Christopher O'Riley Awarded 2006 Karl Haas Prize for Music Education

The 2006 Karl Haas Prize for Music Education has been awarded to Christopher O'Riley, host of From the Top, nationally distributed by Public Radio International since its inception in 2000 and heard on over 250 stations, including WCLV (Saturdays at 5:00 PM). 

The Fine Arts Radio International Awards (FARIA) were inaugurated in 2000 by The Klassix Society of  KXMS, the broadcast service of Missouri Southern State University at Joplin, for the purpose of recognizing outstanding achievements in classical music education via the medium of radio. Each year two awards are given: the contest award for the best entry in the annual worldwide competition, and the Karl Haas Prize for Music Education, given to an outstanding individual whose contributions to classical music education via the medium of radio are deemed of exceptional merit by The Klassix Society board of directors.

Christopher O'Riley's From the Top is both a popular classical music program and an educationally signficant one, uniquely conceived to address the need to promote the classical music activities of younger generations and inspire youngsters. O'Riley's easy and honest charm as host of the show accomplishes the produers' goals of relating to the young performers while allowing the show to remain entertaining and relevant to the adult listener. There is simply no other show like From the Top: it is a class act that aspires to promote the joy of music making and inspires music makers both young and old.

The award's namesake, the late Karl Haas, received the first Fine Arts International Award honor in 2000. In 2002, WCLV's Klassical Kids (spelled with a K) received the annual award for children's programming by the Klassix Society at KXMS.