Cellist Lev Mamuya, 11, from Newton, Massachusetts; 18-year-old French horn player Eliodoro Vallecillo from Santa Cruz, California; and the Chicagoland-area Ridere String Quartet, composed of 18-year-olds Samantha Bennett, Ryan Meehan, Emma Steele and Mindy Park.

August 2008 (check local listings)

This week, FROM THE TOP AT CARNEGIE HALL showcases young performers from all across the country, beginning with 11-year-old cellist Lev Mamuya from Newton, Massachusetts. One of the youngest performers to appear on the television show, Lev is also a proud member of Red Sox Nation and can't get enough of his favorite candy, Skittles. Viewers then meet 18-year-old Eliodoro Vallecillo from Santa Cruz, California, who, with the support of his family and his devoted music teacher, overcame great odds to become a rising young French horn player. Eliodoro performs the third movement, Allegro, from Mozart's Concerto No. 3 in E-Flat, K. 447. The Chicagoland-area Ridere String Quartet, composed of 18-year-olds Samantha Bennett, Ryan Meehan, Emma Steele and Mindy Park, finds that they not only play well together, but have a wonderful time doing so. They named their group "Ridere," the Italian word for laughter. The young women round out the episode with a lively performance of Piazzolla's "Tango for Four."