performing the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the orchestra. He also performed the Los Angeles regional premiere of Fanmi Imèn, poem for flute and piano by Valerie Coleman. John Robert was a laureate of the 2019 Fulcrum Arts Award. In his spare time, he likes hiking, visiting museums, reading, and going to coffee shops.

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.

Concert Pianist Orli Shaham is a regular guest host on From the Top and has an impressive international reputation as one of today’s most gifted pianists. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist”, and she is admired worldwide for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire.

Orli Shaham released Volumes 1, 2 & 3 of the complete Mozart Sonatas on Canary Classics to rave reviews around the world: “overwhelmingly stunning” (Piano Dao), “altogether exceptional” (World Music Report) and “An absolute must for any of Mozart’s fans” (Midwest Record Review). Volumes 4, 5 and 6 are released in 2023. Her Mozart recording project also includes a concertos album with St. Louis Symphony, proclaimed “outstanding” by International Piano.

In addition to performing concertos and recitals around the world, she is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School. In 2022 Ms. Shaham served on the jury for Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Honens International Piano Competition. She is host of Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, a live interactive concert series and interactive video series for young children designed to develop listening skills, which she founded in 2010.

Ms. Shaham is one of From the Top’s Co-Hosts and Creatives, and has hosted episodes since 2018.

Follow Orli: Facebook @OrliShahamPiano | Twitter @orlishaham | Instagram @orlishaham