Caroline performed on Show 361 in Brunswick, Maine on October 17, 2018.

Jiaxun “Caroline” Yao (cello), 16, lives in Flushing, New York and is a junior at Evangel Christian School in Long Island City. She is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. She studies with Richard Aaron and Sieun Lin at the Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division, where she also performs with the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony. She recently enjoyed learning and performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto in just a week’s time. Caroline was the first place winner in the New York Chamber Player Orchestra Concerto Competition, as well as first place children’s division winner of the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong. In her spare time, she loves photography and working-out.

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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