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.
June 11, 2022
On Deck with Klara Kjome Fischer
Klara Kjome Fischer, 18, is a recent graduate of the IB program at Cleveland High School and a violinist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. In this episode of On Deck, Klara speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about her experience learning, rehearsing and performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 with MYS. In the fall, Klara plans to attend …
May 28, 2022
On Deck with Derek Choi
In this episode of On Deck, 16-year-old violinist Derek Choi chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his beginnings in music, playing piano and classical guitar before he ever picked up a violin. Starting a couple of years ago, a shift in his approach to competitions enabled him to start cultivating prizes more consistently: In the spring …
May 21, 2022
On Deck with Koharu Sakiyama
Amy Faust gets to know Koharu Sakiyama, a composer whose piece “Untold Tales,” a collaboration with local young poet Laila Vickers, just premiered at the Metropolitan Youth Symphony‘s spring concert. Koharu, who also plays violin with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, alto sax with her high school band, as well as the Japanese koto, has won …
May 14, 2022
On Deck with Margo Pullen
Margot Pullen is a 17-year-old junior at Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School in Portland. Her primary instrument is trumpet, which she plays with her school’s wind ensemble and with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, but she also plays flute, piano and dabbles in other instruments. Margot finds her creative work deeply fulfilling. She has been a …
May 7, 2022
On Deck with Lorelei Gorton
15-year old high school sophomore Lorelei Gorton loves the term ‘artist’ because of its range, and that’s exactly how she describes herself. She’s primarily a dancer and musician, but she also has a passion for writing, singing, acting, and visual art. That’s why she loves being able to go to the Arts & Communication Magnet …
April 30, 2022
On Deck with Diego Fernandez
Adam Eccleston shares a heart-to-heart moment with flutist and All Classical Portland Young Artist Ambassador, Diego Fernandez. This joyous junior of South Salem High School has already contributed much to our greater Portland community. Diego is a well-rounded musician supporting works of modern living composers of diverse background. He has aspirations to become a leading …
April 16, 2022
On Deck with Joey Young
Amy Faust chats with Joey Young, a senior at Mountain View High School in Vancouver. After picking up a viola for his school music program in the 5th grade, Joey’s love of classical music led to an interest in composing, which he has been doing now for several years. Through Fear No Music’s Young Composers …
April 2, 2022
On Deck with Paul Zupan
In this episode of “On Deck,” Christa Wessel chats with Paul Zupan. A sophomore at Franklin High School, Paul loves nothing more than being with friends in band (Paul plays saxophone) and in the Pacific Youth Choir (Paul sings bass). Paul has been making music since 5th grade, but says it has only gotten more …
March 5, 2022
On Deck with Cael Farrow
Amy Faust gets to know Cael Farrow, a senior at Grant High School in Portland and a passionate advocate for classical music. Cael started playing the cello at age 4, and very soon was entertaining crowds at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, playing for tips while sitting in her car seat. Now a member of the …
January 29, 2022
On Deck with Mindy Moradi
Christa Wessel speaks with 15-year-old violinist Mindy Moradi about perseverance, about playing with adults in the Westside Community and Youth Orchestra, and about what music does to her brain.
