On Deck with Young Musicians
Saturdays at 5pm PT
On Deck with Young Musicians is an inspirational weekly interview segment that celebrates and showcases the incredibly talented young musicians who live and perform in the Pacific Northwest: the young people who are shaping the future of classical music. Created and hosted by Christa Wessel, select episodes of On Deck are also hosted by Adam Eccleston, Raúl Gómez-Rojas, and Lisa Lipton.
Tune in Saturdays at 5:00 PM PT, and revisit past interviews using the links below or by following On Deck on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you know of a young musician who should be profiled for On Deck, please email Christa Wessel at christa@allclassical.org.
On Deck with Young Musicians is made possible in part by support from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.
December 18, 2021
On Deck with Elijah Zacharia
Violist Elijah Zacharia was only 11-years old when he joined the most advanced ensemble at the Portland Youth Philharmonic, a remarkable achievement at such young age. Now a 16-year-old homeschooled junior, he chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about the reasons why he chose the viola when he was only 3 years old, the importance of youth… More
November 20, 2021
On Deck with Jackson Grace
Jackson Grace is a 17-year-old senior at Franklin High School. In this episode of On Deck, Jackson chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his beginnings in piano (which involve playing a video game!) as well as his current musical adventures: playing jazz with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Jazz Ensemble, and writing music with FearNoMusic’s Young Composers… More
November 13, 2021
On Deck with Elaina Rae Stuppler
Amy Faust checks in with composer and multi-instrumentalist Elaina Rae Stuppler, and then finds it’s impossible to squeeze all of her career highlights into a 9-minute episode, even though she’s only in the 8th grade! A recent transplant from the Los Angeles area, Elaina is the first recipient of the Luna Lab fellowship, a new… More
October 30, 2021
On Deck with Trinity Goff
19-year old pianist Trinity Goff chats with Christa Wessel about stage fright, improvisation and about her upcoming performance on Cognizart’s Young Artists Debut concert on November 19. Trinity is a freshman at Willamette University and is majoring in music and in German. In addition to focusing on her goal of becoming a professional concert pianist,… More
October 23, 2021
On Deck with Adrian Hsieh
Adrian Hsieh, 17, is a junior at Corvallis High School who has been playing cello since the age of four and piano since the age of six. On this episode of On Deck, Adrian speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about being one of the winners of the 2021 Young Artists Debut! Van Buren Concerto Competition by… More
October 16, 2021
On Deck with Katie Liu
Amy Faust gets to know Katie Liu, who, as a winner of the Cognizart competition, will be performing with members of the Oregon Symphony at the Young Artist Debut Concert on November 19th. A freshman at St. Mary’s Academy and a violinist and pianist with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Katie loves to perform for any… More
October 9, 2021
On Deck with Grace Applegate
Grace Applegate, 17, is a high schooler at Sherwood High School who plays piano, clarinet, and sings. On this episode of On Deck, she chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas on topics ranging from practicing habits to advocacy and life goals. Outside of music, Grace is passionate about philosophy, psychology, art, and activism. She also enjoys reading… More
October 2, 2021
On Deck with Kate Stange
Christa Wessel chats with 16-year old violinist Kate Stange, a junior at Roosevelt High School. As a youngster, she found her way to the violin after becoming obsessed, as a 4-year old, with a purple toy violin. Now a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Concert Orchestra, music has become a huge priority in her life. In… More
September 25, 2021
On Deck with Kaisa Amer
Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Kaisa Amer, a 13 year-old eighth grader at Sherwood Middle School. Kaisa was born in Michigan, and before moving to Oregon, she lived with her family in Bangkok, Thailand. Her primary musical interest is percussion, but she has also taken piano lessons and enjoys singing in choir. As a percussionist, Kaisa’s favorite… More
July 24, 2021
On Deck with Cyrus Ngan
Cyrus Ngan is 15 years old and a rising sophomore at Clackamas High School. He has played piano for as long as he can remember, and started playing cello four years ago. In this episode of “On Deck,” Cyrus speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his musical pursuits, as well as his passion for competitive swimming… More
