Guitarist Travis Johnson, 14, of Milwaukie, Oregon; 17-year old marimba player Jingchen Sun of New York City; 12-year-old pianist MacKenzie Melemend from Paxton, Massachusetts.

August 2008 (check local listings)

Fourteen-year-old Travis Johnson, from Milwaukie, Oregon, chose the wood for his own cus¬tom-made guitar, on which he performs "Boppin'" by Bryan Johannson, a piece commissioned for him. Seventeen-year old marimba player Jingchen Sun moved to New York City after her father sold the family's home in China to pay for her marimba. Inspired by a chance meeting with the great marimba player and composer Keiko Abe, Jingchen gives an energetic performance of Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic's "Ultimatum I." Twelve-year-old MacKenzie Melemend, from Paxton, Massachusetts, is a bowling champion and a master magician in addition to being a skilled pianist. His musical skill has allowed him to meet President Bush, Rosie O'Donnell and Marvin Hamlisch, and to perform as part of a Mozart program on the Discovery Channel. MacKenzie closes the episode of FROM THE TOP AT CARNEGIE HALL with a performance of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 1.