Each Saturday at 5 All Classical Portland celebrates what’s next in our community, with profiles of young musicians and explorations of musical opportunities for young people in the northwest.
If you know of a young musician who should be profiled On Deck, email Christa Wessel at christa@allclassical.org
Support for On Deck comes from our members.
Additional support comes from Metropolitan Youth Symphony
November 19, 2016
On Deck with Grace Hermes
Grace Hermes is a 17-year old senior at St. Mary’s Academy. She sings with the Pacific Youth Choir as well as with her school choir (“The Marians”) and performs in school musicals as well. Grace feels –particularly in these turbulent times- that art and music can change the world. In this episode of “On Deck”… More
October 29, 2016
On Deck with Project Prelude
Project Prelude is a new non-profit started this summer by two high school juniors at Catlin Gabel School. Violinist Cammie Lee (who plays with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and has been a frequent regional competition winner) and flutist Isabelle Zheng (who is the co-principal flute at Portland Youth Philharmonic) saw an absence of elementary school music… More
October 22, 2016
On Deck with Michail Thompson
Michail Thompson is 16 years old. He’s the principal trumpet player in the Portland Youth Philharmonic, he plays jazz at the Alan Jones Academy of Music, and is the band president at Grant High School. In his role as band president, Michail hopes to find a way to make the Grant student body realize that going to a… More
October 15, 2016
On Deck with Evan Llafet
Evan Llafet is a 15-year old violinist, and a sophomore at Mountain View High School in Vancouver. He plays with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and is seriously considering a career in music. In this episode of “On Deck” Evan frankly discusses that chosen career path, and how unrealistic it might turn out to be. And, in… More
October 8, 2016
On Deck with David Chen
David Chen is a 16-year old junior at Sunset High School. He has also been a member of the Pacific Youth Choir for 10 years. Singing is obviously a huge part of his life, and in this episode of “On Deck” we’ll learn about two of his other passions and how they intertwine: David is part… More
September 24, 2016
On Deck with Eva Stoumbos
Eva Stoumbos is an 18-year old double-bassist who chatted with Christa this summer at YMA: Young Musicians and Artists. During the interview, Eva revealed that in addition to classical music, she loves jazz and bluegrass, too. In this episode of “On Deck” we’ll hear how Eva fell in love with the bass, and learn about her… More
September 17, 2016
On Deck with Jesse Fuller
Jesse Fuller is a 15-year old sophomore who is doing interesting things with his cello. He uses looping pedals to create on-the-fly, improvised compositions that sound like a cello ensemble… when in fact, the music is being made by only him. Jesse’s music is new and fresh, but he’ll be the first to tell you… More
September 10, 2016
On Deck with Joseph Folwick
Earlier this summer, Christa Wessel visited YMA, Young Musicians and Artists –a two-week residential summer music camp— and met a number of remarkable teenage musicians. This week we’ll get to know 16-year old clarinetist Joseph Folwick, who was one of the winners of the YMA concerto competition. Here’s a link to Joseph’s GoFundMe page. Joseph was… More
September 3, 2016
On Deck with Mikaela Borg
Earlier this summer, Christa Wessel (host of “On Deck”) visited YMA, Young Musicians and Artists –a two-week residential summer music camp— and met a number of remarkable teenage musicians. This week we’ll get to know16-year old violinist Mikaela Borg, who was the concertmaster at YMA and also one of the winners of the YMA concerto competition…. More
July 30, 2016
On Deck at Bravo Cesar Chavez
For the past several years, Bravo Youth Orchestras has been inspired by the El Sistema movement in Venezuela to put string instruments into the hands of underserved children at Portland’s Rosa Parks Elementary School. Last Fall, Bravo began a winds program at Cesar Chavez Elementary. In this episode of “On Deck” we’ll talk with three 5th-graders at… More